Fishing 2008 Year in Review

[Skulley]

Well sports fans as 2008 comes to a close let us reminise of how we did throughout the season. 

I myself fished over 100 days this year as I have since the 2003 season consistently.  How many days did you fish this year???  If you fished more than 136, then you fished more than I did and that is respectable as well as admirable.  Out of those 136 days I fished in 2008, I fished big water 112 times.  That means I was on St. Clair and Erie as well as the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers 112 times.  I know how many days I fish because I log my fishing trips as well as techniques, lures used, and other pertinent information that will help me in future trips.

I also tried over 15 to 20 new techniques.  In other words, I tried 15 to 20 new things I learned and read about in magazines, the web, etc., to try to improve my versatility as well as my techniques for putting fish in the boat.  I also was able to teach new techniques to some of the anglers on this forum that I fished with this past year like LaPorte, Got Fish??, and Mojo just to name a few. 

I actually finally tried the dropshot rig this year.  I never really fished it before this year but was able to add it to my arsenal of techniques. 

So here lies the questions to the members of the forum. 
1)  How many days in 2008 did you fish???  Tournaments, fun fishing, practice, etc.  Doesn't matter a day on the water fishing was a day you fished.
2)  What new techniques did you try and master??? or did you do the same ole, same ole because you were trying to boost your confidence fine tuning a technique that you had fished for years.
3)  Did you try any new bodies of water that you had never been on before and how did you do the first time on it???

If there are any other questions the members of the forum can come up with for a thread such as this add them to the lineup.  It only gets more fun from here. 

And above all, may 2009 be a better year for you on the water than 2008.  I hope mine will be............


BD               

[bob620]

bigdog,
         To get that many days on the water, were you in the job bank? ???HAHA  I'm jealous! Just thought I would stir it up a little.

                                                                        Uaw Local 160 Tech Center Design Center
                                                                         Bob Galloway 

[Waterfoul]

I'd say I fished more this year than any other year since I started fishing 35+ years ago.

I lost a LOT of information when my computer crashed a couple months ago... 3 seasons worth of pre-fishing and tournament data... gone in the blink of an eye.  So I'll have to make educated guesses:

I'd say I fished at least 150 days this year.... I fished more days a week than not so I think I'm close.  Finished in the black tourney fishing.  Even when you consider gas, entry fees, tackle, etc... I still finished in the black.  I consider myself lucky as most anglers I know do it more for fun... I would rather MAKE money!

I threw the jig more this year than any other year... mostly in the last half of the season.  Didn't do all that well if you consider my landing percentage but I did get bit on it enough to know that it's something I WILL work harder on next season.  The drop shot and shakey head are still my bread and butter though.

I fished several bodies of water that I had either never been on or had only been one once or twice.  Pentwater Lake, Acrcadia Lake, Upper and Lower Herring, and several smaller lakes in the area are in the "never fished before" category.  Did well on largemouth at Pentwater, awsome smallie fishing on Arcadia, and the Herrings boast some great bass and walleye fishing.  Did well on White Lake (Montague/Whitehall) this year too.  Had only been there 2 times before.

Some bodies of water I definitely want to fish next season:

*St. Clair (made it there 3 times last year... not once this year, which is a great dissapointment!)
*Erie.  Never fished it before.  I have charts and software for it too!  (hint... if anyone wants to take me out... I have all the data!!)
*Grand Traverse Bay.  Been vacationing in the area since I was 10 years old and have never fished it!!  Heck, my parents live there in the summer months now... so I have no excuse!!!
*Long and Green Lakes near Traverse.

[csfishslayer]

Hats off to you big dog. I would love to fish that many days. I got out about twice a week this year. I did try a new lake called crooked lake it's in lake station MI. as for new technic I would have to say top water I did more top water fishing this year and loved it.

[Skulley]

bigdog,
         To get that many days on the water, were you in the job bank? ???HAHA  I'm jealous! Just thought I would stir it up a little.

