I fall into the Scott Adams (Dilbert) camp that says, "Goals are for losers" - no offense meant to anyone; just a quote of his.  He wrote a whole book about it. As such, I'll stick to my usual systems based method of fishing for another year. Don't expect any New Year's resolutions from me, either, when that thread pops up in another month or so - LOL 

-T9

Have my two daughters fish with me again next year on fathers day. Not kids anymore 29/35 years old. They were doing the fishing. 

Fish more jerk baits. Somehow I didn't fish them much this season. Got hung up on a few other techniques.

Get a few days of bluegill/crappie fishing in.

Try to remember to put my fly rod in the boat a time or two. Maybe just buy one and keep it in there.

Fish a few more evenings.

Hope to catch a snakehead while bass fishing. Never have. Never seen one for that matter.

Call in sick a few more days while fishing mid-week. 

I want to see my God-son catch his first 6 pound largemouth and 5 pound smallmouth.  If I can make that happen, everything else is gravy.

5 hours ago, Team9nine said:

I fall into the Scott Adams (Dilbert) camp that says, "Goals are for losers" - no offense meant to anyone; just a quote of his.  He wrote a whole book about it. As such, I'll stick to my usual systems based method of fishing for another year. Don't expect any New Year's resolutions from me, either, when that thread pops up in another month or so - LOL 

-T9

That works, though I modify it a bit because goals are unavoidable in most of the real world.

I set up my systems to blow past the goals...or so that I can go back and show that the goals were the wrong ones in the first place.

...bus some things I'm going to systematically work on next year:

1. It's time for an electronics upgrade - replace the 1198 and 798, probably with a Helix 12 at the console and a Helix 10 at the bow.  I'd go smaller at the bow (like the 798) but the 10" is the smallest unit that does what I want it to do.
2. Branch out from my "safe" lakes.  Need to fish more unfamiliar water.
3. Fish rivers more.  I love rivers, but they are such a PITA to fish...I need a better system...
4. Pick a better Canadian destination for pike.  LOTW is great, but muskies tend to get in the way of pike fishing.  This may take a while, so might end up fishing LOTW again.
5. Get better at crankbaits
6. Get better at swimbaits

That'll keep me busy.

my goal this year is

1. To catch even more and bigger bass.

• Pick a local lake and fish it until I learn it.  I have maybe 5-10 spots I bank fish from but I never really spend enough time at each to really know them.  The spot I have in mind is close to my house and has limited allowed bank fishing but allows kayaks.  So I can bank fish it a few times a week after work and try to get my kayak out there atleast twice a month.  There is like 3/4 of the bank gets no pressure and there is a huge pad field I could spend days in.  I have caught one pig out of there so I know there is at least one fish worth catching in there. But the point is to get better at finding patterns and learning how to find the fish. 

 

• Get out in my kayak more often.  I am super lazy about taking it out but there are a dozen good spots within an hour of me I never really go to.  I also want to start fishing more kayak tournaments.  I only managed one this year but it was a hoot.  

 

• Stop buying lures, start using the ones I have.  At this point I have too much stuff and not enough time to figure them all out.  Each outing I am only going to bring three lures, a surface, a mid column, and a bottom.  I need to spend less time fussing with tackle and more time fishing.  In specific, I want to learn how to fish the following:
  • Hard jerkbaits.  I have a little collection of them and other then a pile of stocked trout, I don't have a lot of fish to show for it.  I want to use small floaters for creeks and streams and start using shallow suspenders along side flukes when working weed lines in ponds and lakes.  I am going to swap out to single hooks as well, which is going to add some complexity to it, but I almost never fish hard baits and want to get some proficiency with them. 
  • Senko/stickbaits.  I have maybe caught a half dozen bass on senkos.  I want to learn to slow down and fish them t-rigged like they are supposed to be fishes and I want to figure out wacky rigging as well.  I already have a pile of worms and just bought a good supply of wacky hooks.  I am going to have a few "all-senko" days until I get some confidence with them.  
  • Jigs.  Small ones for smallies, big ones for largemouth.  I have a plano box full of them but have maybe caught three bass on them.  

 

• Practice at home. I have a long grass alley next to my house and I am going to put a hay bale with a bucket buried in it out there as a target.  My casting skills, especially with a baitcaster, is not what I want it to be, so there is no excuse not to spend 15-30 min a day out there working on stuff.  I also want to buy a cheap used stationary bike.  I have a peddle drive kayak but lack good peddling muscles.  I already have a tablet, any time wasted online could be spent paddling as well.

