FishingwithRusty
Well-known member
yes he's being sarcastic
intersting line of thought though Travis
Opinions about the Chick 2022
- Thread starter ChooChooSnakeMan
- Start date
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yes he's being sarcastic
intersting line of thought though Travis
Oldman
Well-known member
yep, i thought so.
ChooChooSnakeMan
Well-known member
Thanks for all the input, this is interesting reading and for me personally perhaps it makes me feel a little better that I wasn't the only one having a hard time on Chickamauga. For me it just seemed like the number of fish just weren't there. Maybe they were there but just conditioned not to bite our baits. It was a very tough year for me. I'd fish and fish and fish and not have anything to show for it. I even diversified and tried different baits and tactics but it just was no good. It was discouraging to fish hard for hours and only have maybe a couple of slicks to show for the effort. I hope others will post what they think. Let's remember that everyone has an opinion and are entitled to it. The last thing I would want is for this thread to spiral down to snarky comments and insults. Thanks again everyone and please post your score and ideas for what is going on with our lake.
Five or ten guides pounding lake every single day with no let up is the only thing that has been introduced in the last few years that has been different than in years past. I know spraying grass does have a negative effect to a degree but we have dealt with that for years. Certainly the twenty or so tournaments of 200 to 300 boats a year that we were having does have some responsibility too. Also all the electronics that we have now like this live scope stuff its not fishing anymore its catching. Chesterfrost park has been single handly wiped out by two guides that pounded the living hell out of every place in the park that held fish to the point there's not even any little fish left little lone big fish like it used to be. This lake unfortunately does fish very big like some its comparable size.
Five or ten guides pounding lake every single day with no let up is the only thing that has been introduced in the last few years that has been different than in years past. I know spraying grass does have a negative effect to a degree but we have dealt with that for years. Certainly the twenty or so tournaments of 200 to 300 boats a year that we were having does have some responsibility too. Also all the electronics that we have now like this live scope stuff its not fishing anymore its catching. Chesterfrost park has been single handly wiped out by two guides that pounded the living hell out of every place in the park that held fish to the point there's not even any little fish left little lone big fish like it used to be. This lake unfortunately does fish very big like some its comparable size.
rsimms
Well-known member
So if you apply a Grade Scale to results of the recent CBA Classic (2-day tournament):
40 lbs.+ = A
30 lbs.+ = B
20 lbs.+ = C
10 lbs.+ = D
Less = F
There were 3 A's, 4 B's, 13 C's, 11 D's and 12 F's. Hence, all these comments are about on par. Just food for thought.
But I'll argue that this is a subjective debate. The measure of success is all about expectations. I fished Chickamauga back in the days when a single 5-pound bass could get your picture in the paper. Now expectations have been totally screwed up because of a decade of "Glory Days."
It is human nature to always want "more." So yea, it is painful when suddenly we're getting "less." IMHO, everyone just needs to gauge their expectations based upon "long-term trends" (the last 50 years) rather than the short-term (the last ten years). Do that and the grades get better.
40 lbs.+ = A
30 lbs.+ = B
20 lbs.+ = C
10 lbs.+ = D
Less = F
There were 3 A's, 4 B's, 13 C's, 11 D's and 12 F's. Hence, all these comments are about on par. Just food for thought.
But I'll argue that this is a subjective debate. The measure of success is all about expectations. I fished Chickamauga back in the days when a single 5-pound bass could get your picture in the paper. Now expectations have been totally screwed up because of a decade of "Glory Days."
It is human nature to always want "more." So yea, it is painful when suddenly we're getting "less." IMHO, everyone just needs to gauge their expectations based upon "long-term trends" (the last 50 years) rather than the short-term (the last ten years). Do that and the grades get better.
ChooChooSnakeMan
Well-known member
Richard, thanks! that info is very relevant to this discussion. Looking at CBA scores is a great way to gauge the lake and I don't disagree with your "calibration" numbers using weigh in weights. You are also right about expectations. I remember back in the day when a 40 lb bag wouldn't have even entered the discussion so the fact that we think of 40+ = A for a top level tournament that says something right there. I do think that it is human nature for expectations to play into the discussion. After all we have had a world class fishery here for the last decade or so. For it to decline there has to be factors. Now I for one don't discount nature, nature may in fact be the principal factor. A lake or any ecosystem for that matter will experience ups and downs even if totally left alone by man. Weather factors such as temperatures, rain fall, current rate, diseases, amount of sediment in the water are just a few. It is a complicated collection of factors. This is a great discussion and I really value all the opinions and ideas. Thanks to everyone, let's hear from others please!
ChooChooSnakeMan
Well-known member
Thanks for the clarification. The spirit of my comments still stand. I remember when a 20 lb 5 fish limit on Chickamauga would have been the talk of the fishing town and then we found ourselves with 20 lbs sometimes not getting you in the money and 30, 40, even close to 50 lb 5 fish bags being reported. My main point is that everything is relative but my informal poll seems to bear out that the lake is in decline. The reasons are varied and I wonder how much nature is the primary factor. Thanks for everyone's input, keep them coming.
Pointer 78
Well-known member
C overall.
Mat fishing was a definite F.
Mat fishing was a definite F.
