I'm just curious to hear your viewpoint, and what you do. I've expressed on here before that my mental-block for a tournament has nothing to do with the tournament or other fishermen, but rather it's what to do once the pleasure boats get out. My instinct is to go deep, but even then you often have a problem with no current generation on Saturdays. For example, we have a derby on Neely Henry this Saturday, it's going to be Memorial weekend, sunny and mid-90's, there will be 800-gajillion pontoons, ski/wake boats, jet skis, kids jumping off piers and so forth going round and round and round and round, up and down, back and forth, zig and zag, lathering the water and muddying up the banks. Somehow, some day, I've got to overcome this block to ever go to the next level.

And let's just assume I'm not gonna run 40+ miles up the river towards the dam to get away from traffic....this tournament ain't THAT big!

Boat traffic just stirs the shad and other bait up.

It’s all in your head

Fish from daylight til 8am then 6pm til dark 30

We are fishing till 9-10 Saturday morning of Logan then drinking beer and noodling.

I've never fished Neely Henry, but I've fished Guntersville a lot and in some heavy traffic. I like to find a shallower cove or flat and fish it where there isn't as much traffic. Some people think boat traffic with turn the fish on and others think it turns the fish off. I've caught plenty with lots of boat traffic around but think I catch more when the lake is less crowded. I think the worst part for me is not the mental aspect of boat traffic but dealing with the waves. So, I fish away from the main channels and more in coves and on flats.

I am a much better shallow water fisherman, so I tend to stay shallow year round. Also, if I'm fishing and have a lot of folks come in on me, I will usually stay and just try to keep fishing and wait them out. I've done really well in some areas after the crowds leave.

My 2 cents.

Where y'all be at? I'll be on LM Saturday afternoon

Summer fishing sucks for these reasons but it's something to have to deal with.

Unless you can find some kind of offshore spots to crank or throw a jig and worm, I'd probably get in a creek and go as far up as absolutely possible. I'd have a 7-inch worm or tube and a black-blue jig tied on, maybe a frog if you find pads or slime or something, and just pick it apart until it's time to head in. Methodical can be boring but it may pay off.

I checked around the Internet and didn't see it anywhere, but I swear that they did some sort of parade on the river at the 77 bridge on that lake. It was a real ball buster trying to get back to the weigh-in that day......

I won’t attempt to fish Martin after 8am this weekend

Probably around chocoloc.

Look at it this way. Y’all are all gonna fish the same lake and deal with the same crap and someone is still gonna win.

If I was a tournament fishing guy, I’d run as far as I could from any launch ramp, and fish back towards the storm. Get the running away done first thing.

Not to my knowledge has there ever been one. There is a poker run in two weeks sponsored by Neely Henry Lake Association. There is a boat parade at Christmas uptown.

It was for sure a parade. I want to say it was Memorial Day Weekend two years ago? Right there at the 77 bridge. Every idiot with something that'd float was out there. Roughest I'd ever seen that lake.

Boat traffic, doesn’t really change the fishing in my opinion. Now if they were all fishing, sure, but just pleasure boating, no.

The majority of the ledges on Neely are shallow (in terms of ledges anyway), they may only be 4' to 6' on top, and there will be 897 pontoons and ski boats running over them non-stop all day. Not sure how long I can stay shallow either in full sun and 95 degrees.

I'm gonna try to get all the hay in the barn the first couple hours of the day, then just do my best to fish docks that aren't getting thrashed, and maybe some much deeper offshore stuff that isn't bothered by boats overhead. This past Sunday we caught a tremendous amount of spots on Logan Martin in 18'-22' of water, there were boats everywhere, but that deep it didn't matter. However, I spent a few hours yesterday morning graphing several places on Neely, and none of them were holding fish except one community hole that'll have two boats on it from daylight till weigh-in. I don't know, crap I'm just gonna go fishing. I just hate having to get lucky, I'm the guy who'd rather be good than lucky any day.

You can PM me ikillbux. I might be able to direct you to a location or two.

I hope to launch around 6am Saturday. Fish for bream on the beds, then head over to a deep hole and drift it a couple of times to see if any big boys are laying in it. Plan to be off the water by 1pm.