                                                                        Uaw Local 160 Tech Center Design Center
                                                                         Bob Galloway 

No, Bob I wasn't in the job bank.  I just didn't work any O.T.  I fished at least 4 days a week from ice out to the Thursday after election day.  I fished every Saturday and Sunday and at least two to three days during the week sometimes four if I could get away with it.  I do have a family and my kids are my partners 98% of the time.  My wife's Dad was a big fisherman until he found golf.  So she was used to having him gone fishing when she was growing up.  My lovely bride is an avid golfer so I have to play golf with her at least twice through the season and she accompanies me on quite a few fishing trips.  My son and daughter fish with me quite a bit also.  Yes, I am extremely lucky.........just ask her.   She reminds me often and I don't argue about it. 

I have never been laid off since I started at Chrysler 24 years ago and that is lucky too.  Now I am a Union Steward and have super seniority because of it.  However, it wouldn't matter because I am in the top 10 in seniority in my job classification.  So the only way I could get laid off at this time is if Chrysler went "belly up" and I certainly hope that doesn't happen.  I am also salary union which is a rarity also.  However, all of Chrysler Engineering is salary union.

But now that it's winter, I spend a whole lot of time with the family to make up for all the days I go fishing during the season.  If I counted ice fishing trips, I think I would be over 150 times a year.

My yearly goal is to fish 100 days.  I have achieved that goal every year since 2003.  Why stop now when I am on a roll.

Lucky............darn right I am lucky!!!!!   

BD           

[Durand Dan]

I fished considerably less this year due to costs. However I did manage to get to a few new lakes including St. clair, Secord, Portage and Coldwater. I worked on jig fishing with minimal success. This is something I have to get back to form on. When I first started Bass fishing that was all I used and caught plenty of fish.
I also spent a lot less on tackle and equipment. Hopefully things are going to rebound soon.

[Skulley]

As long as gas prices stay down, I think the cost to go fishing will stay down.  Even though it probably cost me more to fish this year than it ever has, I did do certain things to try to keep the costs down.  Difficult as that was, it still cost more than it ever did. 

The thing that has stuck in my mind is something recently told to me about persons on this forum and the amount of time they spend on it.  This person told me that if the people on this forum spent more time fishing and less time blogging they would become better fisherman.  I have actually heard this from more than one person.  Though that MAY be true.......or MAY not.........I have learned a lot from people on this forum by reading the blogs.   I spend a lot of time on this forum reading and writing stuff, however it seems that I do this more in the winter than I do in the summer as I would rather spend my time on the water than at the computer.  From March to November I know I blog way less than I do from November to March when the water is hard.  As for persons on the forum, I think they are all fine people and fine Americans and that is what makes all of us unique in our own special ways. 

One person who told me this is still trying to be a better fisherman than I.  I have fished with this person before, however his attitude will never be superior to a "die hard" such as myself.  It starts with superior attitude and superior state of mind.  This person doesn't ever go out and try to achieve anything on his own.  He spends more time asking for spots rather than finding his own spots.  I have learned not to tell him anything new.  I have also told him to spend the time and research yourself rather than relying on someone else.  He won't listen.  He is always pumping me for info which I now give him in riddles and as a result because he lacks the analytical mind that is required to solve a riddle, he has digressed rather than advancing his skills.  As much as I would like to help him, I now make him try to stimulate the grey matter.  We will see what happens as the 2009 season will be here before you know it.  I personally think he won't change because in my experience "a leopard doesn't change his spots".
 

BD             

[dashaver63]

I only get out at the most maybe 40 times per season, for me family has to come first. When my children are all grown up I'll get out more, but I'm fine with it for now. The thing I love most about bass fishing is finding and catching my own fish, areas that are new to me on any familiar body of water. Reading my electronics or reading shoreline cover, transition areas and even finding new rockpiles or weed beds I didn't know about. I always tell my son that no matter what happens on a fishing trip, whether we catch fish or not, to try to learn something new to take with you the next time out. I'm getting him involved in a small tournament series this season just to get his feet wet. He'll be 14 in January and already can flip and pitch quite well. He throws crankbaits, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, tubes... you name it, he has probably fished it. And I don't know how he does it, but that kid seems like he can make fish appear fish appear out of thin air. That to me is what fishing in 2008 was about.

