Is it just me or is Lake Athens in a serious funk. Used to be pretty easy to catch 'em but now it's been hard to put anything together. Is it just me or have others notified the same thing?

IMO Cobra it's pressure, just like Fork. Lots of club tournaments because of it's location and 14" limit, it's an easy lake to navigate and that area is full of bass fishermen so even through the week it's busy. Unless you have a secret brush pile or two you probably aren't going to catch a lot, especially quality fish.

Same here. I've just been catching schoolers

I stand corrected, Athens has a 14-21 slot. Sorry about that. I stand by my other comments.

I dont know if I would go so far as to say that the lake is in a funk but I will agree that the bite is different than the typical schooling pattern. Athens is known for huge schools of 2,3 and 4 pounders smashing shad on the surface which makes for some great bassfishing and 50 fish days aren't uncommon. The lake isn't really that big and gets an insane amount of pressure especially in the spring,but all that being said its loaded with hydrilla and big old bass and pressure or not its still about the best managed and stocked lake of Texas fisheries and always a blast to fish.

Yep, all the fishing pressure and having 25 boats there on a Monday afternoon has a consequence, it is beginning to show the signs of what all that pressure does to a fishery.

The lake is way over populated with small 1-3 pound fish. That coupled with tons of shad and it = a recipe for NOT catching many fish big or small. Why would a fish hit a lure with all the live bait in the water ? Why would large fish run with thousands of small fish & fight them for shad balls when there is so much food in the lake ?
The BIG fish are deeper and everyone fishing starts chasing the schoolers, which this year, are harder to catch because of the abundance of live food. Meaning everyone gets frustrated they aren't catching them cast after cast & then they say the lake is fishing tuff. Sunday I talked to some of the couples fishing in a 2 day tournament and they said "it sure is tough out here", 2 small dinks in 2 days. I saw well over 100 boats on Saturday & Sunday,,,,,,,everyone fishing the shallows or chasing the schoolers.
Not good patterns on Athens right now. I'm sure glad I know where those secret brush piles are.

Does Athens ever fish good?

All I read on here about it over the last 3 years is people proclaiming its demise.

Yet its still getting pounded with pressure. Must not be all that bad. Pressure goes where the fish are I have found.

People who know how to find fish and can adapt to changing conditions do not have an issue with catching fish on Athens. Those that want to go back to same spots and do the same thing year after year, it's really tough on them.

Funny thing is the ones who are complaining about all the pressure are the same people who were on here and other social media sites in the past boasting how great the fishing was on Athens and "giving advice" for their "15 min of fame", how did that work out for you?

Funny thing Doug R, you are one of those doing the same thing you are accusing others of doing. You are on here and must have been on "other social media sites", how else would you know about the boasting, giving advice and their 15 min of fame. You appear to be boasting yourself and give the impression you are a Lake Athens pro. Good for you.

I do not fish Athens often, not sure what you are talking about?

I simply made a statement that is what I believe to be true, and you apparently have a personal issue with me. PM me your phone number and we can talk about it or maybe we can meet up and I will buy you lunch.

Thanks and have a good day

Unfortunately, pressure is a constant here at Athens. Tournaments every weekend is certainly a factor. I am blessed since I live on the lake and can keep up with their movements and patterns. Like it was said before, the usual spots are not producing like they have in the past, but the fish are still here and they are going to eat. I've caught as many bass this year as in the past, but have had to change my approach as the the bass have changed. If you want to catch fish here on a consistent basis, you will have to spend more time on the lake and figure them out. All that being said, bigger fish can still be caught shallow (less than 10 ft.) in the grass and on the edges, but you have to be patient. 40+ fish a day is still possible, but if your looking for big fish, you will not get as many bites. BTW: having a secret brush pile or two helps!

i don't think the big sticks of Athens are having any trouble out there. Seems to be on fire right now.

They were 2 7.5 lbs Bass caught yesterday by two Ladys they were fishing his and hers bass club ...go to there site to see I seen them first hand ....so the fish is there ...! The Bites are Lite !

Yes there is pressure. But Athens can handle it. The "fisherman" can't handle it. Like someone above mentioned, if you just go to your same spots, you will fail. If you learn to find the pattern of the day you can win....it's pretty simple.

Just a few weeks back buddy and I went there and fished. We figured the fish would be deep. Caught a few small ones but nothing consistent. We threw everything we had at them and couldn't catch more than 1-2 at any given spot. Something clicked in my brain and we made one last adjustment before calling it a day...boom. Found a big fish pattern. Best five easily went 28-30 with 2 fish in the 7s. We couldn't believe it but for 2 hours we hooked up with good ones from 3-5lbs every few casts. It's possible, just have to be willing to make the change. Here are the best 2 fish a 7.14 and 7.84




stay positive and keep casting...Athens should be getting really good for the next couple months....