Back in The Day

[pollywog]

Fishing was something my Father taught my Brother and I some 40 odd years ago. It seemed back then before web sites,before fish finders,before all the differant bells and whistles we have today we always managed to bring fish home.Today I ( we) have all the cool toys,fish finders,power augers,deluxe shanties,all the bells and whistles one could imagine.And yet those fishing days a yesteryears (in my opinion) are-not as productive.Last year someone posted a topic about the " old timer" hitting the hard water with a spud and bucket and bringing home fish",all the time! I suppose where I"m going with this is a Question.
Those that are old enough to remember back then,(was it better fishing back then? Have all the toxic dumpings,sewer dumping,dredging,building and whatever anyone can think of caused the decline of the fish in our suburban water ways?
Just a little something to ponder before you head out to the pond
on Sunday.

[salmonslammer]

I agree 100%.... I have been fishing the lake for 32 years, I remember being a little kid and fishing with my dad and grand dad and we always caught fish. I think there is alot more pressure. That and perch run in cycles, with highs and lows in the pop. I don't remember catching 15" though.

[FishTales]

I've been fishing over 50 years, When I first started my dad got me a metal tackle box with a 12 inch scale stamped in the top, we would go out perch fishing at lexington, i would pull one up and ask my dad if it was big enough to keep. He said if it doesn't hang over the end of my box to throw it back. The perch we were keeping were from 13 inches to about 18 inches.

[neversunk]

Well...let me tell you a little different story about fishing back in those days....my father would take me ice fishing in the mid to late 50's to spear pike...and we would drag that old heavy wood shanty out to "perch territory" too on occasions....but the catch was never what we get now for one simple reason.....he was a weekend fisherman who did not know what we know now about fish migratory patterns, spawning seasons, etc. Basically I'm saying we did'nt catch s*** unless someone he knew gave us the exact spot to catch fish the day before we went. We are much more informed and educated fishermen primarily due to the internet. We have a source of learning and communicating that my father's generation did not have, and our harvest is going to rise even if the amount of fisherman declines. Through all the info we have all learned and shared on the net we now know when spawning in certain depths starts, ends, etc. We now know how to target certain species as opposed to the "hit and miss" methods my father employed. Heck....most of us average fishermen today would've been qualified to be a "guide" back then being that we know and understand what certain fish do and what time of year they do it. My dad never knew a thing about that, and neither did any of the people he hung around with. So yes...some of you guys were lucky enough to have grown up with a father who was a great fisherman....and he passed that information on to you to and you probably expounded on the theory's of "what caught which and when". But for lots of the rest of us we don't have such a great heritage of fantastic fishing to look back one....and there is no doubt in my mind that fishing is better now for me than it ever was for me from 1958-1978. So I guess it all falls into the catagory of "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" huh? And also...water levels change, and where the fish can be found changes on that annual basis too.....so sometimes things are not what they seem. But obviously...based on the info on this site...everyones catch varies from day to day....and somebody is gonna have a great year and somebody is gonna have a crummy year. Thats why they call if fishing instead of catching.......So maybe there's no difference between the fishing now and 20 years ago....it all depends on where you fish, at what depth, and what time of year. After all....15% of the lake contains 90% of the fish right? Glenn

[Zofchak]

If you are talking about Perch I would have to say that LSC has seen better days but It was not that long ago. As for walleye, muskie and smallies I would say the fishing is as good as it has been for the last 10 years or so. I'm not old enough to speak for it before, but If one puts in the effort you are just about a sure bet for a nice catch in LSC. Up until this winter I fished LSC about once per week and was rarely dissapointed, I've spent the last 4 weeks fishing the Gulf Of Mexico and would give anything to get the consistansy of Saint Clair. I'll be back in Michigan in a few weeks to hook up with some of those monsters that Ed's been catching.

[TONGA]

Remember back in the day when your GPS and your Fishfinder were rolled into one dependable unit called Grampa?

[shark]

I too came from the good ole days out there on LSC. Fishing today is every bit as good. I learned to fish out there by being punished by those who were good.Todays skilled fisherman is the dork on the QUAD,Snow machine that trolls up and down the lake until he finds someone catching fish and goes and gets his buddies or calls them on the cell and shows them the "X" on the lake.These guys think they are good! Why it seems that less fish are caught is due to all the pop-ups.It was once possible see others catching fish in the open. But the walk may have been too far for some so if you felt like walking that 2mile walk you got fish and if you didn't there was more for who did. Back to being punished ,there were guys that had great skills and would catch fish while others watched.If you could learn what they were doing on your own,they would maybe even give some tips.You had to get their respect. Today this site gives too many novice fisherman good locations that took guys like me to learn over years of fishing the lake. I see many of these guys out there slamming beers and running up and down the lake with their toys
and then managing to stuble on top of someone that is a good fisherman and then send e-mails to the guys honey pit. BS!!!!

