Now that the snow is flying, and 2011 is on the horizon, how was your 2010 fishing season?? ??? I had a real good season. ;) Caught a lot of good bass. I learned new things and honed techniques that I already was using. 8) Found some new spots that hold some good fish. 8) It was always nice to get out. I only fished a handful of tournaments with the kids and had fun when I did. After all it's all about the fun. I fished with the family more this year than in the past couple. It was great. Can't wait until 2011.
BD ;D
I was pretty happy with the past year fishing. I did make it up to St Clair the week before the open in May. First couple days were slow but the second two were a lot of fun. Caught some of them off beds for the first time there, for me. Even caught a few 5 pounders. I didn't think I had the patience to fish jerkbaits on St. Clair with ALL that water, but when the fish say that's what they want.... you go with it. lololol
I don't fish tournaments except for the DK opens. The spring one was great because I got to meet a bunch of the members for the first time. Plus the food after was awesome (thanks again to the cooks and coordinators) I (we) didn't do too well during the tourney, but I got a 5 pounder with Tcook and he landed the biggest smallie I've ever seen (7lb 4oz) while we were there that same weekend. Bassassasin and I did pretty well on a tough fishing day for the Fall open with second place on White Lake.
My home lake was pretty tough most of the year. Seemed like Hamlin lake was just "off" this summer. Crappie fishing was pretty good and I hit a bunch of hungry smallies at dusk one evening on topwater that was a absolute blast with my nephew.
I tried casting Pere Marquette Lake for salmon for the first time and had some decent success. Looking forward to trying it again next September.
The best part of last year was making a trip to the Burt/Mullet area for my first time ever. I can't believe I'm almost 49 and hadn't been there before. Guess the size and distance (5 1/2 hours) intimidated me. Luckily Tcook met me up there and showed me a couple spots to help cut down on the learning curve. Thanks Tim. I made it back up a second time for just a couple days and again had some success. I'll be going back next October. I've caught more 5 pound smallies than I ever have this year. I don't often get to fish these trophy waters, but I'm working on it !!! ;) These memories will hold me over through the winter........... I hope lololol
My 2010 season was pretty good. I fished several lakes that I have never been on. The spring DK Open was the ultimate for me. I have been dreaming of being on that lake for years, but didn't have a boat for it at that time. My "guide", Bass_Cat , put me on some fish, and really made the trip fun for me.
I got to upgrade my boat this year. Also got to buy some nice rain gear, electronics for the boat, and some really nice fishing gear.
I didn't catch the numbers of fish this year that I did last year. I did catch nicer fish, though. I tried several new baits and techniques for the first time this year. I have really learned alot from several of you guys on here, whether through conversation on the forum, and from some of you on the water. My biggest bass this year was 5 1/4 pounds. Actually was the biggest one I've ever landed. I lost one on the Grand River that made it look tiny. Major bummer, but it really lit a fire in me. I found a good cold weather spot for some smallies this year, and tore them up a couple hours at a time through October and early November. Had some of my best days number wise in that spot. All were smallies.
I learned a lot about driving a glass bass boat that moves out pretty decent verses my turd Bass Tracker that I started the year off with. As a matter of fact, I took mikesmiph out, and his exact words when the boat got back in the water were, "That was an interesting wave crossing!" HA ha ha! Thanks for hanging in there, Mike. I had the embarrassment of a boat that wanted to stall out on me when I took FFJeff out on White. I also had the pleasure of bombing a wicked boat wake on White in a 20 foot Triton. That kinda hurt, Bob. I even broke a rod in that same weekend. That also was the first time I fished in the rain. Never had a good suit till this year, and haven't really fished many tourneys.
Most importantly, though, I got my son out to catch his first few bass this year. Those are memories I will never forget. I got to do a lot of fishing with my dad as well. He's my number one fishing partner. The boy's not that into it yet. My time on the lake with family was the most important.
Here's to 2011!!! Hope it's good for everybody.
For me
It was a so so year
Caught my personal best LM and SM this year
But over all I ended up fishing to deep most of the time
Live and learn I guess
Next year
My plans are to work the shallow with the deep
And fish deep with the shallow till I find them,
I had some really great days on the water this year with some great friends and had a decent tournament season. I fine tuned a lot of presentations and made pretty good decisions all year. I caught most of my fish on a jig again but I think just about every type of lure in my tackle box contributed to my success at some point this year.
