Hi all.
It seems to me that over the last several years, the hard water season has been getting tougher and tougher on LPB. It also seems to me, however, like the reports of perch catches in particular have been getting better and better for the rest of the year. A buddy and I were talking about this a little while back and we started to wonder if the winter fish being caught on LPB are mostly resident fish. Our theory was that with water levels being so low on LPB the last few winters, how much water was actually flowing between Bob Wood's Point at the Turkey Point marsh and the end of Pottahawk Point. Could it be possible that this section is solid or nearly solid with ice or that the ice that moved out of the Inner Bay in late Dec/early Jan has piled up on the bars leaving only a small flow at the channel and resulting in fewer fish moving into the Inner Bay? It has also been quite a few years since I can recall pulling a pale coloured perch through the ice... most of have been dark and vibrantly coloured. It seems like after ice out and consistently until the fall, the fishing in the Inner Bay has been nothing to complain about, especially for perch.
I don't know if it is Big Creek's fault, clearer water after the zebra muscle introduction, fluctuating water levels, lack of a season on Perch, commercial nets, or what exactly we anglers should blame it on, but I agree that the Inner Bay is much different now and has been continuously changing for some time now. That being said, the fact that we still have such an outstanding and diverse fishery here on LPB is undeniable. The number of species available alone is remarkable. I think the best thing we can do as anglers on LPB is be advocates for those issues that positively affect the fishery, draw attention to the negative issues that affect it, and adapt to the fishing conditions in the meantime. Just my two cents.
WormWiggler
It's not how deep you fish, it's how you WIGGLE YOUR WORM!