FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Ummmm...yeah....2dogs and all concerned...this is a tough one. It is like arguing about religion. Everyone believes that if you don't follow their guidelines, then you are going to hell. I do not condemn anyone's beliefs. I just have my own, long-winded ideals...and you are about to hear them.
Personally, I have seen a decline in the Pleasant fishery, just as everyone has. Was it due to the BBD factor? Or was it the culmination of many factors? The coincidence of the onslaught of BBD and the decline of big bass in Pleasant can not be ignored. BUT, the New-Lake-Effect, striped bass, depletion of cover (campfires), other large tourneys, and just plain everyday fishing pressure by much more knowledgeable anglers, can all be thrown into this mix. I remember reports (yes, I know this is hearsay) of some guy using downriggers catching numerous 10 lbers. per day and he KEPT all of them. I actually witnessed 4 bass over 8 lbs. sprawled out behind the snack bar, baking in the sun. When I questioned the man, who was using HOTDOGS, why he was keeping these fish, he sheepishly said, "Because, I can".
I am sure there are many more of these tall tales or facts, whichever way you may to quantify these as being. The true fact is......THIS LAKE IS NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE.
Yes, to condemn one tourney over others is unfair. But there is NO tourney in Arizona that has such a pell-mell, devil-may-care attitude that BBD does. The no live-well required, live-bait- allowed-attitude coupled with the extreme numbers of fishermen, just means trouble.
Okay, Bill Luke wants to sell cars in the summer. Fine, I can understand this. But would it not make more since to sell the nice, new, next year models in the Fall? I just CAN NOT IGNORE the fact that bass can be caught all year long. Why hold this tourney when big fish are at their most vulnerable? I think that it would actually add a sense of drama to this tourney to see who could come up with a nice 10 lber later in the year. A Pleasant fish that size is very rare come Autumn. If you do not believe me then look at any tourney standings. THIS IS A FACT.
Ummm....I am foaming at the mouth again. I hate when others run on and on, and here I am doing it. Pleasant is far from dead. It has fish, it is not a barren lake. Right now it separates the men from the boys. Damn, it sure was nice though when I caught that 12 lb 5 oz beauty back in '99. I guess we all long for those glory days and wonder why we can never re-live them again....