These were the warmest water temperatures I really remember and it seemed to move the fish slightly from some of their typical spots. With the warmer water I also spent a lot of time taking care my fish and was able to fine tune that a little as well.
Fall was kinda off for me still haven't figured that one out but the wed nighters on the portage chain were a blast this year!
Can't wait till spring but I'm also looking forward to getting out on the ice and laying the smack down on some gills this week!
I had a pretty good year overall. I didn't catch the numbers that I have the last several years but my average bass size really improved.
My accomplishments:
Personal best LM and SM (~5.5 lb)
Getting better at jig fishing and deep water
Improving my skills with the electronics
I am now fluent with my baitcasters
Best trip:
Manistee for King Salmon in early October (14# hen and 8# jack - my first two salmon). Next year we'll go later but that was the only time I had free.
Goals for 2011:
Install and learn my new Humminbird 798SI
Hit some of the bigger inland lakes (Hamlin, Muskegon, Burt/Mullet)
Finally make it onto St. Clair
Fish a tournament or two (weather permitting)
Getting my tackle organized after stocking up at unnamed (http://www.greatlakesbass.com/forum/index.php?topic=11129.0) and Bass Tackle Depot
My friend and I started out the season right on opening day. We have never fished in tournaments, and our plan for the year was to learn Sanford lake so we could enter the tournaments next season.
My buddy owns a nice 18 ft SeaRay with I/O motor. We took out the open bow seats and mounted a flat platform up front and a Minn-Kota trolling motor. Boat is almost just like a bass boat now except we still have not figured out a live well yet.
Sanford proved to be a great lake. We were very careful having the Inboard/Outboard motor getting around the lake at first but once you learn the channels you can cruise around pretty safely.
We Fished Sanford probably 15 or so times before they lowered the water level and we had to choose to fish elsewhere. We were pulling an easy 5 keepers in a 3-6 hour trip out to the lake. Mostly using crank baits. We have not perfected our Jigging skills yet, but had no problems ripping some nice 3-5 LB keepers easily. Rarely did we get stumped, only on the really hot days with the water temp being real warm. We found a few personal spots, and really honed our skills in on finding fish along the channel edges. My personal best for season opener was probably only a 4.5 lb 18inch LM.
By August the Smallies started biting. On Aug 4th my buddy pulled a master angler 21 Inch SM out one night just at dark. We were yanking SM out all day.
By mid august we were forced to head to Wixom to hone our skills for the rest of the season. We also want to learn Wixom since we know the local bass clubs fish both lakes. We had casually fished Wixom about 10 times before and had very little luck when it came to consistent fishing. We hit up each side of the lake and just began to learn some of the good spots on each side. We had our best luck in the Allbright Shores area. We were able to pull some 4-6 LB LUNKERS out near the boat launch there. I had my personal best a 19 inch 5+LB LM. I pulled at least 3 18+ inch fish from that area during the season.
Late in the season my buddies OLD Hummingbird fish finder broke and we had to stick to what we already knew because not knowing water temp or depth really dampened our ability to stay on the drop-offs. It did help us learn to do well without one though. We fished Wixom about 20 times before calling it quits. Learned the movement of the vegetation and how it effected the fish.
I caught more Bass this past season, than every other year combined. So I am definitely a newer angler.
My buddy also got out to Portage Lake, the Hardy Dam Pond, and Caseville Lake Huron area.
We had some awesome fun fishing for smallies close to shore in the Port Austin Area. Big rocks will break props, we learned that the hard way, but had no problem catching fish, even in 3 foot waves. My buddy even hooked a 40+ inch Pike in 3 foot waves out there. I learned that Smallmouths fight way harder in the BIG LAKE than they do in the inland lakes. Even the small 6-10 inchers were mad fighters!.
Overall 2010 was my best fishing year ever. I really hope to get out and rock it in 2011. I want to learn to JIG and use finesse bait better. I did not do enough of that this year and know I need to in order to fish like the pros. In 2011 I made my buddy vow we would try Lake St Claire at least once since I saw some of the fish on this site and vow I NEED TO CATCH FISH THAT BIG!
