Rate your fishing year =2015 2024

Catch 22 reply :

For me it is good bye, good riddance 15. Aside from a small flurry in late Nov and a good Dec it was overall a poor year of catching for me.

The winter freeze out and extreme summer heat + some family problems would have me rate the year at about 25% overall average.

Hope everyone had a better year than I did. How did you do?

C22

Evan K reply :

My first year of "serious" fishing went pretty excellent! Caught several new PB, finishing the year at a 4.57 lb fish out of a farm pond I'd fished for years, but never got anything bigger than a pound and a half out of.

Summer fishing was really good, fall was really poor. I could hardly muster up a bite, and when I did, they were usually dinks. I think I need to work on my fall baits and presentations. Probably a 65-70% for me.

Sorry @Catch 22- better luck this year!

reb67 reply :

15 was my first year of tournament fishing 5 fish out of a possible 30 and nothing over 2lbs. Fun fishing not much better hand full of small ones the best day was catching 2- 4 lbers on back to back cast while fun fishing. That was about the high light. Hoping for a better 16.

BassnChris reply :

Overall.....2015 was a year of dinks and not fishing enough.

On a positive note and the high point of the year.....got to fish Toledo Bend for the first time!

And meet some new friends and see an old friend on that same trip.

2016 will be better!

scaleface reply :

I had a good year for numbers when I got a chance to fish . This year fished deeper for me than the past several seasons with a lot of fish coming 12 to 15 foot on cranks and t-rig jelly worms .I found out that Watermelon chartreuse is a very good color in stained water at those depths .

FloridaFishinFool reply :

For me 2015 was a great year of fishing! I caught some of the biggest PB fish in 2015 with 1 bass over 8 and another over 9 pounds. I caught a 38 inch redfish the biggest I ever caught.

From mid June to mid August I was absolutely blessed out on the St. Johns river having found one spot in a river side channel where thousands of bass boiled up on bait fish every day actively all afternoon until just before sundown for 8 weeks straight. I averaged 30 to 40 bass each afternoon, and in one 4 day stretch I counted more than 150 bass caught and just as many missed. I needed 6 arms and 6 rods and reels all going at the same time out there.

I would not be surprised if 2015 was a year I caught the most bass in one year too, but who's counting?

I caught a lot of fish in 2015 and if 2016 is anything like 2015 I'll be one happy camper.

I've already started on overhauling and updating rods and reels and restocking lures and getting some new stuff too.

Ohio Archer reply :

Considering I just got back into fishing again in Sept. I had a good "year". Not a lot of fish but got to spend time on the water. Mostly fishing for bass but enjoy hooking up with anything. Started chasing musky...missed a couple but I'll keep trying.

OkobojiEagle reply :

fun...

Mike L reply :

2015 was alright I guess, tried to improve on my PB but came up short again.

I fished too many tournaments.. BFL, TBF, B.A.S.S.Nations, a local club and a few charity ones also. The results were average, cashed in a few, but missed qualifying for the BFL regionals again. This time on the last afternoon of the last day of the last 2 day qualifier, as I was #32 going in but my boater got hurt tripping on his rods and falling backwards onto the livewells. Luckily I saw him at the last second and broke his fall.

Still qualified for the Wild Card again and finished in the middle of the pack again. Qualified for the TBF and B.A.S.S. Nations Fla State Championships but didn't finish as high as I would have liked.

This year I'm gonna try to fun fish much more. Just go out on an afternoon, wet a line and sit back.

Mike

Jon G reply :

lots of numbers but not a lot of size.

massrob reply :

Last year was better but I learned how to use a baitcaster so that was pretty important. It was also my first year of fishing from a kayak which was so much better than being stuck on the bank. Hopefully work is slower next season so I can fish but I'm definitely going to take a vacation just to go fishing for a week. Happy new year bass resource you guys make not fishing much easier.

NorcalBassin reply :

it was a 2/10 for me. The drought has had the low water ramp unusable at my closest and favorite lake for at least a year and a half, so the after work trips I used to get to take quite frequently were non-existent. Therefore didn't get on the water near as much as I wanted, so that's something I'll definitely be changing in 2016. A new PB wouldn't hurt either.

EricTheAngler reply :

3/10 More fishing than fish to say the least. I found a decent place to fish but only during this past November, and only got to fish it a few times, then it was muddy. The pond up the road from my house is ok, but the fish wont hit anything other than soft plastic worms and mabey a jig. But im glad I got out fishing this year and got back into the swing of things. I also learned baitcasting and have all my rods set up for their purpose.

thomas15 reply :

2015 not a good year as far as catching fish is concerned. The good thing is I learned quite a bit about handling my boat and different presentations.

2016 season cannot get here fast enough. Freezeout hasn't started yet and so the thaw is out there somewhere somewhere. Just before I winterized my boat I made a list of spring time to do's. But for now I'm going to go through all of my tackle and sort/re-sort and organize.

drew4779 reply :

Spring was great. Tied a PB to the ounce which was both awesome and frustrating at the same time. Summer and fall weren't the best compared to last season. However, every out of town trip this year was highly successful, which is always a blessing.

After looking through the number of fish I deemed photo worthy this year...I guess I'd have to say 2015 had some high points but was overall a down year.