 

• Find some fishing buddies, especially kayak ones.  None of my friend's fish and only two of them show any interest at all.  I work weekends very often, so I do most of my fishing weekdays.  It's nice to have spots all to myself, but some company would be nice and lord knows I could stand to learn a thing or two.  

Probably the most important thing that I forgot in my above post. 

Keep getting my grandsons out to trout fish as much as possible. I believe this is necessary and will help them be good bass fisherman. 

my basic plan for 2017 is to find out more about my home lake. i think it's time i invest in some electronics and try to find out about the structure on my lake, i also want to focus on throwing baits more instead of retying so much or switching what rod is in my hand.

i dont set yearly fishing goals, i dont want fishing to seem like working or a task, so yeah. I just fish and dont worry about the end all results...

Mine are a bit different than past years ... I think I have burned myself a bit with being a co-angler and want to step back from that a bit.  With that said my goals are as follows ...

1 - Learn how to catch bass with a fly rod.   That implies learning how to use one.

2 - Spend more time fishing from my kayak instead of so many co-angler events.

3 - Don't forget to have fun while you are out there.  Why else do this!!!

#3 seems a bit awkward maybe BUT somehow I was forgetting about having fun too much in these events.

I want to learn swimbaits (Hard and soft)

Spend time going after bigger fish, and put down the finesse rod.

Add more lakes to my list... I still haven't fished Briery Creek, Va

set up some tournament series...small boat type.  Wanted to do it for years but my job doesn't allow the time.

A citation Smouth or Crappie would be nice too.

Spending more time fishing next year is going to be my first priority.. it's going to be easier next year than this past year. I worked for the first 6 months of this year and was laid up after back surgery that made me cancel most of my summer and early fall fishing. Today, I officially retired from my job and 2 days ago, I bought another boat designed for my style of river fishing.  My goal for next year is to learn where the big smallies hide out on the Wisconsin River now that I have the right tool for the job.

Finish saving up for kayak

Catch a pike 

Catch a walleye

Catch a salmon

Catch a big yellow perch

Catch a decent size smallmouth (For once)

Decide on a new spinning reel

Start using artificials more

Take up fly fishing

beat my pb Largemouth + Smallmouth

Learn to cast my baitcaster

28 minutes ago, Largemouth21 said:

Finish saving up for kayak

Catch a pike 

Catch a walleye

Catch a salmon

Catch a big yellow perch

Catch a decent size smallmouth (For once)

Decide on a new spinning reel

Start using artificials more

Take up fly fishing

beat my pb Largemouth + Smallmouth

Learn to cast my baitcaster

I hope you have a lot of vacation time coming. You will need it.

My goal is to end up with a net-negative in tackle I buy vs tackle I use!

14 hours ago, Scott F said:

I hope you have a lot of vacation time coming. You will need it.

Haha, True True

most of the time i bank fish so my number one priority is casting accuracy.

 

Since moving to South Carolina, it has become apparent that I had relied too heavily in the past on knowledge retained from fishing New England lakes and ponds for so many years. It is time to rehone my fish finding skills. So as not to be thought of as one who looks for the easy way out, I'll be starting with Lake Moultrie. Oh, and any help will be appreciated.

Patience...

.

Get down to the reservoirs in the Ozarks more than I have been.

1. Teach my daughter how to fish. She will be two next spring

2. Improve my fishing in deeper water

3. Get better at pitching a jig accurately and softly

4. Catch my PB

Awesome thread, it puts perspective on things and is very motivational!

 

1) Keep progressing at the same pace as I have the last 2 years since I have started trying to learn and get better.

2) Put myself in a position to finish high in the 2017 national college championship at wheeler, unlike last year, I need to take more risks at that level.

3) After my last college tournament (mentioned above) in the spring, provide value as coach to my university's club and help them continue to grow and succeed. 

4) Start branching out into local tournaments, potentially some bfls.

5) To help anyone who steps on my boat to try and break a PB of any kind.

1. Move my son from bluegill fishing to bass fishing 

2. Fish more soft plastics. I tend to stick with my jigs, crankbaits, spinners etc. I want to try more soft plastics

Hi folks. Been lurking a while but first post. My 2017 goal is fairly simple.  I'm looking to buy my "first" boat. I use first loosely because I had a small flat bottom years ago, but am looking to get my first real adult boat.