We are gonna get ourselves a live-well and we will see you old-timers on Sanford and Wixom for the weekly tournaments! Maybe even in some of the bigger tournaments out there.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/frogmush/fish/59798_559916812132_207100320_32542715_3822299_n.jpg) Wixom 9/26/2010
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/frogmush/fish/33921_5630sn.jpg)
Wixom 10/30/2010 Last fish of the season for my buddy. Nice smallmouth and a great fight!
For me it was a mixed year.
I didn't fish as often as I'd like, but then who does? I caught some nice fish, but it seems this year I didn't catch as many.
My usual places just didn't seem to hold the fish this year, and I never figured them out as well as I'd like to. Still learnin' I guess.
My two favorite lakes in Livingston County, just didn't produce for me like past years. But then, that forced me to seek new lakes, and new spots so it wasn't all bad.
I still haven't fished Kent with McCarter, nor St. Clair with Wayne, but one of these days.......
I joined the Downriver Bass Club. What a great group of guys. I fished water with them I'd have never found on my own. I made some new, and really good friends.
I got a new/used boat. I just love that boat. It's a 2004 185 VS Ranger.
I got to put new electronics on it.
I picked up another St. Croix Avid for drop shotting. Turned out to be a great purchase.
I learned a new technique for wacky rigging with the ichy (?) jig head. Worked pretty good for me. Helped me to catch fish when nothing else seemed to work.
All in all, any time on the water is just precious to me. I love it. Sharing it with good friends just makes it all the better.
In my club - I started strong and had a few good tournaments. A team win and a couple individual top 5's but missing a tournament screwed my changes for a good overall year.
Had a fun time at the GLB tournament on St. Clair in the spring - thing Luke and I came in 3rd. I was able to get my nephew out and he caught a big sheephead. That was a highlight to be able to introduce him to tournament fishing.
Was able to get a couple guys over to upper straits and met a couple fellas. Helped with a veterans tournament and helped with the big ten championship tournament.
Got more comfortable with jerkbaits and cranks.
Caught some monster gills, big walleye on wolverine and first (and hopefully last) dogfish.
Overall - a pretty successful and fulfilling year
I had an awesome year!!! Bought my first fiberglass boat a 96' procraft with a 150 merc that ran great all year. Caught quite a few fish almost all smallmouth. Won my club angler of the year. First ever 1st place in a tournament. First 2 ever big bass wins. Learned once again to never give up even if there's only 30 seconds left in an 8hr tourney. Probably the best year i've ever had in bass fishing. Hopefully next year is just as great!!!
I had a GREAT year!! I learned a ton on the big water this year. Caught a ton of big fish and met lots of great people. The only bad for the year was the BASS OPEN where I swung for the fence and ended up striking out. Lost several big fish and didn't move when I should've (have to learn to listen to my first instinct). I fish about 5 days a week on the big water for the last two years and I've come to the conclusion that I'll never know every place on the river let alone lake erie and st. clair. For 2011 I'm looking forward continuing learning the big water and cashing a few more checks.
It was a strange year for me. I started off living in Saranac Lake, NY. There the bass season doesn't start until the 3rd week of June and I got very little feedback from the DNR in my attempts to talk to them about it. The local lakes (Saranac Chain) are probably the most beautiful lakes I have ever been on so I just went out and fished for perch or something like that. If anybody is ever looking for a place to visit I would suggest that area. Champlain's season starts early so I went there a couple of times too.
I moved to Mississippi at the end of May and thought that the fishing would be great with visions of cypress trees and lilly pad fields all over the place. I found that the local lakes have all been taken over by grass carp so there's no vegetation at all and the bass fishing is really tough. I never did figure much out on the local lakes and hard a hard time catching much of anything.
Since I was down there I figured I better make the most of my time so I did hit Guntersville for one day. That was O.K. but I didn't catch the sack of a lifetime. It was hard to fish since everything looked so good, I probably should have gotten a guide rather than going out there alone. I also made it up to Pickwick one day, which had always been a goal of mine. I did a lot better there and had one over 7#, a couple 4#ers, and a lot of smaller bass. My target was big smallies but the only one I caught was about 6" long.