Derekbass02 reply :

For me 2015 was a very good year. Last year was only my third major year of fishing. It didn't start out great. On fishing opener I fished for about 4 hours and only had 1 pike follow a jerkbait. After that I did a lot of smallmouth fishing from shore. I caught a bunch of decent fish over a period of about 1.5 months. I did lose my favorite spinning rod as well as braking the tip of one of my other rods. I had a couple trips out for largemouth during late June and early July. Caught my 2 biggest biggest bass ever with one being 18 inches long and 4 pounds and the other being a estimated 19 inch 4 pound fish. Both of them were caught on Stik-Os on 2 different small to mid sized lakes. In the main part of summer I had no trouble catching fish but the biggest one I caught for a long time was only about 15 inches long. In fall I didn't get to fish much but I did catch a few decent sized fish. I mainly just used Stik-Os and Frogs all year but I did catch a few fish on a Rapala F18 as well as an bunch of other baits. My overall totals were 111 Largemouth and 76 Smallmouths. I will be using my first baitcasting combo next year. Hopinhg for a great year!!! Happy new year everyone

Justin Donaldson reply :

Caught lots of numbers this year, but not much size... Had a few six pounders, but not much bigger than that... Never even sniffed a big one. Didn't really get to fish many tourneys this year due to not having a steady partner most of the year, but did manage to won one and place in a few. Overall, I'd say a 6 out of 10

tander reply :

2015 was a great year. I started back fishing after years of not fishing. Also bought a boat. Being retired, I got to fish a bunch. Some days I caught some, some days skunked but all of them was good !!!!

Balshy Fishing reply :

Very poor.

I started very, very well but as summer started and wore on--it declined significantly.

Hopefully 2016 brings a better percentage! Just bought my license for the year today at BPS

wnspain reply :

Can't complain about '15, could have been better but then that's always a constant when I reflect on the year. Did not catch a new PB but caught plenty within a pound of it. Don't really keep accurate numbers but if I had to guess, it would be 15 or so over the 5 lb mark, same with 4 lb, a few 3's and a boat load of 2's and dinks. My goal was to learn how to drop shot, I fished that technique nearly every time out, caught 90% of my fish that way. Very effective IMO, 2016 I'm going to concentrate on the JIG!! Happy New Year

corn-on-the-rob reply :

Honestly, my year went as well as it probably could have. There will never truly be a "perfect" year in this sport. You will always have bad days, and if we could, we'd probably all want to be out there every day. And if you don't have bad days each year, you probably didn't learn as much as you could, so take the good with the bad!

I was able to fish a ton this year. I am finally comfortable taking my dad's boat on my own with out worrying about towing or the launching/loading process.

I learned a lot about being versatile in presentations this year, there is a reason certain baits have a "time of year" so don't be stubborn and give em a shot!

I have always been much less confident, heck ill call it scared, of water cooler than the low 50's. This year, we went out in early december and my best smallmouth day all season in 42 degree water.

This was my second year tournament fishing, it been one heck of a ride. In the FLW college series I placed in the regional qualifier, then the regional championship in order to make the national college championship which is this coming spring. In each of those tournaments, it came down to a strong mental game, good decision making, and execution. My partner and I make a great team, he's a heck of a fisherman and we compliment eachother's strengths and weaknesses well. I was extremely proud of the outcome.

The best of the year and the best catch of my life: I met a girl in June, got her out on the boat by July, and... she loves it. She has gone out about 8 times with me this year and has yet to put the rod down, even on the tough days. Over the trips we got her a PB largemouth of about 2.25lb, a couple of close to 4lb smallies and a PB pig of a smallmouth at 5.4lbs. It's amazing to share a passion of your with someone like this, I cant wait until next year.

Bankbeater reply :

2015 was a good year for numbers, and for size at local lakes and ponds.

lo n slo reply :

On 1/2/2016 at 12:40 AM, NorcalBassin said:

it was a 2/10 for me. The drought has had the low water ramp unusable at my closest and favorite lake for at least a year and a half, so the after work trips I used to get to take quite frequently were non-existent. Therefore didn't get on the water near as much as I wanted, so that's something I'll definitely be changing in 2016. A new PB wouldn't hurt either.

Hope those rivers and reservoirs bounce back big time.

Raul reply :

In a scale of 0 being the worst and 10 being the best I would rate my year in ...... no rating, you can´t rate something that never happened, the only times I grabbed my rods this year was the couple of times I had to move them to clean.

Mosster47 reply :

I didn't catch a ton of largemouth this year, but as far as size this was my best year ever. I caught my new PB and at least fifteen in the 4-6lb range.

N Florida Mike reply :

2015 was one of my best years overall for numbers and size.There were 3 days that I caught over 20 fish and fished mornings only.This year,I caught 13 fish over 4 pounds but only 1 over 6.But hey,No complaints.The 2 things I would like to change in 2016 are that I wouldn't have to fish alone so much,because I really enjoy fellowship with others and it gives the opportunity for exchange of info.and to hopefFully influence each other's lives.I would also like to be able to fish occasionally away from home which I could not do recently due to serious family constraints.I am thankful to live on a good bass lake so I'm OK with that.

