[Jay]

I really hate these internet lists you have to click on to see each entry, but check out what made it to #61 for its first appearance on the annual list...

Would you call this a or PR-development? haha

http://www.bassmaster.com/slideshow/top-100-bass-lakes-2014

Jay

 

[regskinner]

nice to see 4 NC lakes ranked, surprising the ones that ranked, High Rock, Hickory, Fontaine & Randleman

 

[Jay]

nice to see 4 NC lakes ranked, surprising the ones that ranked, High Rock, Hickory, Fontaine & Randleman

I agree - I'm not an NC native, so at this point in time I really only know these by reputation only: Shearon Harris, Falls, Kerr, Badin, but it seems a lot of these have more of a marquee status than the ones on the list with the exception of High Rock. Maybe the intel Bassmaster got is more about what has been hot lately, who knows.

 

[Drum Runner]

Take those rankings with a grain of salt. Don't mean much.
It is a magazine.

 

[Jay]

Its a magazine with a a fairly large circulation in the fishing world...the rankings might not mean a whole lot in the end, or to individuals, but it could put lakes on a lot of people's maps. And that is my point about the PR - I wonder how this affects fishing pressure on various lakes.

 

[Drum Runner]

It's like those ...Raleigh Durham area is ranked 15th in nation for fastest growing. Then the next week you see the same thing , only Raleigh Durham isn't anywhere on the whole thing.

My theory is, you actually get ranked according to the amount you pay the extortionist. Just a theory though.

 

[fuquay fisherman]

High rock lake is the crank bait capital. That is the best lake I fished when living in the triad and glad to see someone give it high esteem (even if it is complete hoakum).

-James Peavy-

 

[gambusia]

The only major lake that should be on that list in Randleman.

The rest are way past their heydays.

 

[jerry condrey]

Where's Badin? Fontana is sweet, for sure. And so is High Rock. Randleman is outrageous. Lake Hickory is a nice one too. I fished Erie a couple of times, caught lots of 2-3 pound smallmouth, but I think it's over rated on this list.
Where's "Old Man Kelsey's Ocean?"
Ernest T. Bass...

 

[Neilslure]

The only major lake that should be on that list in Randleman.

The rest are way past their heydays.

Lakes like Jordan, Harris and Falls past their haydays?... when they consistantly put out heavy fish and heavy stringers... High Rock aint no slouch either, it doesnt put out as many 7 lbers but you can have a ball catching 3-5 lb fish. Id put NC lakes up against any in the country, we have alot of great fisheries and alot of great fishermen cut their teeth fishing these lakes before moving on to bigger things.

 

[Fishscalz]

Concerning Randleman: Here in the South, "new" lakes are "hot", and the fish are plentiful and fairly easy to catch usually from 7-10 years. The top predators have realitively little competitition, they grow extremely fast, and the nutrients and forage base are off the charts.


After that they settle down to a more normal level of growth, the shoreline cover/structure falls in line with surrounding waters, and in general the fish move deeper as the water clears. This means more fish are deeper more of the time, and harder for most of us to catch.


Fishscalz

 

[SurfRider]

Concerning Randleman: Here in the South, "new" lakes are "hot", and the fish are plentiful and fairly easy to catch usually from 7-10 years. The top predators have realitively little competitition, they grow extremely fast, and the nutrients and forage base are off the charts.


After that they settle down to a more normal level of growth, the shoreline cover/structure falls in line with surrounding waters, and in general the fish move deeper as the water clears. This means more fish are deeper more of the time, and harder for most of us to catch.


Fishscalz

This is what I would expect of Randleman. I think I'd put it at more like 10-12 years, judging by the amount of shoreline wood cover still there now in season 5, but the original point of the post is interesting. I am actually sorry it made the list at all. Randleman is getting a lot of press, and press = pressure. It's not as big as High Rock, Badin, Jordan, etc, so the extra boat traffic and the attention of large tournaments can hurt more. The irony is that when press brings more tournaments and pressure, it un-does that which brought the press to begin with... the down-home relaxed nature of the lake becomes yet another casualty to the big-boat, big money, big ego crowds. I have fished Randleman since day 1 (literally), and I have just recently noticed an upswing in many of the things I hate to see on any bass lake... mainly with regards to the people and behavior, as much as with numbers of boats.

<sigh> I guess it's just inevitable, and it will be interesting to see how things go.

 

[H_GeeZy]

The only major lake that should be on that list in Randleman.

The rest are way past their heydays.

There's been a 10 pulled out of both Harris and Falls in the last few weeks.....

 

[Jay]

This is what I would expect of Randleman. I think I'd put it at more like 10-12 years, judging by the amount of shoreline wood cover still there now in season 5, but the original point of the post is interesting. I am actually sorry it made the list at all. Randleman is getting a lot of press, and press = pressure. It's not as big as High Rock, Badin, Jordan, etc, so the extra boat traffic and the attention of large tournaments can hurt more. The irony is that when press brings more tournaments and pressure, it un-does that which brought the press to begin with... the down-home relaxed nature of the lake becomes yet another casualty to the big-boat, big money, big ego crowds. I have fished Randleman since day 1 (literally), and I have just recently noticed an upswing in many of the things I hate to see on any bass lake... mainly with regards to the people and behavior, as much as with numbers of boats.

