IT COMES IN many forms. Aside from the self-inflicted variety, bass fishermen often square off with fish that experience some sort of pressure. Whether of a general nature (boat traffic) or more targeted (angling pressure), it doesn’t matter if you’re a pro or not, you have to deal with it.
While there are no easy answers, there are some obvious solutions. If that sounds counter-intuitive, you are correct. To a large degree, ignoring pressure is precisely what you need to do. That is, if you understand what type of pressure makes a difference and, perhaps more significantly, when it makes a difference.
First things first: Boat traffic is not always a bad thing. Yes, it can annoy or even redline an angler’s blood pressure. No question there. But, does it really make a difference? The definitive answer is — sometimes.
“I don’t think boat traffic hurts them too much, unless it’s a place that doesn’t get boat traffic. You go to the busier lakes like Guntersville or Havasu or Minnetonka, the fish are used to the boats,” observes Seth Feider, the Bassmaster Elite Series 2021 Angler of