FrogFreak reply :

2015 was great for me. Here are some highlights:

Several 5 pounders (good size for up north). One memorable pig on a frog next to a dock.
I learned and had success with a jig (both flipping and swimming).
I started a new job with a schedule that gives me every other Friday off and a boss that understands my passion!
I found several new lakes that produced well.
I didn't get skunked once!
The spring was a hoot catching big numbers with a wacky rigged worm
Summer fishing was steady with some great days!
Fall was hit and miss but still beautiful and I had the lakes to myself!
I actually got to fish in November this year! That's a rarity up where I live.
I wasn't nearly as one-dimensional as I have been in the past. That helped my success I'm sure.
I took a young neighbor kid out kayak fishing and put him on some hot spots. He caught 12 bass and his smile is something I won't soon forget.
My 22 year-old son bought a kayak and went fishing with me often.
I got very comfortable with my boat this year and learned a ton about boat positioning, loading and unloading etc.
My wife caught her PB 3.5 lbs!

MIbassin reply :

2015 was awesome.

The bass in the pond behind my house in Florida grew into giants, and I had some spectacular days fishing for peas.

I caught my PB

I fished the everglades back in april and caught tons of nice bass on a jig, which is now one of my confidence baits! One of my better years for sure…

Most importantly, I learned more about bass fishing in the past year than any other!

soflabasser reply :

2015 was a great year for fishing for me.Caught many big bass along with large numbers of bass.I also caught many new personal best for different types of fish in both freshwater and saltwater.

Brent Christian reply :

For me 15 was alot of little fish and not enough time to go ?

papajoe222 reply :

2015 . I can't recall a season with as much weather fluctuation. Of course, when I was able to get on the water.....you guessed right. High pressure and bluebird skies. Overall numbers and big fish size really suffered. More often than not, after an outing, I felt like I'd worked a double shift without the pay

Missourifishin reply :

On a scale of 1-10 I'd rate my year a 3. I had an unusually bad spring. And then didn't get out and fish much in the summer. Fall was better. If I was only rating fall I'd give it a 6-7. But the first part of the year was kind of disappointing for me.

spease1 reply :

One of my best years. I caught 12 Bass over 5# this year. Not as many fish overall, but a good year.

Fishes in trees reply :

I'd call it a decent year, not a great year but a decent year. Health issues took July & August off the schedule, for the most part. Took a week off to go do the Fishing for Freedom event that the Leavenworth Bass Club puts on at Truman Lake every year, and the soldier I drew caught a few fish this year - fish that we could weigh - that was a first for me. 3 of the 5 days that I was down there were beautiful. 1 was windy and I broke some gear dealing with the wind, but nothing that I couldn't fix by throwing money at it. Planning now to do that event again next fall - hope it happens.

wytstang reply :

Jan/Feb were strong and then the year fell flat on it's face for me. However Dec yielded me my best/new PB so it ended well but slow /weak overall.

BassObsessed reply :

2015 was pretty good for me. Had a productive spring in my home state with alot of topwater frog action. I did alot of traveling to fish which includes Florida, Lake Champlain , and California. Caught a couple over 10 in Florida , alot of 3-4lb smallies at Champlain and loads of nice bass in Ca. including 3 over 6lbs in the same day. Need to live closer to one of those lakes.

Jar11591 reply :

Numbers up.

Size down.

Less time on the water than in the past

Spankey reply :

I have no complaints on 2015. Early spring fish location is always an issue for me. Did get a few nice pre spawn bass on jerk baits. Worked hard at it but it paid off. July to the first of November I had a great time this past year. When I can pull off some 18"-20" smallies I have to be happy. 3+ pounders.

Disappoints : Felt good about some Baker Lures I wanted to try. Thought I'd do better with them. Won't dis them. Just will revisit them this season. I'm a Rapala freak, thought I'd kick butt with some of the new real image baits they put out. They worked great on channel catfish. Was not really fishing for cats. Great fight on light tackle though. I didn't topwater fish as much as usual. I let some poor results get into my head. I should have fished my way through my tough time.

2016 : Hope to have a season equal or better. I'm going back to a few lures and patterns that were very productive in the past that I've worked myself away from. Old school fishing with some old school baits. Going to try to not overthink some tough situations.

IowaHusker28 reply :

2015 was a 9/10. It was a year that I will remember forever. I probably had a line wet either from the boat or from shore at least 125 days this year, fished multiple tournaments and never finished below half but also never finished in the top 10% either, hence the 9. I've never learned so much in a year and I know that 2016 will be even better but 2015 will also be remembered as the year of missed fish.

This year I.... Caught a bass with the boat in 120ft of water, and also caught a bass in the backwater of the Mississippi with the boat in 1/2ft of water. Fished in my first 200+ boat tournament. Joined a new bass club. Improved the boat with new units and a #112. I learned that throwing an A-rig, 10-8xds, and big spoons are really fun but a huge hassle. I also learned how to break down a lake, mapping, sonars, contours, channel swings, current, and everything that goes along with that better.

The most important thing I learned was how to adapt on the fly, whether it be boat issues, a bad practice, things not going as planned in a tournament day or just figuring out fish when they change their mood. I have never felt better going into a new season and my cabin fever started the first day the boat was winterized.

68camaro reply :

I found bass fishing in 2015 so the year gets a "10" for sure.

TommyTreble reply :

Overall #'s were average for me here in Connecticut, better in the Spring, much less in the Fall. I did get my PB smallmouth on December 6th, usually I quit fishing by then, but we had the warmest December on record here.

Sandhillcrab reply :

Mine was alright. Lots of large and small mouths. Started tournament fishing. Did very well in a few. Out of 10 my year was a 8.