[LGMOUTH]

I fished close to that 150 day mark this year. I fished in 68 tournaments and the rest were prefishing and having fun.

Most of my pre-fun fishing was used to fine tune some of my best techniques like the Jerk Bait, Jig and drop shot but later in the year I was working on my newest technique with the C-Flash crank bait with very impressive results. This ended up being my best technique for late summer.

Two new lakes/rivers worth mentioning that I went to in 08. The Ohio river for the NBAA championship. Although we didnt catch big fish, we did catch alot of fish. It was just an awsome expierence to go to a body of water that youve never been to or really heard about and figure it out pretty quickly. The other lake is Cass lk, Ive never been there and was very impressed with it when I went there in Sept. We caught some very impressive smallmouths.

[djkimmel]

I fished close to that 150 day mark this year. I fished in 68 tournaments and the rest were prefishing and having fun.

Most of my pre-fun fishing was used to fine tune some of my best techniques like the Jerk Bait, Jig and drop shot but later in the year I was working on my newest technique with the C-Flash crank bait with very impressive results. This ended up being my best technique for late summer.

Two new lakes/rivers worth mentioning that I went to in 08. The Ohio river for the NBAA championship. Although we didnt catch big fish, we did catch alot of fish. It was just an awsome expierence to go to a body of water that youve never been to or really heard about and figure it out pretty quickly. The other lake is Cass lk, Ive never been there and was very impressed with it when I went there in Sept. We caught some very impressive smallmouths.

YOU'RE STILL ALIVE!!!! I was worried... have those crankbaits come down below $20 yet?!? So many toothy critters... only so much money to go around

[djkimmel]

The thing that has stuck in my mind is something recently told to me about persons on this forum and the amount of time they spend on it.  This person told me that if the people on this forum spent more time fishing and less time blogging they would become better fisherman.  I have actually heard this from more than one person.

NAMES!!! GIVE ME NAMES!!!! I'll set the anti-social characters straight!!!!!!!

What is the big deal with people having a little good, clean sharing time...? Show me someone who doesn't like to, at least occasionally share a story or two with another angler and I'll show you a lonely person who makes anti-social comments... ...besides, not everyone wants the same thing out of the sport as everyone else... that's what makes it great and for so many different people... and some people just like more social contact than others. Not a thing wrong with that.

  Though that MAY be true.......or MAY not.........I have learned a lot from people on this forum by reading the blogs.   I spend a lot of time on this forum reading and writing stuff, however it seems that I do this more in the winter than I do in the summer as I would rather spend my time on the water than at the computer.  From March to November I know I blog way less than I do from November to March when the water is hard.  As for persons on the forum, I think they are all fine people and fine Americans and that is what makes all of us unique in our own special ways. 

BD             

Thanks for having my back BD... I know I can count on you!! I'll have to remember that when I see you at the spring shows!!

[TCook]

   In 2008 I would say I fished about 70 days including 25 tournaments (19-team, 6-BFL as a CO). Since this was my second year many of the lakes were new to me like maxinkuckee before MI bass season opened, Hamlin, maggies stretch-St Joe river, Burt & Mullet, Crooked, Grand Traverse Bay, Cherokee, and a few weeks ago Newton Lake. This last year I did focus on baits I rarely threw in the past so I could be more versitile on the water. I grew very confident in the dropshot early in the year and it paid off in the BFL's, out of the 21 bass I weighed in 15 were cought on the dropshot. I got back to Jig fishing with some success and late summer I started focusing on cranking. I had alot of success with the crankbait and it is now one of my go to baits especially the C-flash .  In 08 I cought many smallmouth between 5 1/2 to 6lbs but struggled catching any largeheads over 5, probably because I fished smallmouth water 75% of the time, hopefully that changes next year. Overall in tournaments I finished in the black when considering entry fees and not gas. The amount i spent on gas travelling and throwing in on my boaters gas was much more than all other expenses.