[neversunk]

I could'nt agree more about the idiots on their machines that seem to go out of their way to make some of us miserable....then expect us to give them information on how to catch the fish... I would'nt mind if they parked a reasonable distance away and walked over to me to talk. It sure ruins the peace and quiet that used to rule that lake ....but those days are gone for good no doubt

[Steven Arend]

I remember the days when my father would take my out fishing he would walk out onto the lake look around and say this looks like a good spot. He would set down a wooden box with a lantern in it (the lantern was used to see and keep you warm, Ha,Ha.). He would hand me a stick with a couple eye-lops and a piece of wire holding 40-50 ft. of 4lb line attached to it. We would fish for hours with a gill now-n-then.

Now Let look at the way WE icefish today. With Flashers, Cameras, and 2-way radios and the knowledge that we have or can find in books or the inter-net on fish migration and habitat. A person or persons could make short work locating fish on a lake they're tring for the first time.

Icefishing is so much better now then it was back then. With light-weight ice shanties, propain heaters, chairs, ect.... there is no more catching fish with blind luck. This is my 2 pennies.

[TONGA]

Steven I love your sig. PETA ha:D :D :D

[RichP]

Yeah, that's definitely a funny signature. How much are the membership dues, I definitely want to join PETA now! :)

[twoatatime]

Pollywog, I think the pressure has lots to do with it. I don't mean to talk about simcoe on this site, but they recieve far less pressure than LSC. I've been going there six years now, and there is more people fishing just in front of Geno's or Fair Haven than there is on the entirety of Simcoe. I can however say that I have seen and caught some pigs here, but in far less numbers. At first, I thought the depth played a role, but last year, I saw monsters down the hole. Maybe we need a size limit and lower the limit to 25 fish. Also , everyone needs to say something to the slobs who leave 30 or more 3" perch frozen all over the ice. I think that most of us on this site come ouit here and fish enough that if we all managed 25 jumbos everytime we went out, that would be plenty more than what we needed. That is just a piece of my mind, i'd like to know what you all think.....

[tony_1]

Originally posted by twoatatime
Also , everyone needs to say something to the slobs who leave 30 or more 3" perch frozen all over the ice.

Amen to that, it really disgusts me to see that happen.

[snakebit67]

Good one TONGA!!!!

[neversunk]

I would'nt mind seeing the limit go down to 25....I get tired of cleaning at about 24....especially when I know theres another 26 to go!!!
As far as keeping the perch numbers up we might be able to get more accomplished by getting an open season on cormorants.....those things are taking over our lakes and wrecking the fishery more than fisherman that leave dinks on the ice. I think all of our fish are losing their forage base to the cormorants. Take a look in front of the warm water discharge on the canadian side of the St Clair River in april.....it looks like a floating carpet made up of cormorants....I mean near a thousand!! I was on a fishing charter in Florida last year and the guide was complaining of all the cormorants they have there in the winter now....the telephone wires were covered pole to pole with them. The increased numbers we have on the breeding grounds up here are also reflected in the increased numbers wintering in the south. I've heard they're really cleaning out the perch in their spawning grounds in the clear waters of the UP. So whats more important....a bird that we lived without for years that eats our fish but is really just a pest or a or a fish that people eat??? Somebody who important people listen to had better start driving our bandwagon or we're gonna be fishing for nothing but flathead european carp in the future.......I relinquish my soap box to the next gentleman......

[Ed Michrina]

Twoatatime: its JMO but I feel the reason we keep a stronge fish factory with large fish going. .is the areas you see loaded with people, is just a speck on the lake. We have untouched or verry lightly fished shore from Crocker south of the spill way, all the way down to the det river. and on the Can. side det river to stoney point. not to mention the whole Island side and indian shore. The perch also hang deep 15 to 19 foot. Unlike Simcoe our whole lake is spawnable with most depth no deeper than 19 foot. plus oxygen is good in the lake everywhere all winter due to the current flow. plus they are only harrassed for 1or 2 months at most and in some years not at all. depending on the ice.

It is still incredible to look at the fishing pressure in the winter and summer and wonder how the lake keeps up.