Then work got really bust after August so I haven't had much time to fish this fall. Luckily some of my time has been in Michigan and I got to fish with McCarter, Fiker, and other friends.
I suppose it wasn't too bad of a year overall but I didn't get nearly as much time on the water as in the past. And I never did make it to 1000 Islands which I really wanted to do. Also it was a tough transition going from smallies in super deep lakes up North to largies in shallow, muddy lakes down South.
It was a tough year for me....It seemed that I could find fish but my execution and decision making was weak...
My boat stayed in one peice and I didn't have any major incidents on the big water so that is always good...
Next year I am going to cut back on tourney fishing a little and get back to fun fishing...
I actually want to do a little more walleye fishing in the spring this year...
It looks like the state fish offs and some other tournaments are going to be on Saginaw bay this year....I don't know if I have the resources, time or energy to go up and try to learn another large body of water....
I started out in the hole being unemployed at the start of the season. This had some positives though. Refurbishing older equipment and using some of the hundreds of lures that have never touched water made me try a lot of different techniques. Among those was the pig and jig which I finally was pretty successful with. After going back to work I was on 1st shift, 2nd shift, 3rd shift and split shifts so I never was able to establish any consistent fishing strategies (probably an excuse ???). Only fished the Hawg Hunt and one other tourny. I again, for the 3rd. year had hull problems with the boat (long story) and it sits at the dealership awaiting a decision as to how to fix it.
So... the good, the bad and the ugly. But lots of good for many, which is nice!
Im in the process of getting ready for another year of donations! ;D I cant wait! 8)
That's the spirit!!
Wow, this was an amazing year for me. It was both my best, and worst year at the same time.
I have been fishing tournaments for ten years or so with pretty good success. Everything has been on lakes I know pretty well. I always fish the way I like with my confidence lures. I usually cash, sometimes 1st. I fished about once a week for years now. I made the decision to take it to the next level.
I fished an entire weekday division, and a few different weekend divisions. I also did some sporatic events here and there just because I had the day off. On my Thursday division I fished all but one event. I was not nearly as competitive as I though I'd be. 11 of the 12 lakes we fished I had either never been on, or fished one time years ago. The one lake I did know was Maceday, we brought in a pretty good sack out there, but still didn't win. Got 2nd place big bass numurous times, but that doesn't pay. I fished probably 30 lakes or more this year that were brand new to me. I also fished many new techniques with new lures. I also learned quite a bit about fishing much deeper than I have in the past. I now know that good electronics can be really important and mine are not good. It still usually reads way off. I also got to fish 4 days a week and met some new friends. Fished a few times with Mojo and once with Mikesmiph wich was my first time in another persons boat.
On to next year. I am really going to fish a lot agian next year, but I'm going to approach it much differently than this year. I am still in the Thursday division, mainly because those guys are all nice, and fun to fish with. Also because next year 75% of the lakes are ones that I am comfortable on. As for other tournaments, I will make sure that I fish lakes I know, or that I learn them 1st. I will stick to what I'm good at while fishing tournaments. I will either get good electronics before the season, or Mojo will throw mine in the lake. I may give him my old one to throw in the lake anyways. Hopefully I'll even have a bigger boat next year. If not, I'm ok with that too. I'd like to get out with a few more of you guys also. I'm still going to keep learning next year, but I'm going to do it while practicing lakes that I already know. I learned so much this year, about fishing, and about myself, and it's really brought me a long way. I'm already planning next season so that it's all scheduled in advance.
Please get video when Mojo throws the fishfinder in the lake. I can use that!