T

[Skulley]

NAMES!!! GIVE ME NAMES!!!! I'll set the anti-social characters straight!!!!!!!

What is the big deal with people having a little good, clean sharing time...? Show me someone who doesn't like to, at least occasionally share a story or two with another angler and I'll show you a lonely person who makes anti-social comments... ...besides, not everyone wants the same thing out of the sport as everyone else... that's what makes it great and for so many different people... and some people just like more social contact than others. Not a thing wrong with that.

Thanks for having my back BD... I know I can count on you!! I'll have to remember that when I see you at the spring shows!!

I believe you would set them straight dj.  However, you would be surprised as to who and I would never break a confidence like that.  Know that I do have your back on this.  

As anyone I have had my moments.  Probably said something to or about someone I shouldn't have said.  If I did it was because a person or persons hit a "nerve" so to speak.  I think you know what I am talking about here dj and I hope we can keep it between you and I.  I am actually very glad you deleted it.  It had no place here and I should have P.M.ed the individual and set him straight that way.  But at the same time in 2008 I learned something from a very good Italian friend of mine.  It actually sounded much more beautifully spoken in Italian than it does in English.  I can't say it in Italian so I will say it in English.  Don't argue with an idiot.  In Italian it sounds like music.  I wish I could say it the way he did.  But the translation made way more sense to me.  

Anyway I learned much more about myself in 2008 as I did about fishing.  My son went on some great trips with me as well as my daughter.  They both fished tournaments with me as partners and those were the best days.  The other best day is when I went out with the lovely bride to the Halfmoon Chain.  We caught lots of bass and had lots of laughs.  One of the other trips was to Tipsico which is my favorite big largemouth bass inland lake.  I was with the lovely bride and my son.  We got on a deep water spot that usually holds big largies.  It was late in the day and it was hot.  We had caught a few but nothing to speak of.  Just a bunch of 14 and 15 inchers.  Those are average size that I catch out there.  Well anyway we got on this deep weedline with some other structure and the biggies started hitting.  First was a 5 plus I caught, then Alec connected with two consecutive 4's and then another 5.  The bride then connected on a top water in 13 feet of water with a 5 plus and another 4.  This all came in a twenty minute window off of one area.  I caught others myself but it was most gratifying for myself to put the lovely bride and number one son on some good fish.  

Those are some great days my friends.  Some I will never forget.  My New Years Resolution for 2009 is to put more of my family on more fish than I did last year on as many different bodies of water we can go to.  Also to fish even more with my family.  They love to go as much as I do.  Tournaments and fishing with buddies is great but when your wife and kids start catching them and the looks on their faces.............it' like Christmas all over again.


BD              

[Waterfoul]

Just to add the tag line:

Never argue with an idiot... they drag you down to their level and beat you with experience!!!

[Skulley]

Just to add the tag line:

Never argue with an idiot... they drag you down to their level and beat you with experience!!!

I like it.........you don't mind if I use that tag line do you?  Especially "beating one with the experience of being an idiot" part.

Outstanding!!!!

BD           

[LGMOUTH]

YOU'RE STILL ALIVE!!!! I was worried... have those crankbaits come down below $20 yet?!? So many toothy critters... only so much money to go around

Yeah its been a while but Im still alive and well, you will be seeing (reading) alot more of me now And no those crankbaits are still $20 but believe me well worth the money. To tell you the truth I have only lost one crankbait on a pike, for some reason they dont seem to ingulf the bait, maybe because of the wide wobble, Im not sure.