Felix77 reply :

"C" at best if I were to go strictly by tournament ranking standards. Some I did very well but when I sucked I truly sucked. Tournaments got so bad at the end it shook my confidence to an all time low.

On the brighter side

1 - I improved my use of electronics (from a yak ... I have no boat). Was able to identify and catch fish on deeper structure/cover discovered using my Lowrance chirp.

2 - Improved my drop shot. Refined my equipment and technique and caught a ton of fish on it last year.

3 - Caught a new personal best nearing 8 lbs. From the BANK no less after dealing with that all time low period. Reminded me why I love fishing so much.

the reel ess reply :

I give myself a B.

I'm fishing private smaller waters almost exclusively because I'm getting old and don't want or need any competition.That means a lot of small fish, but in a couple places there are opportunities to catch 5-plus class fish. It's not very hard to learn three bodies of water, but my goal is to continue beating my personal best and I know there are 10 lb fish in one place. You can't catch a 10 pounder by fishing places that don't have any.

I only got skunked once in all of 2015 and that was because a storm blew up. Even caught two in an hour in some pretty cold water Saturday. One 3.86 lbs.

Goal for 2016. Learn to rely on the jig. I know that'll raise the average size fish.

Scarborough817 reply :

great first year of fishing, caught a new pb, learned a lot and i now have 6 setups for next year can't wait for the fourth Saturday in June

A fisher reply :

Started off slow but caught a PB of 5 lbs to end the year!

fishballer06 reply :

2015 was pretty good to me. It was my first year fishing tournaments. My first outing on a boat this year I landed my personal best largemouth in the US, 5lb 1oz. Our first tournament of the year we took 4th place. We missed third by 2 oz and second by 5 oz. After that, we struggled in tournaments and only had a limited one other time. But I always did really well when fishing for fun or practice.

On my Canada trip this year, I caught my personal best walleye at 28" and 6.7 pounds while working a rattle trap over some weeds. I also caught the most walleye out of everyone in our cabin.

This fall the salmon run was poor, but I still got my limit.

This fall I caught some really nice smallmouth in October and November. In upper 40's degree water, I caught fish in 3' of water and in 25'+ of water.

Overall, the tournaments could have went better, but I had a lot of fun and I learned a lot of new bodies of water, and I worked on my techniques with a few different presentations that aren't my specialty.

GetJigginWithIt reply :

Great year for me. Finally got a boat to call my own and caught my PB.

Kbral87 reply :

2015 was the year of the dink, don't think I caught anything over 2lbs. Im pretty optimistic about this year.

DogBone_384 reply :

I call 2015 am 7/10.

I caught fewer numbers, but bigger fish. There's wasn't much of a Spring here in MA. This was the first year using a scale so it'll be my first year with a 'real' PB. I hoped to get better reading my Lowrance and locating fish better.

I made some progress, but didn't get as good as I hoped.

I'd like to fish with BR members in '16.

badhatharry reply :

I would rate my year a good solid ....incomplete. First year of retirement, getting back into fishing after 15 year hiatus, didn't pick up a boat until late August, only got out 3 times. I did manage to catch a few keepers on the old gear.

2016 will be a different story. I just have to get the old touch back.

lbriggs reply :

Great spring and summer for me. I was able to get out almost every day in June since I was out of high school and preparing for college. Caught my PB Smallmouth, Largemouth, Walleye, and discovered a love for Northern Pike. Also forgot my scale each time I caught a big fish, though (except walleye). Smallie was 18.5 inches around 3 pounds, Largemouth was 22 inches maybe 5 to 6 pounds, Northern was 31 inches, and Walleye was 24 inches and 4.5 pounds. Great spring and summer Iowa angling, but slow Fall bites and a nonexistent Winter bite wasn't fun. 9/10 overall.

Jake the Cake reply :

First year of really getting into LMB fishing and it went okay. Learned a lot of new things (especially from you all) that I'm excited to use in '16. I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to Crappie and White Bass and Catfish, but I am definitely welcoming chase of bigger and more frequent Large Mouth!!!!

BIGDFISHERMAN reply :

Would rate my 2015 as unsatisfying. That was largely due to not getting as much time on quality water as I used to. Will be changing that in 2016 though. I have my priorities straightened out and the wife on the same page and the approval of some other important family members. Moving closer to good fishing again so that will equal less driving, less fuel expenses, and more time on the water.

Ersteman reply :

9/10 for me.

Caught and released alive 100% of fish caught, including a fish that swallowed the hook and thanks to this site, saw the hook removal through gill technique and saved the fish's life.
Discovered a new, small, healthy bass lake 50 mins away from my house. Averaged 9 fish a day for 5 hours of fishing every fish day.
Bought a fishing kayak and took it out about 20 times this year.
Caught my PB largemouth on a top water 3.01lbs.
Used jigs for the first time and caught over 20 fish on jigs this year.
Used soft plastic lizards for the first time and caught fish on it.
Caught fish on 2 new bodies of water.
Expanded rod/reel inventory, lures, and a back pack.
Discovered fishing gloves, which prevent the tops of my hands from being sunburned.

stkbassn reply :

2015, a bad joke that only sadistic people would laugh at! I'm hoping for a better 2016!! Like, where I actually get to fish, a lot!

clh121787 reply :

B+

bkohlman reply :

I would rate my 2015 as a C+. We moved to a new community and my wife and I both are in new jobs, that took up a majority of my spring through fall.

