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!