Three Peat with the TBF at Divisionals and Rufus and I won the Lake Drive Classic for 14,000.00 which is amazing except our wifes took it all.....LOL
ok back to how the year went, had a good wife who suggested to me why don't we go fishing? she got to be a good gill fisherwoman and i would fish bass out of the front of the boat. hit dewart almost all year and she ended up with a 11" gill the boat biggest that we measured except my 24 year old son caught one that was 2 or 3 " bigger than that! went to measure it on my board and she flipped back in the water!
had a Beachy tourney on syracuse in october to honor our grandpa who's been gone for 20 years and my son was on fire for the smallies, after the touney was over he caught one that would've won the tourney- just a trophy but still good to spend time with my family.
now his new wife likes to fish too and we went on dewart in november and it was cold!! and they both stuck it out and she caught a 15" smallie to beat his 13" lol what a riot!! now all my "kids want stutzies for their christmas stockings. you indiana guys know what they are. wanted to do more muskie fishing but that'll wait to next year so i'll be ok.
everbody have a good christmas and God bless..karol
2010 started off great. We fished the opening tournament on Lobdell and won with nearly 16 lbs (including big bass for the tourney). We managed to keep placing in the money for the next month or so.
However, after the first 4 weeks, we began to fall off the pace a little finishing just out of the money for the next several weeks.
We finished off the year a little stonger by winning a few tournaments and placing in the money for most of them.
I wish we could have had a better middle part of the year, but overall I cannot complain.
With any luck and God willing, I be around to enjoy the 2011 fishing season........
caught my pb, 6.6 smallie and was good enough for Big Bass in the wonderland open in August,we had 2-6 lb fish in that tourney, I sank in the Northern Open as I went for the long ball and fish didn't cooperate, won our classic on Belleville with almost 14 lbs, wasn't on Erie very much this summer as I focused on St. Clair more, didn't blow a motor or L U so 2010 wasn't to bad, plan on fishing more in 11, hurry up spring !! good luck to everyone in 2011
Well, my season started off like it usually does. The first tournament was the DK Open on St. Clair. Big fun, even though we (fished it with tjrock) finished in the middle of the pack. He did catch his first muskie, a 45"+ dandy (nice first "ski"). I usually start slow on St. Clair, and pick it up as the season goes on. Didn't happen this year (more on that later).
Started my NBAA weeknight season pretty slow. We (partner Mike, and I) caught fish, but that is about all that you can say. My favorite local lake, Lake Ovid, gave us the blues early on. Lake Lansing didn't treat us much better.
My next excursion to St. Clair started about normal (for me). My partner Steve, and I, hit a couple of my favorite spots at the "Mile Roads", catching a couple of solid keepers. I was, however starting to hear a ticking noise when I started my big motor. It would go away when I put it in gear, and I made a mental note to take a good look when I got home.
After spending more time than we should have, we decided that it was time for a major move. We made a decision to head for Anchor Bay (where I had a couple of good spots in the GPS). About a quarter mile pass the mouth of the Clinton River, IT happened. BANG!!! The engine revved, but no forward motion. I shut it off, and tilted it up so that I could see the prop. Still there. No holes. I started it back up. Engine sounded fine until I put it in gear. Immediate conclusion, lower unit GRENADED.
So, we dropped the trolling motor and started working our way back towards the ramp. Kind of hard to concentrate on fishing as I was counting the $ that this was going to cost me. Just then, Steve hooks into a nice fish. Okay, so maybe we won't have to go in with less than a limit. Then another, and another, and another. We ended up filling out our limit, and culling to a second limit. Not in the money, but respectable, and I was able to get back to the weigh-in under my own power (trolling motor).
After plunking down the bucks to order a new lower unit, I installed it, and was back on the water in about two weeks. Now, it's break-in time, ten hours worth. Ten hours of just running takes forever, especially when you can't go over 3500 RPMS for the first five hours. I also found out that trying to stay under 3500 hours on a busy day at St. Clair means that you will get WET!
What this did do was it forced me to concentrate more on getting back to the basics, and spending more time fishing the local lakes. This proved to be beneficial to me as my partner and we began to improve our performance in our Thursday night NBAA series. We managed to move up in the standings, finishing up in third place overall (this division averaged about 15 boats per tournament). This was on the strength of a sixth, a fourth, a third, a second, and two wins at the end of the season. We had Big Bass three times, including my 5.18 which ended up being the Big Bass of the Division for the year. I am looking forward to going to Kentucky Lake (for the first time) this spring.
I also managed to fish two of my bass club tournaments, this year. One was at a lake that I have always wanted to fish (but never had the opportunity), Secord Lake. Interesting place. I did not think that a lake would be so (recreationally) busy during the week. I will, however, go back and fish it some more.
The downside was that I only made it to St. Clair about four times this year. I hope to improve on that for 2011.