I am committed to a local bass club this year, so 2016 is looking up!

Ratherbefishing75 reply :

My year wasn't that good spent time on the water but learning how to use a bait caster and a lack of fish wanting what I was casting out there for them and a but load of new bait lost. Hopefully this year will be better the. The last one fish on my friends

Jaderose reply :

Got my PB (9.3) and got my first boat. Spent a LOT of time on the water but didn't get up to Minnesota. That will change in 16. Will be looking to beat that PB and maybe fish my first few tournaments from the BOTB with a guy that is going semi-pro this year. He'll be doing some FLW stuff and I will be doing some smaller regional stuff with him.

WPCfishing reply :

I had the best bass fishing year of my life. I'm hoping 2016 is even better. Caught over twenty 5 plus, one was 9.4 and lost a 10 plus at the boat in mid air when I hoisted his ass.

Kidflex reply :

2015 was a decent year for me. Many bass in the 5-6lb range caught on top waters to creature baits. The summer wasn't as good as I'd like it to have been.

But 2016 has been superb so far. Jan 2, I got a 7.10, 7.3, 6.14, 6.1 in four hours with multiple 3-4's in the mix. Jan 3, I scored a 7.8 and a 6.4 and lost the largest bass of my life. I wish I never saw it. Still butt hurt about it.

E. Guido Soda reply :

Great thread. 2015 was an _excellent_ year of fishing for me, I would give it an 8.5 / 10 lbs! I fished a ton when I was a kid and some in high school and college, but put the sticks down for many years with the exception of very occasional outings...very occasional. Before 2014, the last time I fished was in the Mississippi Delta in 2011, probably. So I bought a kayak in the middle of '14 and started over, in essence. All new equipment, all new tackle, all new approach. I basically had to learn how to fish again, and '14 was more or less fumbling around learning the basics all over again...including how to throw a baitcaster. I caught one nice LMB in '14, 18" / 3.5 lb or so, mostly out of luck and some others out of sheer time on the water - right place, right time. In 2015, I caught fish more through applied principles than spray-and-pray(prey?) luck and cast volume. There is always an element of luck, but in '15 I learned how to mitigate that factor slightly more.

So '14 was training wheel time, but cut to the late winter / early spring of '15, I found a highly reliable creek channel and wore some spots out - personal bests were pretty much every one I caught, each one bigger than the other, culminating in a nearly five lb. spot. In the summer, all I was catching were dinky little spots, so I did some pond fishing and landed a 7.8 lb LMB; by far my PB. Fall fishing was pretty slow for me, nothing great to report there. Early winter fishing was decent, but on Chirstmas and a couple of days later, we had torrential, and I do mean torrential rainfall coupled with record high temperatures. So the baitfish were flowing in like crazy to my creek channel honey hole, and it was pretty much a catch on every cast; pulled a 20" / ~5 lb LMB out, and a bunch of 15" - 18" ones. Then on NYE, I went out and hit the channel. The flow had slowed significantly as did the bite, but I did catch a couple. On a proclaimed last cast (of 2015), I caught a 24" / ~8lb beast on a shakey head (3/8 oz Picasso Shak-E-Football) and black Zoom Trick Worm - by far a PB.

A couple of the other oddities / surprises / highlights were:

- catching an 11 lb saltwater striper in a spring fed impoundment

- dunking a rod in April only to "catch it" on a spinner bait in December

- my son catching a 2lb LMB and a 3lb channel cat from his kayak + a 1.5lb pond bream (profile pic)

- I hesitate to call catching chain pickerel a highlight, but there were those, too

- catching a ton of fish on a range of crankbaits, which was a goal of mine

- numerous 4+ lb fish

As good as it was, I consider 2015 a learning year for me. If I can build on this year and make it even marginally better, 2016 will be fantastic.

In 2016, my number one goal is to catch a SMB - we don't get them this far down, so I'll have to do a little travel...but that's goal numero uno.

EGS

Lunker Addict reply :

The lake that I fished the majority of the year was pretty good with the average being between 1.5 and 2 pounds and the biggest weighted in at just under. 6.5. I was disappointed that I was unable to get a tiger musky to the boat. I hooked a couple but couldn't get them in. Maybe next year.

DogBone_384 reply :

On 1/6/2016 at 12:49 AM, badhatharry said:

I would rate my year a good solid ....incomplete. First year of retirement, getting back into fishing after 15 year hiatus, didn't pick up a boat until late August, only got out 3 times. I did manage to catch a few keepers on the old gear.

2016 will be a different story. I just have to get the old touch back.

Congratulations on your retirement!

everythingthatswims reply :

On 1/10/2016 at 12:08 PM, Kidflex said:

2015 was a decent year for me. Many bass in the 5-6lb range caught on top waters to creature baits. The summer wasn't as good as I'd like it to have been.

But 2016 has been superb so far. Jan 2, I got a 7.10, 7.3, 6.14, 6.1 in four hours with multiple 3-4's in the mix. Jan 3, I scored a 7.8 and a 6.4 and lost the largest bass of my life. I wish I never saw it. Still butt hurt about it.