[Lightningboy]

Well, this thread made me sit down and do the math.  78 days on the water, 25 tournaments.  Would have gone longer, but the season was cut short; our upper motor mounts broke on day two of the FOM Midwest regional at the end of September.  Otherwise, I was looking forward to working on some vertical techniques in the fall.  I probably would have made just over 100 days & at least two more tournaments.

Special thanks to my buddy Dan for loaning us his boat for our Belleville club Classic.  Ending the season running around in an '07 Bullet 21XDC with a 300 XS was a BLAST.  I'm already trying to do the math on the financing...

Last spring was jig time for me.  I used to fish jig & pig a lot, but had drifted away from it for several years.  Tungsten jigs were an eye opener; the sense of feel is incredible.  I found many subtle rock piles I never new about on some well known spots.  One of the keys was to drag the jig.  I still used it as a heavy cover drop bait, but I spent equal time casting and dragging.  I can only liken it to a blind man sliding his cane along the floor.  It gave me a much better sense of the texture of the bottom.

I had also rarely fished anything other than pork with a jig.  I just hadn't found a plastic trailer I had confidence in.  But I was tired of pork drying out, so I bought a spread of plastic trailers and went to work.  I ended up with two winners.  The Strike King rage tail chunk was pretty good on the drag some days, enough to check it regularly.  But I was most impressed by the Paca chunk.  Excellent "flap" on the drop.  But the suprising bonus was how the paddles flapped when you swam it.  I'd never really tried swimming a jig, but had a couple of days in May that it was the winning deal.

I'm bummed I didn't get on any good power bites.  I love to throw rattle baits, cranks, and jerks.  But I can't say I had any real good days in 08.  Although I did get a chance to whip some good smallies at Saginaw bay by dragging a rattle bait across beds.  What a spectacular place to fish!

I did follow through on one of my priorities for the season.  I've never been one to fish the drop shot; I've played with it, but didn't really spend much time on it.  So I made a couple of DS rods, and got a spread of little baits to try.  It may not be exciting, but it gets results on bad days, and in some situations is the only real answer.

In fact, we won an FOM event with the DS in August.  That's where I had the pleasure of getting to know the Nemesis goby.  We prefished Erie on Friday, and Mike put up about 19 lb. from the back deck dragging a tube.  But on  tournament day it was all Nemesis goby on the DS, couldn't get bit on the tube at all.  I also tried a couple of other gobies & gulp when the bite slowed, but managed to keep upgrading all day with the Nemesis goby, including 2 five's.  I'm sold to say the least...

Tried some soft swimbaits all season.  Tried several models & colors, but I don't think I cought more than 5 fish across the season with them.  I must be doing something wrong, since they certainly look good in the water.  I won't quit on them though; too many top finishes on the tour with swimbaits to ignore.  I'm gonna roll up a swimbait rod this winter.  Tried a flippin stick, but it killed my shoulder.  Hate getting old.  I'm getting several 4-5 inch hard swimbaits, and will throw them across 09.  Just by odds I should hit a good situation for them, they move so well.

One suprise for 08 was the Jackal flick-shake system.  We had a FOM event in July at Cass, and we were crashing and burning by noon with only two in the box.  I was even having trouble getting bit on the DS.  Just for the heck of it, my son Mike rigged up a Jackal flick shake jig head on 6 lb. fluoro, and wacky rigged a flick shake worm on it.  Got bit on his second cast to the weedline, and there's number 3!  It looked interesting; besides, I wasn't exacly kicking any butt with what I was doing.  So, I rig up and try to duplicate.  Being a little slow on the uptake, it took me a few cast to start to get the feel.  But we then managed to finish our limit, and upgrade twice.  I've played with it several times since, but haven't really had much success.  But you can bet I'll experiment further in 09.

I didn't get to any new water in 08.  In fact, I didn't really get to go up north at all.  I'm originaly from Alpena, and love to spend time on those small northern waters.  There's some spectacular fishing, with little competition other than mom & pop bobber.  It's one of the places I can truly relax when I fish.