On the plus side (I hope), I just heard from the boat dealer that I used to work (on their Pro Staff) for. They are getting back into Bass Boats, and need help at the shows this winter. This will give me a chance to make a few bucks to put into the "fishing fund" for 2011.
I'll be working at Novi, so if you see me, stop and say Hey!
My season was so-so. I did meet and start fishing with a new buddy from church which was nice. He's slowly but surely turning to an addict like me. ;D The boat did fine all season, but gas was expensive, curtailing my time on the water. All in all, I would have liked to be out more than I was able to. But it's for a good reason... This was my first summer with kids, which kept me off the water a bit, but gave me many more rewards and was so worth it. And I got to spend some time with them on the water, which was a blast. I got some awesome pictures of my two new little fishing buddies. Another positive was that I rediscovered my love of Lake St. Clair. So I intend to spend most of my on-the-water time on St. Clair next year, perhaps even starting a St. Clair club. I just love this body of water. My only boat issue is the fact that apparently I need a new Throttle Position Sensor, which is hopefully a cheap and easy fix. So next year the plan is to spend more time fishing the big water and more time with my favorite people, my wonderful daughters out there doing something I just love...chasing Smallies and unhooking fish for my munchkins. Life is good.
Got to be part of the 3-peet with jcox at the TBF Regional on Patoka lake. I managed to hit my goal while there: to bring at least one fish to the scales all 3 days. 1 fish day one, 2 fish day two, and one fish on day three. 10+ pounds total. Was one of only 21 anglers out of 74 to bring a fish in all 3 days. So I guess I'd say that was a successful trip. Patoka Lake remains one of the toughest bodies of water I've ever fished, and I'm in no real hurry to return!
Spent a solid week at Table Rock Lake with long time friend Ed Dyer and 5 other fishing buddies in April. Ed managed a LM near 8 lbs one night, the largest bass I've ever been part of catching (yes, I netted it!!). We caught a lot of fish and had a great time. Looking forward to this coming April for sure.
Finished more tournaments in the money than last year (actually finished the season in the "black"). Finished 2nd in the AOY race at the Wed. night Gander Mountain "Braggin Bass" tournies (3rd year in a row at the #2 spot). Took 3rd and had big bass at the Classic. Finished 1st in the north division AOY for COTM's and took 2nd at the Classic on Cadilac/Mitchell. Struggled big time at the Lake Drive events for sure. Looking forward to this season though... redemption!!! Finished 4th overall in the Sportspersons International club (2nd year in a row at #4) after leading it for most of the season... gotta get my late season patterns down!!! Became an official Pro Staff for Nemesis Baits. Can't wait to see what's new from them for '11.
Started dating my childhood "crush" last Jan. Still with her. What an awsome woman... and she can fish!! I need a co-ed tournament to fish with her... we'd be shoe-ins!!
2010 was my worst season since starting tourny fishing. My favorite lake Cass really let me down. Made a lot of bad decisions on the water. Since I fish alone most of the time I have no one to blame. Spent most of Sept and Oct fun fishing and learing new techniques. Looking forward to next year to use them.
Fished a couple of KLBA's and had fun.
Guess if it was easy everyone would be doing it.
The highlight of the summer was we were able to celebrate my son's 1 year being cancer free.
Quote from: dartag on December 18, 2010, 06:47:44 PM
The highlight of the summer was we were able to celebrate my son's 1 year being cancer free.
Dartag - That puts everything into perspective. Reagardless of the year we have had, nothing can be as good as reaching that milestone. Congrats on the 1+ year and here is to many more years living cancer free.
See you in the spring.
I second that!
My best year I do believe. Not only tournament fishing but fun fishing as well. Took 1st in a club tourney and cashed checks in all but 2 bigger circuit tournaments here on the west side. I had a great time on Charlevoix and the bay this year, especially this fall. I never really got to experience the fall smallmouth bite up there till this year and it makes me think twice about wanting to move south where i can fish all year. Got to try a lot of new tackle this year which was fun. And no fiberglass work this winter which is a plus (and a shock) for me as I live near the Grand. Now I have to break out my stupid little pole and drill a hole in the ice to keep my sanity.