38 minutes ago, basss said:

 

I've not.  Maybe I should add that as one of my 2017 fishing goals.

 

We usually fish on local waters in the morning and in the later afternoon, but not fish all the way through.

 

There are two different trips I go on.  One is with a larger group of guys that's pretty relaxed.  We fish a decent amount and hit a lot of different lakes each day.  We also like to have a good time at night which means some mornings can be slow.

 

The other trip I go on is usually with just one guy sometimes we invite another guy or two.  We only fish one body of water and get up at sunrise and hop on the boat to start fishing right away.  We'll come back to the cabin to eat breakfast and grab some snacks for the afternoon.  Depending on the fishing we'll go back to the cabin again for another meal or we just stay out on the water.  We will fish until sun set and then head in to clean fish and make supper.  By the time we get done eating it's already about 11pm.  This trip is almost all fishing with very little time for drinking at the cabin and screwing around.  We'll be on the water from 6am to 9pm with about an hour or two of breaks throughout the day.

 

That seems like too much time on the water but it flies by and I wish I could be out even longer when the trip is over.

1 hour ago, Hawkeye21 said:

 

There are two different trips I go on.  One is with a larger group of guys that's pretty relaxed.  We fish a decent amount and hit a lot of different lakes each day.  We also like to have a good time at night which means some mornings can be slow.

 

The other trip I go on is usually with just one guy sometimes we invite another guy or two.  We only fish one body of water and get up at sunrise and hop on the boat to start fishing right away.  We'll come back to the cabin to eat breakfast and grab some snacks for the afternoon.  Depending on the fishing we'll go back to the cabin again for another meal or we just stay out on the water.  We will fish until sun set and then head in to clean fish and make supper.  By the time we get done eating it's already about 11pm.  This trip is almost all fishing with very little time for drinking at the cabin and screwing around.  We'll be on the water from 6am to 9pm with about an hour or two of breaks throughout the day.

 

That seems like too much time on the water but it flies by and I wish I could be out even longer when the trip is over.

 

Nice.  Both sound like great trips.

Enjoy every minute that I'm out fishing.

Take my grandkids (and great-grandkids) fishing more.

Pass along my love of the outdoors and fishing to as many people as possible.

 

Tom

I am joining up with a small 6 tournament buddy circuit, so my goals changed a bit.

Learn all I can, and expand my jig and crankbait fishing knowledge. 

I had never thrown a jig prior to Thanksgiving weekend last year, so I have a long way to go. This past weekend was nice enough that I got out for 4-5 hours and played around with a jig and a couple trailers in clear water, not really fishing as much as experimenting with how things looked in the water. I did have one bass follow the jig up to the bank at one point, so I must have done something partly right, now to get her to eat it lol 

I recently moved from Virginia Beach and flat land to the mountains of Virginia, so some of my goals reflect the move. These goals are NOT in order of priority.

 

1. Find at least 3 small ponds that I can get permission to fish when I only have a few hours free

 

2. Fish as many local lakes as I possibly can. Lovill's Creek is the only one in the county.

 

3. Fish the New River for smallmouth and musky

 

4. Fish as many of the trout streams here as I possibly can as often as I can.

 

5. Catch at least one citation sized fish in a different species category than I already have

 

6. Work on deeper presentations (deep cranks and drop shot, e.g.)

 

7. Fish a jig more and polish that aspect of my skills

 

8. Go a year without buying a rod or reel (This will be the hardest)

 

As far as enjoying my time on the water and being satisfied with nature's splendor no matter what my angling success, that's a lesson I learned long ago. 

to just fish....

1. Weigh five fish in a tournament

2. Finish top 20 in points

3. Finish in the money at regoinals

4. Spend 30 minutes practicing/preparing daily

5. Listen to what the fish are telling me

 

More and bigger bass.

My number one goal is to catch a 7lb smallie. 7's are starting to show up more and more. New state record is 7.4. It's doable. I have talked to angler's that have caught a 7+ on my home lake with pictures to prove it. Both were released. 2 others were caught this past summer but fell just short on certified scales. I honestly will take a 6+. My PB is 5-13 but I had a 6+ hooked that broke off at the boat. I was heart broken because I knew what I had on the line. It was a lesson learned. Too light of line(10lb) in that dirty of water for a reaction bait. My other goals are to learn the lake above and below the water as much a possible because it's so vast and to learn to use my Lowrance properly. Both of those goals go hand in hand. I also want to try to learn new techniques.  Examples would be the A-rig. I own several but have never made a cast with one! Learn how to fish deep would be another. Right now, I drop shot these fish or throw a tube bait but there are several other methods that I need to learn or at least try. Deep cranking, I own them but don't have the right rod and reel setup. Using a scrounger head, again I own them but never seem to tie on one in deep situations. A-mart swears by them.  Underspins, I own them but again never seem to tie one on. The last is using the flutter spoon. As a kid, I threw a spoon all the time in the shallow lakes and ponds where I grew up. Out here, I seem to gravitate to tube baits, senkos, swimbaits, spinnerbaits, dropshots, jerkbaits,and walking the dog type topwaters. I never throw the dang spoon especially in deep situations. So basically, one of my main goals this year to learn new methods and NOT get in a rut fishing only my confidence baits. Last year, I tied on a Mister Twister. The plain old grub that I threw all the time as a kid. I out fished my partner 3-1. He  didn't have any and was stubborn and continued to fish his swimbait. So that would be a another goal, DON't get stubborn and continue to fish baits that aren't working.

Well since this will be my first spring to fish I'd like to get on the bite and get on it fast, but id also like to learn a lot more since I don't know much. I'd also like to catch somthing to replace my pb with is 2.8 lb. I'm working with a guy at my new job that seems to know quit a bit about fishing so hopefully I can team up with him and he can teach me some new things. 

Another goal of mine is to figure out how to locate bass better on the Mississippi River.  Fished in a tourney last year for the first time and we struggled big time.  It's a completely different game trying to find bass on the river compared to a pond or lake.

I hope to learn how to read, find and fish underwater structure in lakes better. Anyone can cruise the shore and shallows and see what's what, but I have no experience finding points, humps, flats, ledges, drop off etc on lakes. Learning that will also make it so I can fish any water and find seasonal locations without casting blindly.

My main problem is that I don't have electronics and I only have a canoe.... so this may be a long process.

2 hours ago, Hawkeye21 said:

Another goal of mine is to figure out how to locate bass better on the Mississippi River.  Fished in a tourney last year for the first time and we struggled big time.  It's a completely different game trying to find bass on the river compared to a pond or lake.

I attended the weigh of the Bassmaster amateur qualifying event for the classic several years back at Quincy Illinois . The Mississippi was badly flooded and most anglers were skunked . The winner found a  depression on  an island , no one came close to him . 

 

I use to fish the Mississippi a lot , probably havent in ten years . " Rock"  was the pattern most days .