I do look very forward to honing my big water skills in 2009.  I've managed to do well this season on the great lakes, and I think I can do even better.  I do know I'll learn a great deal.

You'll have to forgive me for a little bragging here.  I'm very competitive, but very much an "aww shucks" kinda guy.  Because of surgery, my partner for the last several seasons had to stay off the water.  My son Mike (he's a high school senior) volunteered to jump in.  Now, anyone with a teenage son would understand my resevations.    

But my son suprised me.  Of course we had a few "moments" across the season.  But he was all in all a very good team mate.  In fact, I can think of at least two occasions where he bailed us out.  I'm very proud to say we won the FOM points championship, and finished second at Belleville.  Most importantly, we made a profit.  Beyond entry fees and gas.  There's not many that can say that.  Mike is headed for Lawrence Tech, as he has wanted to become an architect for the last two years.  Even though I dread the $$, I hope I get to see him reach his dream.

I also had the distinct pleasure of fishing two FOM Legacy events with my 12 year old daughter Lauren.  Even though we didn't cash a check, I think those may have been my most memorable fishing moments all season.  She really enjoys the outdoors, but has kind of swayed between her interest & "girl" stuff.  I think the time we spent together made it OK for her to be a bit of tomboy, but still swoon with her friends over the latest heart throb.  I was elated when I came back from deer season, and she asked if she could go in the future.  I think she needs another year to get a little stronger, but bought her camo bibs & a jacket for Christmas.  I was glad to see it was a big hit.   

I know I've run on a little long here, and probably raised the "ire" of whover might be complaining of those who blog too much.  I feel there's not enough traffic here.  When I was young, I remember being allowed to hang out with my Uncle & his cronies at the local donut shop.  They were all hardcore northern boys who lived in the woods and on the water.  The experience of sharing their ideas and knowledge is unexplainable.

Today is a different age.  We're so busy running every day, we don't have the hours available to spend in the outdoors, let alone the time to hang out and shoot the breeze about it.  Sites like this are our opportunity for that same relationship in a modern way.  I have several sites I visit regularly; mostly lurking and learning, but sometimes sharing my experiences.  I wouldn't trade those little snatches of learning & sharing for anything.

[Waterfoul]

You may use it anytime you want!  Being honest, I'm not the originator and stole it from another fishing site!  But it's SOOOOO good I just have to use it when the occasion calls for it.

Just to add the tag line:

Never argue with an idiot... they drag you down to their level and beat you with experience!!!

I like it.........you don't mind if I use that tag line do you?  Especially "beating one with the experience of being an idiot" part.

Outstanding!!!!

BD           

[Durand Dan]

Great write up Lightingboy. Don't worry on my account about long posts. I enjoy reading a good story. Great point about the pace of everyday life today!

[cr]

I don't know the exact number of days I fished, but I'm happy with the year I had . I do know I fished 34 NBAA events, won a few , 2 BFL's , which I screwed up in , several KLBC event's, which are always fun, and some small events on Pontiac lake . Also got to fish a couple events on Sanford and two on Wixom , which were new lakes for me . The high point had to be the small tournament at Sellings landing on Pontiac lake that I won with my wife, her first win . Only 5 or 6 boats, but to see her reaction when we won was PRICELESS . She jumped up and down like she won the lottery, I thought she was going to give a acceptance speech when John gave her the money . Another high point was the 6.42 lb smallie I caught in the St Clair river . The best thing about this year, looking back in review though, was all the great people I got a chance to fish with. Several from this forum ,DLaPorte , Bender, McCarter , WayneC. I also met some new faces and made some friends in the NBAA divisions that I fished . I was extremely fortunate to hook up with my fishing partner, Jim , this year . We both have the same sense of humor and always seem to have fun , whether we are doing good or not , a big plus in my book. I have had a great time both on the water and on this forum so, yes,  I am happy with 08 and hoping for more of the same in 09 .   HAPPY NEW YEAR !