On my way

Kidflex reply :

On 1/11/2016 at 12:12 PM, everythingthatswims said:

On my way

Come on. Matter of fact on Jan 3, I took my son in law that has never caught a lmb. His first fish was 3.0, second fish was 6.4 followed by a 4.8. Was a magical two days for me. What makes it better was that we were fishing from a 14 ft John boat with paddles and anchor only. Kickin it old school and I have a triton bass boat in the garage.

tholmes reply :

I'd rate 2015 as below average in both numbers and size. I had back surgery in the spring which kept me from fishing through most of April and May and slowed me down for most of the summer. I only caught a handful of 5+ lb. fish and only about a half-dozen smallies.

This year, my back is fully recovered and I'm positive it will be a better year.

Tom

Bassguytom reply :

My year was great! Just like every other year. The older you get the more you just enjoy being out on the water. Some days you catch fish and some days you don't. After taking my wife out fishing with me a few times this year she finally realizes how patient I really am!

Lunker Huntin reply :

2015 was poor for me, spring hit and I was completely consumed in selling my house to upgrade to a new one so fishing took a big hit there I don't think I made it out on the water between Apr- July 8 so that really hurt. Summer was hot and busy with the new house so I didn't make it out much. Oct hit and it was off to clear lake for 5 days of fishing and I was ecstatic well once again 2015 brought doom and gloom, thought that the reports of no fisherman on the water because of the massive fire around the lake meant we would have a great chance at really getting into some good unpressured fish.......didn't see on the schedule that there was a tournament starting 2 days after we got there so for 4 out of the 5 days of fishing we fought with about 180-200 boats to even find a place to fish and the bite was terrible. Got in a couple of good trips before the cold shut it down and the ice hit but all in all the year really sucked for me. Hope 2016 is better getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan for the next 3 or so months so I hope when I get back the spawn is in full swing and fishing is hot. LOL the selfish cynical person inside of me hopes that winter goes long this year in Utah at least so that I can make it home in time for pre spawn. Good luck this year fellas

mitchbayboy reply :

This year was amazing year ,,,started out with spring cold water blue gill and pumpkin seed fishing that was amazing ,,,one night limited out with 50 big gills in 55 minuits ,,,,best spring ever for gills ,,,,and living on lake st. clair on Canadian side we had high water this year which made it hard to decide should I flip and frog buckets or deep water smallies ,,,first love is largemouth flipping and frogging ,,,fished 3 to 5 days or nights a week after work ..numbers were up on largemouth number are always up here for small mouth ,,,its St. Clair that's just how it is ,,,,so 2015 was a great year ,,,hoping 2016 can match it at least

Hawghead reply :

My year was one of less fishing that usual. I bought my first piece of hunting ground, and this past year I spent A LOT of time getting stuff ready for hunting season. This year should get me back into my kayak and more time on the water.

burrows reply :

Deleted

FishnFritz reply :

2015 was a good year for me. I learned a lot of new techniques for me. Started fishing local tournaments. Went from a kayak to a Skeeter. Caught lots of bass. Pretty sure I spent more time fishing than working last year. Fished from March to December and haven't put the boat up for the winter yet. Looking forward to 2016 and what the new year will bring with it.

5fishlimit reply :

The year wasn't bad, but I really noticed that the fishing seemed to "off" in the NE Ohio area. I think it can be related to the two very severe winters we've had. I feel that the smallmouth fishing was a bit better for me than the largemouth, but not by much. There was never a great numbers day. Any tournament that I fished you really had to grind it out all day to get a limit, but more boats came back with empty livewells than I can remember over the past few seasons.

On a grading scale of 1 through 10, I would have to give this season a 6. I would have given is a 4.5, but I was able to learn a lot of new things this year that helped me get the "skunk" out of the boat that the years before wouldn't have happened.

stkbassn reply :

On 1/8/2016 at 11:58 PM, clh121787 said:

B+

Whatever dude, stop being modest! LOL

clh121787 reply :

On 1/13/2016 at 2:03 AM, stkbassn said:

Whatever dude, stop being modest! LOL

Haha thanks man. I've got to catch a teener. Hopefully next year I can put an A.

stkbassn reply :

On 1/13/2016 at 2:21 AM, clh121787 said:

Haha thanks man. I've got to catch a teener. Hopefully next year I can put an A.

I have faith in you my friend!!

RMcDuffee726 reply :

On the water it was not my best year, I caught a good amount of decent fish, but I wish I had larger numbers of them. I'm still learning, and I learned a lot this past year, which is great. 2015 was also the year of experimenting my first GoPro, so I was also trying to figure out where to set it up for fishing, which I finally figured out too. I can't wait to start fishing again around May. I think 2016 is going to be my best season by far and I couldn't be anymore stoked. Tight lines everyone!

Tlaz reply :

My 2015 season was somewhat disappointing. No fish over 4lbs and didn't catch the numbers I usually do. I was able to learn some new techniques and such but overall it was somewhat disappointing. Hoping to start the year early and fish with more confidence in 2016.

Ratherbfishing reply :

A B- in the Spring, a D+ in the summer, and an A or A- in the fall. overall, I'd say a B-. I did NOT get to go to Lake of the Woods Canada this year but last year was a bust anyway and I heard this year wasn't much better (no shallow weeds). One of the normally good lakes I go to is on the decline and I pulled few decent fish from it. Some of my last days out were spectacular, however, and I caught, on the very last trip, a 35 inch musky (which scared the living daylights out of me as it leaped out of the water to grab my spinnerbait). Ice fishing will probably not happen this year BUT I am alive, relatively healthy and I made another friend (through this forum) with whom I've fished 3 or 4 times. I look forward to what this coming year brings.

