HARVEYS LAKE — The line of anglers waiting to weigh their bass at the end of the Duke’s Wednesday Night Bass Tournament at Harveys Lake was a bit short July 31.
And lately, that’s been the norm.
Unlike last year, when persistent rainfall limited the catch rate of the weekly tournament, there is a different factor in play this summer that’s resulting in fewer bass being caught.
Pinpointing the cause, however, is difficult.
Of the 35 anglers competing on July 31, only 18 had fish to weigh in. The tournament, run by Tyler Dalley, 16, and his grandfather, Duke, is a “lunker” event, meaning anglers weigh only the heaviest fish they caught.
On this night, George Hogan earned first place with a hefty 3.88-pound largemouth bass.
The heavy bass was one of the few highlights on a night when the catch was light.
“I could make a lot of excuses,” said Jim Quinn, who has fished in the Wednesday tournament for nearly 30 years. “It seems like every year the lake changes a bit. What worked last year won’t work the next.”
According to Tyler Dalley, the tournament standings, which are based on overall weights of the fish turned in by anglers, reflect just how slow things have been this summer.
After six weeks, the first place angler has a combined total weight of 13 pounds. In a typical year, the top weight is around 18 pounds after six weeks, Dalley said.
He added that another tournament, held each Friday and based on a four-fish limit, is experiencing similar results. Recently, the Friday tournament produced just two limits out of 17 teams.
“This is one of the slowest starts we’ve had in a long time,” Dalley said.
And he thinks he knows why.
There are more tournaments on the lake than ever before, Dalley said, and the increased angling pressure, coupled with the normal recreational boat traffic, is changing the feeding patterns of bass.
In addition to the Wednesday and Friday weekly tournaments, Dalley said there are numerous club tournaments on weekends and random events held throughout the summer.
As a result, the bass are feeding earlier in the morning and later at night when the lake is quiet.
“I think the (Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission) should limit the amount of tournaments at Harveys Lake, or switch to more lunker events,” Dalley said. “There’s a big difference between catching and releasing a fish immediately as opposed to letting them sit in a livewell. There’s less pressure with a lunker tournament.”
That’s because the cull rate is much higher in tournaments with a four or five-fish limit. In those events, anglers are constantly culling bass to keep the heaviest ones. In a lunker tournament, only one fish is kept, and that means the smaller ones are released right away.
Cody Cutter, another veteran of the Wednesday night tournament, agreed that culling fish from a livewell during a tournament is added pressure.
Still, Cutter isn’t sure there is a significant increase in the number of tournaments this year.
“This is the slowest season for big fish, but the pressure stays the same and these fish see baits every day at this lake,” Cutter said. “The key is to cast out and don’t do anything. I’ve caught a lot of fish with less movement of my lure.”
Even if the fishing might be a bit slow, for now, Dalley is optimistic that things can turn around this summer.
As the weeks progress, he said, the bass that are weighed in generally are bigger because they’ve been feeding all summer.
“By the end of the summer, it’s not unusual to see a five-pound bass come in to the weigh-in table,” Dalley said. “There’s still time for things to improve.”
- This story appeared in The Citizens’ Voice on August 18, 2019.
