Thread: Lake Talquin "Are the good times really over?"

I don't think that the tournaments are putting any fishing pressure as far as taking fish out of the lake. And I am not referring to only crappie tournaments, but bass tournaments as well. Lake Talquin is a great fishing lake and can also be a dangerous lake to run a boat on. We have all seen the dangers on tournament days of those that don't know the lake that well...For example: Running a boat up on Goat Island at a speed too dangerous for pre-daylight hours, or hearing a boat running wide open on a foggy morning. There are many very courteous tournament anglers out there, but there are those who are only thinking of themselves and the money and have no respect for anyone. But Talquin is not suffering by any stretch of the imagination. There is no doubt in my mind that there are some people keeping 400+ fish a week and there is no sense in that. But for alot of us that use Lake Talquin Lodge as a base camp, we abide by the limit laws and many of us only keep those fish that are 12" or better despite the 10" legal limit. As for the first post of this thread, it all boils down to organizations not wanting to choose Talquin because the CoC does not want to give any monetary support. (Please correct me if I am wrong) Yes, these tournaments can bring in extra revenue to the community, but the economy is hitting everyone, even government agencies, wallets hard. Can anyone give a dollar figure to how much the CoC has given in the past to support these tournaments? For these organizations to not want to fish at Talquin anymore, it must have been a substantial amount.

I agree that tournament anglers dont put pressure on the lake, but the attention it draws from the publications of tournament results and all the positive comments about the fishery from the tourney anglers draws HUGH crowds to the lake that ordinarily wouldnt travel and fish your lakes had they not heard or read about it from the publications of the tournament. And like already stated, when those crowds do flock to the lake most everything that bites a hook gets tossed in a cooler. Already seen it here on my home lake after two B.A.S.S. tournaments many years ago...and the crowds are STILL COMING!