<sigh> I guess it's just inevitable, and it will be interesting to see how things go.

One thing going for Randleman in terms of maintaining its "heyday" longer than perhaps the other lakes - and I am not saying the other lakes are dead seas, they obviously are not - is what I have said before: Randleman is a highly regulated lake in comparison to those other NC lakes. There is (or is supposed to be) a boat limit, it is closed two days a week, it is closed full time during the winter, and it costs an arm and a leg to launch a boat there. The only thing that is perhaps slack is their enforcement of conservation, and with an improvement there I believe it will continue to be a great fishery for much longer than the 10 years people expect.

 

[Bleedingblue]

This is what I would expect of Randleman. I think I'd put it at more like 10-12 years, judging by the amount of shoreline wood cover still there now in season 5, but the original point of the post is interesting. I am actually sorry it made the list at all. Randleman is getting a lot of press, and press = pressure. It's not as big as High Rock, Badin, Jordan, etc, so the extra boat traffic and the attention of large tournaments can hurt more. The irony is that when press brings more tournaments and pressure, it un-does that which brought the press to begin with... the down-home relaxed nature of the lake becomes yet another casualty to the big-boat, big money, big ego crowds. I have fished Randleman since day 1 (literally), and I have just recently noticed an upswing in many of the things I hate to see on any bass lake... mainly with regards to the people and behavior, as much as with numbers of boats.

<sigh> I guess it's just inevitable, and it will be interesting to see how things go.

I agree, it is a bad thing that they listed Randleman. It is only 2,900 acres. As long as they continue to limit boat traffic I don't think it will get destroyed but the exposure can ruin the weekend fun fishing because of too many tournaments. I don't have a problem with tournaments in general but you can't hold a 30-40 boat tournament plus normal weekend fishing and not make that lake too crowded. I know it is silly to think that a lake like Randleman could stay a secret but regional knowledge is one thing, national exposure is another thing entirely.

 

[Bleedingblue]

One thing going for Randleman in terms of maintaining its "heyday" longer than perhaps the other lakes - and I am not saying the other lakes are dead seas, they obviously are not - is what I have said before: Randleman is a highly regulated lake in comparison to those other NC lakes. There is (or is supposed to be) a boat limit, it is closed two days a week, it is closed full time during the winter, and it costs an arm and a leg to launch a boat there. The only thing that is perhaps slack is their enforcement of conservation, and with an improvement there I believe it will continue to be a great fishery for much longer than the 10 years people expect.

They have effectively limited the boat 100 maximum which is a huge mistake IMO. More than 100 boats on that lake is a crowd. The enforcement is a joke. That patrol boat never leaves the dock. I think if they take a bit more control and get the grass established in the lake before most of the wood is gone that lake can stay special for quite some time.

 

[SurfRider]

By the way, they lifted the 100-boat maximum I think last season or the season before. On most days after the rush of Spring they didn't launch 100 boats last year (I called periodically in the afternoons to check just for curiosity), so removing the cap only really shortened the lines at daybreak. Since people didn't have to worry about being turned away, they could just mosey on in at whatever time they wanted instead of charging the gates.

Big tournaments like the Big Bass challenge, or whichever one happened the Wednesday before that when they launched 130 boats, could change that however. National attention doesn't help matters, either. I think they are right about the lake being a good one, but I would just assume Randleman not be in the magazines and on the national lists. Can't stop it, can't keep it from happening, but if I had my druthers I sure would.

I think they are smart to try to get shoreline vegetation established now. I hope it 'takes.'

 

[jerry condrey]

By the way, they lifted the 100-boat maximum I think last season or the season before. On most days after the rush of Spring they didn't launch 100 boats last year (I called periodically in the afternoons to check just for curiosity), so removing the cap only really shortened the lines at daybreak. Since people didn't have to worry about being turned away, they could just mosey on in at whatever time they wanted instead of charging the gates.

Big tournaments like the Big Bass challenge, or whichever one happened the Wednesday before that when they launched 130 boats, could change that however. National attention doesn't help matters, either. I think they are right about the lake being a good one, but I would just assume Randleman not be in the magazines and on the national lists. Can't stop it, can't keep it from happening, but if I had my druthers I sure would.

I think they are smart to try to get shoreline vegetation established now. I hope it 'takes.'

Maybe they can get some grass from HPCL, lol..

 

[thebradybunch]

It was slammed out there today. We were boat 60 at 7:45 with a line behind us. The first 3 spots I went to had boats on them. When I left at 5:30 there were trailers parked on both sides of the road in the grass from the parking lot to the ramps. By noon you could see the mud line around the edge from all the boat traffic. I do believe they shouldn't allow more boats on the lake than they have parking for.

 

[yakattackabass]

I've fished #37 Quabbin Reservoir in central Massachusetts. The smallies fought so hard that when I caught a 3-4 lb. largemouth, it felt like a log. lol! Why isn't Harris Lake on this list? Probably a good thing it isn't ;-)