I have fished Fayetteville fairly regularly for over 15 years. Up until the past 5 years or so, it was fairly common to catch bass in the 4 to 5 pound range with a few 7 pounders every now and then.
In the last few years, I rarely catch one that will weigh 3 pounds with most of my fish in the 1.5 pound range. The average number of fish per trip has also declined.
Are any of you Fayetteville regulars seeing the same trend or am I just losing my touch?

Simple. You�re sharing the lake with a lot more boats these days.

I was out there this Saturday, seemed like only about 100 boats on it, lol.

Nope they are smaller for sure. In addition to pressure, there is also less grass in the lake....

lol seems legit

Lake Fayetteville in Arkansas or Fayette in Texas?

Texas.
I'm sure that the fishing pressure and changing conditions have something to do with it.
The shoreline reeds and grass seem to be in better shape now than they have been in a few years.
Overall water condition is good as well, but the fish quality continues to decline for me.
Was there Sunday and yesterday and found scattered fish but all were small.

You can thank the video posters and braggers for that.... unfortunately, the next thing to decline will be the numbers...

The internet and the constant barrage of winter tournaments hurts that little lake. There was a weekly thread on freshwater reports with guys constantly bragging about how well they did out there. That drums up attention. When I lived in Texas it was one of my favorites. Sad to hear it's fallen on tough times. Hopefully she cycles.

I disagree, last Sunday we prolly had 30lbs on our best 5. caught approx 30 fish. Had 10+ over 4lbs. One was close to 7. Only maybe 5 of those weighed less then 3 lbs.

What I know is when I am not fishing well, someone else is. And you gotta change sometimes.

Numbers have been very good this year for me. Use to say my average fish count was 25 per trip. This year its closer to 40....it would be higher if it was not for October and early November, I struggled.

Compared to 5 years ago the lake does fish differently in my opinion. The one thing I have noticed on Fayette is the bait is not as thick, and fish have not been as deep as in past years. Use to catch numbers and size in 20-25 ft of water, been a few years since I have found that really good deep bite on Fayette. In September I had a 75+ fish day in 3 ft of water. Several 5 lbers in there too.

My friend and I used to fish Fayette County lake regularly and as original poster stated, always caught lots of fish and average size was 3-5 lbs. We haven't been back there for 10 years, hate to hear about the decline. Was always one of our favorite lakes to fish Feb-March...

Thanks for the feedback, BMCD.
Good to hear somebody is catching size and numbers.
I agree that the deep bite isn't what is used to be. For years a Carolina Rig in 15 to 25 ft was a go to technique.
Doesn't seem to be as good these days.

Bingo. The same goes for many lakes I used to fish. Years ago if you wanted to brag about your fishing trip you told your friends and maybe the guys in your bass club. Now within minutes of getting home you can tell the entire world.

1,000 to 2,500 acre lakes (Welsh, Brandy Branch, Fayette, Gilmer, Athens, Naconiche, etc.) can only take so many boats on a regular basis before fishing is noticeably affected. That's not a complaint, it's merely a fact.

Read the TP&W lake survey for the last few years. It very plainly explains what the biologists think the problem is. Hint: it has something to do with the change in the slot limit.

100 boats on that lake is a lot. It's the tournament fishing that is hurting the fishing and why you don't see the bigger bass anymore. It is especially the guys in the Ranger boats. Those are the culprits. I would have said Skeeter boats but those guys cant catch fish.