30 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

Same as every year - to NOT set any fishing goals for the year  😉 

 

You're a Joe Dirter, as you just keep on keeping on.

On 12/13/2025 at 9:18 PM, Gutierrez said:

Start now so that momentum carries you into the next year 

 

Who said I was waiting?  Meet my personal trainer:

 

30 minutes ago, Glenn said:

 

Who said I was waiting?  Meet my personal trainer:

 

I can almost feel the inevitable muscle soreness from here.

Way To Go @Glenn

A-Jay

 

@Glenn: Please tell your trainer that if likes to carry canoes at four a.m. through the woods, I'm happy to take him fishing.

Actually, he really wants to go fishing.  I'll let him know. 

 

13 minutes ago, Glenn said:

Actually, he really wants to go fishing.  I'll let him know. 

 

 

He looks so strong that if he prefers, he could drag a bog to my canoe. 

He doesn’t look like my trainer. Mine is the manager of Texas Road house 

Holy side of beef @Glenn, I don’t know if I’d want to be on the wrong side of a skunk when you go fishing with him. haha

I'm adding a new goal. I've been reading various posts about how bass learn lures, so I think I need to switch up the lures I fish. To this end, I bought black spinnerbaits instead of my white ones, chatterbaits, and hard jerkbaits. 

As I head into year 4 of boat fishing in April/May of 2026.....

1. Continue to revel in and take in all the awesomeness that being on the water offers (at least 40 times from April to October)

2. Take in a few night fishing excursions (thank you to all that have/will reply to my post in regard to night fishing, fantastic information !) 

3. Explore two new lakes (ideally Lake Mille Lacs and/or Leech Lake as those are superb smallmouth lakes, yet that might not be realistic at this point in my fishing journey, so I am open to other lakes as well)

4. Pursue and catch a 20 plus inch LMB/SMB - I seem stuck at 19/19.5 inches - ideally catch a 5lb plus LMB/SMB (I went from catching 64 fish in 2024 to a little over 230 fish in 2025, but my focus in 2026 will be more on size than on numbers) 

5. Learn how to AND use my (old school) electronics (I basically use them for water temp/water depth/traveling speed/travel direction and that is it) - I mark my catches on a paper map (photo copied) - really should be marking them on the electronics (yet I have to learn how to do that first !) 

6. Continue to learn and grow and ask questions and work thru the many mistakes I make

7. Stay healthy, stay in the boat

8 minutes ago, WaskaCrank12 said:

Explore two new lakes (ideally Lake Mille Lacs and/or Leech Lake as those are superb smallmouth lakes, yet that might not be realistic at this point in my fishing journey, so I am open to other lakes as well)

4. Pursue and catch a 20 plus inch LMB/SMB - I seem stuck at 19/19.5 inches

 

If you are able to fish Mille Lacs, you'll likely land that 20" or bigger smallie. It's a world-class brown bass-ery. Is the upper Mississippi an option?

@Swamp Girl - yes, Mille Lacs seems to be "The lake" in MN for big smallies - just a little intimidating in size (over 130,000 acres) and from what I read if it is windy (which it often is) then it can be treacherous -- Mille Lacs is about 2.5/3 hours northeast of me

The Upper Mississippi is about 2.5/3 hours southeast of me -- I could dunk in at Hudson, WI and go north or south from there -- LaCrosse, WI is 4.5/5 hours southeast of me and I have heard that area is fertile smallie territory as well

So - it will take some planning, decisions to stay over-night or not and building my confidence -- I want to be ready and confident that I am worthy of going to these locations and seeking these bass - so it might be this year (26') or next (27') 

Both the Mississippi and Mille Lacs are daunting. Big river. Big lake. And the Mississippi comes with current and wing dams and other dams. And Mille Lacs, having no windbreaks, comes with big wind. You might want to consider hiring a guide for both bodies of water for one day each. Then pin the locations you fish with them and return to those spots. As you caught bass and gained skills and confidence, you could branch out from there, looking for similar spots and trying other areas on hunches, research, or tips.

Get @Fishing Rhino out on my boat. He’s in his ‘80’s, doesn’t drive & can’t run his Nitro anymore. He’s got dementia creeping in quickly. 
 

I got him out once last year & he caught a 4#.
 

Hopefully it wasn’t his last trip.

 

Additionally, I’d like to fish with more members in ‘26.

2 minutes ago, DogBone_384 said:

Get @Fishing Rhino out on my boat. He’s in his ‘80’s and doesn’t drive & can’t run his Nitro anymore. He’s got dementia creeping in quickly. 
 

I got him out once last year & he caught a 4#.
 

Hopefully it wasn’t his last trip.

 

Additionally, I’d like to fish with more members in ‘26.

When you see him next please tell him I said Hello. 
 

Thanks 

 

 

Mike

Well, as the consummate junk fisherman my plan is actively limit the number of techniques that I use this year.  
 

