How was your 2010 Bassfishing Season??

[karol]

 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

[Flippin222]

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........

[champion_206]

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

[VinceR]

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!

[Revtro]

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.    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.

[Waterfoul]

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!!

[dartag]

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.  

[Flippin222]

   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.

[djkimmel]

I second that!

[bassboss]

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.