A-Jay reply :

I believe my fishing season is what I make of it. My mission for the past several years has been to try to bring as much learning & growth to each one as I can. This keeps me hungry to keep going more than just trying for The Big One. Clearly that's the end game but the road to get there has to be fun for me. New water, new techniques and a twist to an old one all help keep the juices flowing.

This season started out very nicely as I was able to continue building on a few techniques I'd worked on the previous year. As the season progressed my momentum slowed a bit. This year I'm going to work on keeping it rolling through the hotter months with some new water and more night ops. I'm betting the new boat will help in this area quite a bit. The Fall was killer, no other way to but it.

Something that can not be overlooked is the role that this site plays in all of it. Reading & writing here about my & other members experiences has been one of the most rewarding & satisfying aspects of the past several seasons.

A-Jay

MFBAB reply :

Awesome year!!

I got my 10th consecutive **AOY award** This season.

**Disclaimer: My "league" consists of just me, my wife, our 3 yo daughter, 1 dog and 2 cats

boatinpete reply :

Flat out sucked, worst year in my life.

Fishing Rhino reply :

Every year should be so good. Started out with a trip to Pickwick for a couple of weeks. Had a great time with my buddy, and we caught a lot of fish, of nice average size.

When I returned, I hit up a few of my favorite haunts on the Cape. All but one of them with disappointing results.

Then I hit up a small pond five minutes from my door step and lit 'em up big time. May and June were incredible. Fishing from my canoe, there were days when I caught over a hundred bass, smallmouth and largemouth, but predominantly largemouths. I'd launch in the dark and pick my way through the narrow, rocky, winding channel out to the main pond.

There were days I was not hoping to get a bite. I was expecting to get a bite. In five or six hours it was possible to catch around a hundred bass. From its peak in May/June it began to taper off.

Took my nephew from Florida with me on the week of the Fourth of July. He fished an unweighted Rage Tail Craw and nothing else. He had 28 hits, and boated 25 of them, mostly from one weed bed. I caught more, but I also got hung up more fishing wacky worms, Rage Tail Menace, Lunker City Grubsters, Fat Alberts, etc.

He'd fish the craw until both claws were gone. A single clawed craw seemd to work as well as a two claw. He's used to econo fishing where he has to fish a bait for as long as possible. I told him to replace a damaged bait, but he wouldn't hear it.

I fished a few of my other haunts, some in central Mass with another friend, but they did not measure up to previous years. The other close to home ponds that I fish with my bass boat were disappointing, except for one that provided steady action, though it was slightly down for the year.

If it hadn't been for Pickwick and the canoe pond close to home, it would have been a disappointing year.

Catch 22 reply :

Sorry to see some suffered like I did,but it just can`t be super all the time.Of all my 68 seasons[starting at age 3] of fishing,I can`t say Iv`e had a complete year. That is to say at least one period of the year dried up on me. This season has started with a real bang so it could be the complete year. Best of luck and success to all.

C22

senile1 reply :

I had a solid year until I injured my ribs in August. I was able to hit the lake by mid-October and got three trips in before I re-injured my ribs more severely. I'm pretty bummed about fishing only three times since August but I'm healed enough to get back on the water now. So . . . . the second half of my year was disappointing, to say the least.

curtis9 reply :

My year was awesome. Bought a house on the water last fall, so spent this year mapping and fishing the new lake. Caught 10+ bass over 5 lbs, with a new pb at 7lbs. Went out with a buddy on his boat on another local lake and caught a 6lb spotted bass...

The best part of the year was getting my 2 year old daughter out on the boat and helping her catch her first fish, thought that didn't end so well. I guess she thought it would be similar to her bath toys and tried to grab it, and freaked our when it moved and that it was slimy

Nitrofreak reply :

2015 only yielded a dozen trips, worked really hard on my crank bait fishing, at least as hard as I could, for what I have learned I would rate it pretty good, for what I have caught during the learning curve I would rate that pretty poorly, 2015 did yield 4 outings with warriors, there is no grade for that other than to say it's always a great outing, 2015 also gave me a hit with the Nitro going down with a blown engine, but then again it also brought me a newer larger boat with some updated electronics, all in all it's been an up and down year, I would give the fishing a C+ the rest was pretty spectacular, looking forward to 2016 !!!

geo g reply :

Great time, good fishing with friends, fun, and enjoyable. Hope to do it again this year, nothing else to be said!

Skeeter Dan reply :

On 1/17/2016 at 12:59 AM, MFBAB said:

Awesome year!!

I got my 10th consecutive **AOY award** This season.

**Disclaimer: My "league" consists of just me, my wife, our 3 yo daughter, 1 dog and 2 cats

You better be watching out. Your daughter might be whooping you soon !!!!!!

Last_Cast reply :

2015, started pretty nice and went to crap reallllll quick.

BassNBarry reply :

2015 was a terrific year; my best ever. My fishing buddy and I didn't start tracking results until mid year. From then through December, we caught 23 bass between 5 and 6 pounds; 9 bass between 6 and 7 pounds; and he caught his PB 9.2 pounds. We also caught a lot of bass between 3 and 5 pounds. I will add that we are both retired and average fishing twice a week; one nice benefit of retirement. We do use larger bait as we are trying to catch larger bass. We did particularly well fishing for about an hour before sunrise, and we hit a home run in December, when the winter thaw motivated the larger fish to continue feeding aggressively. We also hit a few bass on top of the head with our casts and that always helps. We track everything: date, time, lunar calendar, weather conditions, water temp, bait used, location and depth caught, etc. It's fun to track, and for us, it pays dividends.

