the fishing pressure, imo, is lighter than the 70s.  i can remember when large flotillas could be seen at mosquito lake in ohio and pymy.  hundreds of boats, akin to the perch pack, drifting and trolling over eyes.
 
i may be wrong but i think the advent of modern electronics has really hit the fish populations hard.  back in the day, the only electronics were in the shape of the little green box.  we all carried maps with Xs and notes all over it.  we knew areas like the witches cap, the onion field, the red barn, etc and info was passed, not by cell phone, but by land phone or word of mouth.
 
though i don't fly fish much, i think that is why i appreciate those guys so much.  they know their terrain like we know our back yard.   no electronics involved.  if i ever get another boat, i'm not sure if i will have a fish finder aboard.  at least not in the beginning.  i'll rely on memory......or what is left of it.....lol

big tuna, we had a small creek on the ohio side that saw a lot of white eyes at night.  tons of fish including some brood sows.  we stayed away from fishing it for years, thinking the hanky panky going on there would possibly help the walleye population but we were deluded.  years later some of my buds fished the creek and did quite well.  love those small areas.
 
one thing definitely better today than in the past are waders that breathe and are lightweight or made out of synthetic materials.  the old canvas waders had the life expectancy of a fruit fly and the 'made in korea' steel shank rubber waders were bullet proof and easily repaired, but they were so hot in temps about 75.
 

as for the good ole days, i remember fishing a small lake almost in opsman's backyard.  in the late 60s the bluegill we caught were so big that they'd cover a saucer.  slab-hogs.  pymy gave up crappie that had mouths like bass. i know they still get them there but there was little effort in finding them back then.  most didn't even want them, they were after the walleyes.
 
i may be wrong but it does seem that the channel cat fishing at pymy has become much better.  i've never kept one for the frying pan but have spent some summer evenings having a ball with them.  just a few evenings.  i don't want to tarnish my reputation...lol
 
 

Captain  Hook, that's the point. That looks like me.lol Out in front of that stone building was a big hump that I'd wade out to and cast to the building gate,huge crappie,white bas and a ton on eyes casting spoons.

Great thread guys:
I was a young kid back then but remember going with my dad and uncle to the stumps at linesville and my unc would just tie off to a stump when the wind was down and just drop over the side with minnies and worms and bang eyes. If no hits in 10 min move to the next stump and do the same. Back in those days the stumps were everywhere.
He also liked the orchard launch did well out there too for eyes. the rig was home made sinker on the bottom then loop a couple # 6 snelled hooks up the line toss it out and let the baby bounce on the bottom.
That creek behind the school in Linesville there were 2 old timers that were regulars there on that little concrete wall they'd sit all day with shiners under a bobber just waiting for the fish to come either out of the prop. area or back in to it.
The outflow at pymy used to be real good for eyes in the winter and spring like 20 years ago still get some now but not like the old days. I hadn't fished the outflow in a long time because of my career as a basketball official took up all that time but about 4 years ago I started to back off of that to free up some fishing time and it was the Sat. before buck season so nothing else to do so I'm going to the outflow to fish that evening. A few guys are there we catch a few small eyes. Everyone leaves but me and this other guy. So he's telling me that he does good there and its one of his favorite spots and all so we catch a few more shorties and go. I'm no dummy when someone tells me about a favorite spot so I go back the next morning and bang a 28 and 24 in. eyes and loose another big one. I actually posted pics in the old photo thread that Captain started.

bt, i've a buddy who fishes that exact spot in the fall for gills.

rap..eat them cats..as good as the eyes....this post is funny...used to fish this lake 38 yrs ago w my dad....we could not catch an eye...this past year was the best I ever did w them.  not arguing w you guys its different for everyone...talked to a lot of amish over the last year...catching lots of eyes.....I asked them same question.....if lake has changed much over the years...some say the same...some say better..some say worse...I guess that's why they call it fishin..does not matter....if I knew I was going to  die in a week..i would want to be there...what a gem of a lake!

you hit the nail on the head, marco.  i guess i was schooled by guys who knew the lake pretty well.  i remember the saturday before memorial day, 1981 in particular.  i was going to school at ohio state and came home to fish with a bud.  we trolled the north end, ohio side, from the yellow brink ranch to the first long point to the north.  we caught 32 eyes that day, all on bass-colored hot n tots with a white belly and kept 16.  the smallest was probably 19 inches.  by the late 80s we had trouble finding the walleyes in the summer.  the springs were still epic and i was finding october to be pretty awesome also.
 

Ref , I got to laugh about those two old regulars you said fishing the wall of the creek because the day I took my son there that's exactly what we seen . Those guys had a couple of huge bass on their stringers and were drifting bobbers right in front of that wire. Like I said we never murdered the Walleye back in the 70's but we always got a couple decent keepers on most trips. In the 80's we had a blast catching big numbers of those 14"ers. steady all day on crawlers and minnows. But there was a stretch maybe the late 90's that I pretty much gave up on Pymy for a few years, it was dead ! I remember drifting for over four hours with three guys and two rods each and not one hit ! We put the boat on the trailer and headed straight to Presque Isle Bay and the boys had a blast catching loads of Smallies, Perch , Rock Bass , and just about everything else one could catch in the bay. That became our steady hangout for years . The action was just unreal especially for my younger son and his friends. The Bay spoiled us for a good many years. I've slowed down fishing on most of these areas but they all hold good memories. Fortunately I did take my share of photos to preserve these good moments in time .  

Pymy outflow /  Shenango River head water



The Bay was just a haven for a variety of fishing action in the 90's I'm sure it's still good fishing.

My kind of neighborhood in Erie......no grass to cut all Summer !

"I've slowed down fishing on most of these areas but they all hold good memories. Fortunately I did take my share of photos to preserve these good moments in time" . ~Captain Hook~
 
 
 
Just wondering Captain, did fishing Lake Erie have an influence on your desire to fish the smaller inland waters?  Many of my friends (they'd never admit that) no longer have the desire to fish the smaller impounds they once enjoyed.
 
I shy away from the big lake just for that reason.
 
But, I did get me a couple of  8'6" rods rated for "lead core", in the mail today.  Ya just never know when things might change; ya seee what I'm sayin?