Previously I had gone a bit crazy trying to do a bit of everything.  Well as Bruce Lee once said:

 

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times”

 

So the goal being to simplify I’m going to keep it to the bladed jig, jig, t-rig, crankbait and wacky rig.  
 

In this same vein I’m planning on sticking mostly to ponds I’ve fished previously.  This will probably be tougher since I often will forgo the familiar in favor of the novel.  
 

I guess we shall see.  As another famous fighter once said:  

 

“Everybody has a plan until they get hit in the mouth”

1 hour ago, bp_fowler said:

Well, as the consummate junk fisherman my plan is actively limit the number of techniques that I use this year.  
 

Previously I had gone a bit crazy trying to do a bit of everything.  Well as Bruce Lee once said:

 

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times”

 

So the goal being to simplify I’m going to keep it to the bladed jig, jig, t-rig, crankbait and wacky rig.  
 

In this same vein I’m planning on sticking mostly to ponds I’ve fished previously.  This will probably be tougher since I often will forgo the familiar in favor of the novel.  
 

I guess we shall see.  As another famous fighter once said:  

 

“Everybody has a plan until they get hit in the mouth”

 

BP, I'm glad you're sticking with your backwoods ponds. One day you won't be able to reach them anymore, so keep fishing them while you can. 

To chill out this year. No stress, worry, or anxiety about fishing. Fishing in many areas is far tougher than it once was due to fishing pressure. You can drive yourself crazy trying to catch fish when they just aren't biting. Sometimes you throw everything in the tackle box at them and they just don't bite. It can leave you frustrated and stressed out after awhile. I'm determined to chill out this year.

11 minutes ago, 33oldtimer said:

To chill out this year. No stress, worry, or anxiety about fishing. Fishing in many areas is far tougher than it once was due to fishing pressure. You can drive yourself crazy trying to catch fish when they just aren't biting. Sometimes you throw everything in the tackle box at them and they just don't bite. It can leave you frustrated and stressed out after awhile. I'm determined to chill out this year.

Great goal!

On 12/6/2025 at 8:57 AM, scaleface said:

I have some small crankbaits that are difficult to cast. My 2026 goal is to come up with a baitcaster that I can accurately roll cast. I have a 6'6" med light Shimano Compere rod. I need to  come up with a reel  and line combination that matches the rod for easy roll casting.

I would suggest the Tatula BF TW 70. I use 15 # Power Pro braid.

On 12/18/2025 at 2:56 PM, Swamp Girl said:

I'm adding a new goal. I've been reading various posts about how bass learn lures, so I think I need to switch up the lures I fish. To this end, I bought black spinnerbaits instead of my white ones, chatterbaits, and hard jerkbaits. 

I have this goal as well. Underspins and Glide baits are new lures for me so I'm excited to start learning them.

A drop shot? I need to learn it but my mind isn't crazy about it!

1 hour ago, Lottabass said:

I have this goal as well. Underspins and Glide baits are new lures for me so I'm excited to start learning them.

A drop shot? I need to learn it but my mind isn't crazy about it!

Thats a little to steep for me at 300 dollars.

I actually slapped on a light weight Piscifun Phantom and spooled it with 8lb XL just yesterday. Went out in the backyard and it did good. I may have to go with Power Pro or some other braid though, 8 lb test is a little light for where I'll be using it.

1 hour ago, Lottabass said:

I would suggest the Tatula BF TW 70. I use 15 # Power Pro braid.

20 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Thats a little to steep for me at 300 dollars.

I actually slapped on a light weight Piscifun Phantom and spooled it with 8lb XL just yesterday. Went out in the backyard and it did good. I may have to go with Power Pro or some other braid though, 8 lb test is a little light for where I'll be using it.

What ever works, right! I like the braid in the weedy, woody lakes I fish.

On 12/6/2025 at 12:49 PM, Bird said:

I've already started my goal.

Just yesterday I've reduced the amount of inventory I plan to carry in 2026.

 

 

I don't want to change my inventory, I just want to start using it more in 2026. I also want to get my BFS casting reels set up.

Living 40 minutes from the Susky and never fishing it seems like a disservice from what I’m told. I’d say a goal this year is to get on at least twice.

My main goal is to put the time in on my local lake and learn as much as possible without getting frustrated.

Side goal is to get better at reading the Garmin versus just using it to check depths.

My previous fishing goals have generally never materialized. I think maybe I made them too specific. I know that the first letter in the SMART goal school of goal writing states that it should be specific, but hear me out.

I don't want it to be something I can necessarily achieve one day in April and simply check the box and move on. Instead I would like to expand my arsenal of baits and techniques, and even my mindset, but within the framework of working within the conditions that are presented to me at any give time.

For me this year, I think I want to be willing to get back into the heavy cover further than others are willing to go and see if that gets me some quality bites. I don't care . . . much. . . if they get off. I care that I got in there and got them to strike,

The more I have tried to do this in recent years, the more I realize there are bass in places many don't expect them to be. Who'd have thunk that? Now I want to get in there and grapple with them. If the bass wins, It'll just make me want to figure out how to get them out of there.