Junk Fisherman reply :

Good year!

The good:

Caught my PB smallmouth 6.6 lbs (profile pic)

Just had an awesome June fishing trip up north for a couple weeks with numbers and size. Most days I would have had a 15 to 20 lb bag of smallmouth.

Rejoined my old fishing club after a 5-year break.

Did extensive research which led me to buying a new boat which should be ready in April.

Fished Lake Michigan locally several times after being hesitant because of my smaller boat. Caught some decent fish and now I feel confident moving forward. I am ready to get away from these little inland lakes and make the Chicagoland lakefront my home water.

The Bad:

Had a rather lousy spring trip to So IL. High, muddy water was the main culprit. Rained everyday. Caught fish but nothing to get excited about.

Didn't fish as much as I'd like. Had some boat issues that kept me at home.

One of my local lakes that I did great on in 2014 just never turned on for me. The lake had some great slop fishing in 2014 and it just never developed in 2015.

Mothercanucker reply :

Best year I've ever had so far but still want more and bigger fish and am not content.

lmbfisherman reply :

I had a few more good days (quantity) but not much in quality. Plus I didn't go as much as I wanted to go out. So I give myself an average. 2016 I hope to change that since I'm working temporarily in SF and going to my project in West Texas. Although I'm finding out there isn't much out here in WestTexas. Fort Stockton area.

cgolf reply :

A+

Finally caught my PB 20" River Smallie and also got my PB 45" Musky while fishing with my dad this year. Also never got skunked in the boat which is a first for me. River numbers were down, but still caught a mess of smallies.

WolfyBrandon reply :

2015 was the best year so far.

Caught my new PB Largemouth, and surpassed my PB Smallmouth twice. First bass of the year came a month before the previous year. Caught bass consistently for 105 days, and made new friends. Experienced both days catching numbers as well as size, and ended up catching a lot of nice fish...

A+

WolfyBrandon

SudburyBasser reply :

I would rate mine as solid. I stepped away from tournament fishing last year, only was in one, because fishing started to feel a little like a job. I focused more on the spiritual aspect of fishing -- getting back to the roots of it. I had a great time and probably caught more fish than any other year on record.

I'll probably go back into the tournaments this year but I'm happy that I made 2015 more about why I fish rather than that I simply fish.

ethan-333 reply :

On 2/11/2016 at 11:13 PM, Junk Fisherman said:

Good year!

The good:

Caught my PB smallmouth 6.6 lbs (profile pic)

Just had an awesome June fishing trip up north for a couple weeks with numbers and size. Most days I would have had a 15 to 20 lb bag of smallmouth.

Rejoined my old fishing club after a 5-year break.

Did extensive research which led me to buying a new boat which should be ready in April.

Fished Lake Michigan locally several times after being hesitant because of my smaller boat. Caught some decent fish and now I feel confident moving forward. I am ready to get away from these little inland lakes and make the Chicagoland lakefront my home water.

The Bad:

Had a rather lousy spring trip to So IL. High, muddy water was the main culprit. Rained everyday. Caught fish but nothing to get excited about.

Didn't fish as much as I'd like. Had some boat issues that kept me at home.

One of my local lakes that I did great on in 2014 just never turned on for me. The lake had some great slop fishing in 2014 and it just never developed in 2015.

@Junk Fisherman

what lakes in so. ill?

Red_Ranger04 reply :

With lake Sam Rayburn being my home lake, I had a year I will never forget. With the lake being flooded in the spring and good water levels the rest of the year Rayburn was and still is in great shape. I caught so many fish in 5-8 pound range and shattered my PB in September with a 10lb 4oz monster. The best part about it was how you could catch them from topwater frogs and pop-r's to Texas and Carolina rigged plastics and my personal favorite pitching and flipping. You could go to Rayburn and catch them any way you wanted, it was really lights out fishing. I would rate my overall year a 9.5 out of 10 only because of some boat problems I was plagued with, other than that it was truly a fishing year I will never forget.

Junk Fisherman reply :

On 2/14/2016 at 11:22 AM, ethan-333 said:

@Junk Fisherman

what lakes in so. ill?

LOE and Cedar

WPCfishing reply :

My gear is every bit as good as I am.

CJ reply :

I caught 2 of the biggest fish I ever caught in 2015. Only won a couple of small tournaments though. Which I don't fish them like I used to. It was a good year. I learned a couple new lures like the spybait and I tuned in to a new way to fish bucktail jigs which literally put hundreds of fish in the boat and some bigguns at that. I guess I'll go with around 90%.

Dye99 reply :

One PB, Countless wins in friendly comps, over 100 fish caught, and 5 separate "fish of the week" in my county.

I had a spectacular year, and hope to do half as well this year.

But more importantly than what I did, I should add, I got some new people into kayak bass fishing that never have, and had my son catch his first fish.

Fun tip someone told me about years ago I tried last year.

I put a calendar on the wall where I store my boats. So at the end of every fishing day, I mark it on the calendar, what lake, how many fish and what size and what I was throwing...

Its really helped already this year.

9980

Rate your fishing year =2015 2024

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