2016 Fishing Wrap-Up

Despite a colder-than-average first half of December, heavy snow and a warm front have conspired to eliminate any currently safe, local ice-fishing options.  Numenon is put away for the season, the lakes are still locked in ice cover, and last-night's rain and today's 50-degree temperatures will roil our rivers.  I think it's clear, my fishing is done for 2016.

What better time to reflect on this past year?  2016 offered many challenges, but I can't complain about my fishing experiences.  I didn't catch any remarkable fish, but I had many remarkable experiences.  These included remarkably solid daily catches, but also new waters, new fish, new fishing partners and a plethora of sunrises, sunsets, sights, sounds and thoughts that I would not have otherwise experienced.

Meanwhile, I've got some reels to line, rods to rig, tackle to organize and new techniques to contemplate.  Enjoy this pictorial; but more importantly, Here's to 2017!

My fishing in 2016 had a nice amount of variety, with black and striped bass dominating my efforts.  I was lucky to get in some other saltwater sessions and some good pike fishing, too.  My muskie efforts fell short and Lake Michigan was tough, but overall it was a very solid season.  I didn't really catch any giants, but I caught a lot of very nice fish.  I found some new species, some new waters, and some new techniques.  Here's to building on this with an even better 2017!

January 2016 - My winter was consumed with creating light hair jigs and other tackle craft, while I dreamt of finicky, cold-water smallmouth bass.

January 2016 - Flag!  Another small pike is about to hit the ice, but one never knows what might happen.

February 2016 - I am not much of a video game kind of guy, but I do love vertical jigging on the ice with my Humminbird.  And, watch out, I've downloaded all my waypoints from the open water season onto this machine.

February 2016 - I scratched out a meal or two during a tough bite.

March 2016 - I appreciate Michigan's (newish) year-round bass season!  This was one of four beauties (all on jerk-baits) in a late March bass session.

April 2016 - It was snowing in Michigan, but I was in Captiva, Florida!  The receding tide exposed this trough right off the beach, and it contained snook!

April 2016 - (Easter Sunday!) - Here's an average bass from this epic day.  I tallied 14 keeper bass and  a half dozen nice pike for the day; just about all came on lipless cranks.

April 2016 - (Easter Sunday!) - I got pushed off my spot, but found some better quality fish!  This might be my heaviest pike of the season.

April 2016 - (Easter Sunday!) - I scored this dandy bass on consecutive casts with the pike pictured above.  This picture does not do justice for this fish; I'm quite certain it was my heaviest bass of the year.

May 2016 - I was struggling for bites (on Lake St. Clair?) and so switched to gliding hair jigs through a community hole.  This nice drum told me there was some life here. 

May 2016 -  When the sun came out a little later, the bass started snapping on X-Raps.  This was my largest smallmouth of the season and anchored a very nice virtual limit.

June 2016 - Grand Traverse Bay wasn't as easy as it had been in 2015, but we still caught some nice fish.  This solid four-pounder ate a pink X-Rap jerk-bait over deep water.  Some other tanks followed the same lure, but couldn't commit.

July 2016 - Mackerel and stripers were there for me in Maine!

August 2016 - They were still there for me during a separate trip in August, too!

September 2016 - Sunrise in Northern Michigan on my choice of smallmouth lakes for the day.

September 2016 - Walloon Lake was unexpectedly difficult, but she still coughed up some nice fish.

October 2016 - Reeds Lake was on fire for pike!  Deep cranks trolled in the daily target zone produced a lot of action!

October 2016 - A pretty typical pike from Reeds.  I got cut off a few times, lost a solid 34-incher, and saw a giant, but only caught a handful over 30 inches.  Still, when solid eaters like above are plentiful to the point of being predictable, that is good fishing in my estimation!

November 2016 - The month was all about family travels (interrupted by a little bit of work), and I didn't even fish until November 29.  This pond on Cape Cod looked plenty trouty to me, though!

Family Trip

Plans for our 2016 Thanksgiving were hatched over a year ago.  With both girls now in New England, we were hosted by my maternal uncle on Cape Cod.  Some cancelled and some were mildly ill, but our travels from Michigan were without issue, and by 2:30 PM on the day before Thanksgiving, my wife and I were reunited with our studious girls.  By 5 PM, we were on the Cape!

With fewer people in attendance and the hosting house less attractive due to illness, we had more time to be together as a nuclear family and extra time to explore.  It turned out to be a wonderfully relaxing long weekend!  The trip back to Michigan wasn't too painful, and I even scored a bonus day free from work, so I got to try for a muskie one more time.

Thanksgiving Day itself was very pleasant.  During the meal, we discussed (among other things) boat names.  I've collected quite a few possibilities for my future boats, but when pressed for the likely name of my next saltwater boat, I proposed Mooncusser.  This meets all my requirements for a proper boat name; it's unique, thought provoking and simply sounds just a little bit naughty.

A "mooncusser" is a land-based pirate.  You have to admire that!  Their efforts were likely thwarted by moonlight, hence the name.  They depended on luring ships within range by establishing false lighthouses.  I suppose in the deepest gloom, enough captains made enough mistakes to make this a viable method for making a living.

The next day, we were walking the beach at Chatham.  I was pleasantly surprised to note the following:

Municipal Mooncussing; the lighthouse at Chatham, Massachusetts is short and quite a ways inland; a perfect recipe for land-based piracy, especially when combined with shoal water and a shifting inlet.

This shack along the beach caught our attention. It referenced an "Occupation" for some cause, and perhaps has served as a legitimate shelter.

To my delight, I found this inside the shack. 

I can't guarantee she'll be Mooncusser, but the odds certainly have improved!

The trip also included my rediscovery of what was once family property:

This property was once in my grandparents' possession.  I have faint memories of the porch, the hill on the side and the interior lay-out.  I have no recollection of it being so close to the ocean!  But I was only 5 or 6 when the house was sold, and that was before I'd found fishing.

We also poked around the Brewster/Orleans area and found Nickerson State Park.  It was beautifully quiet in the off-season and attractive to the sweet-water fisherman in me.  I am sure we will return again, some day.

Flax Pond in Nickerson State Park, Brewster, Massachusetts.  Some trout were rising; I had no gear.  I met a couple of fishermen on their way out, and it looked like Berkley PowerBait on the bottom was their plan.