Anyone set annual goals?
I've been actively fishing since I was 14 years old (getting darn close to 50 years of fishing...,yikes) and never once thought about setting a fish total goal for the year....until now. Before July 2021, I was primarily a fly fisherman catching trout in the high sierras....Then I bought a bass boat. I'm one year into bass fishing and it's safe to say I am hooked. And for some reason, now I want to set some fishing goals for 2023. I'm definitely going to keep a ledger next year, so I'll know exactly how many I catch...and more importantly how, because I can't believe how many different ways you can catch a bass. Thought it would be fun to see how reality at the end of the year stacks up to what I think I'm going to do right now. This type of goal is definitely unique to each fisherman, depending on how often they get out and what their primary objectives are. So I'm not sure it matters what my fish total goals would be compared to anyone else's? Curious if anyone out there sets goals like that.
I can tell you I want to break into the 7 lb+ category for my personal best (currently 5 lbs 4 oz) and would like to exceed 20 lbs for a bag limit (my current best is 14 lbs 11 oz)
What bodies of water do you fish? A common goal among bass anglers is the elusive 10lb bass. While, because of the abundance and growth rate of Florida strain bass, this goal is more readily achieved in places like Florida, Califorinia and Texas, for the majority of anglers, it's attainable if everything lines up. Growing up, people called bass over 10lbs. a "trophy" the same for 6lb smallmouth in the area. Until I got older and started reading bass fishing magazines, I thought this was universal. As a result, these have been my lifelong goals, I've achieved neither. I didn't have a scale when I caught my biggest largemouth, but it was around 7lbs. I'm pretty good at eyeballing, but I'm probably under a little to say it was 7lb even. My biggest smallmouth was 4lb 12oz. I've never considered setting goal just for the year, but it's an interesting prospect, particularly if you want to reevaluate your progress and have room to set more lofty goals in the future.
Ned Kehde (who is famous for the Ned Rig) was on our live show, and he has interesting goals that he and his wife set for each fishing trip. In my opinion, this is one of our best live shows. I found Ned fascinating and informative.
https://bassu.tv/bass-fishing-video/ned-rig-innovator-ned-kehde-july-2020
I watched that Ned Kehde video a month or so ago. It was fascinating!! And I had no idea before watching it that the "Ned" rig was actually named after a guy named Ned. It's funny, because I just bought some new braid to switch out on one of my reels and it got me thinking about how Ned reverses his braid by tying one end to a tree and then walking around his property until his spool is empty, and then just reversing the walk to respool and turn that line around. I thought about doing that....for about 10 seconds and then bought some new line.
I live in Rocklin (Northern CA) and fish all over the place. From the Delta to alpine lakes and everything in between. I would have to agree that a 10 pound bass is a trophy. I hope to catch one of those some day....soon. However, I'll probably stick with a 7 lb goal for 2023, just to have a realistic chance of hitting it. I know there are fish larger than that out there where I'm fishing, so you just never know. What I hope to get the most from a ledger is to pick up some patterns on what I'm doing in various weather conditions, seasons, water clarity, etc. in order to learn how to get to the most efficient way to fish each particular condition. It's going to take some effort to be consistent recording that info... but that's my plan.
I have several of the same reels with spare spools, the easier way to do that braid deal is to just put a spare spool on another reel and reel it off one and onto the other. It's nearly the same effort, as you save the time of stripping the line off in the first place. Additionally, if you do it Ned's way, I would just do it at the ramp. There's usually a long grassy area somewhere around the perimeter of the boat ramp that makes it easy to do. Speaking of line tricks, have you ever let out about 30 yds of fluorocarbon or mono line, closed the bail and dragged the line behind the boat at idle for a while? Awesome for getting out line twists. Probably my favorite technique is dropshotting, and before I used braid to fluoro, I had twisty knotted line all the time. Dragging it behind the boat makes it nearly as good as new. I am almost completely sold on braid to fluoro now.
I've never heard about dragging flouro behind the boat to untwist. But I'll definitely be giving that a try the very next time I'm out. Thanks
Oh, important note, take everything off the line first, cut off all lures, swivels, etc. and let the water pull it off the reel as you idle, then flip the bail over when there's more line out than the distance you can cast. That lets the line pull the twists to the end of the line. I realized that if I forgot to mention cutting the lure off first, you might wind up with a tangled mess if you dragged it with the lure. Additional tip, I also do this with extension cords in my yard. I find the middle and drag it in a "U" shape across the grass for about 50 yards, pulls all the tangles out.
Yes, I knew you meant for the line to be empty. Wouldn't do much good to keep a lure on the line, considering that's what probably tangles it up in the first place. Thanks for the follow up though.
