Rate your 2011 season! How did you find it?? Was it a slammer or was it a bummer??

Well I voted! Worst season ever by a landslide! Can't wait until its over and next season begins! 2012 will be alot different for me!!:alright:

Well I voted! Worst season ever by a landslide! Can't wait until its over and next season begins! 2012 will be alot different for me!!:alright:

Ever hear of frying pan into the fire? Don't count them 2012 fish yet!:)

Could not possibly be worse than my 2011 Phil.....of this I can be sure!!:smash:

Best year since 06. Both boat and Canal. I am very pleased and if next year is as good I will be a happy guy. No 40s. A LOT of 30 to 38 # fish and I cannot count the 20 to 29# fish.
BTW, not that it matters but, personally, I killed 2 fish out of over 200 fish over 34". I don't count anything under 34". To me those are "schoolies".

Great season for me.
I didn't obsess about fishing once! Or get disappointed.
I got lots of stuff done and still had plenty of rest.

Basically I didn't fish at all this year. :)

Best season ever for me all around, just sad i put the final straw in my back and have to end it early.. but great fish new great friends and old great friends. Looking forward to spring!
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

I didn't have the greatest season. Had a lot of hours out there with nothing to show for it, however the fish I did land were of quality. Nice helthy 30's and a few 40's. Season's not over yet, I'm still giving it hell.

Best year since 06. Both boat and Canal. I am very pleased and if next year is as good I will be a happy guy. No 40s. A LOT of 30 to 38 # fish and I cannot count the 20 to 29# fish.
BTW, not that it matters but, personally, I killed 2 fish out of over 200 fish over 34". I don't count anything under 34". To me those are "schoolies".

Paul, you are a machine, and one of the "old school" anglers, I salute you! :claps:

Great season for me.
I didn't obsess about fishing once! Or get disappointed.
I got lots of stuff done and still had plenty of rest.

Basically I didn't fish at all this year. :)
:wave: Matt... we had the same year! :uhuh: :btu:

I haven't fished so little as I did this year as I have in 12-13 years.
Too busy, so the times I did go I appreciated more even though they weren't all that productive. sometimes the fish zig when you zag

What Slip said.

Grade: Incomplete

U mean I missed another season again ..when was it:confused:

About to wrap it up.... Knee is junk, as it has been, on and off, since before the Cutty trip in June. Days and nights of walking those boulders may be over. (does a replacement help with the arthritis?)Shoulder is now junk as I have been most every day, dusk and/or dawn, in the surf for the past month and a half. (even on days that I go on the boat in the mornings...)
My take on the stock is one of promise. I have seen decent numbers of all sizes of stripers this year, including a personal best. In past years, I felt we had no shot at 40s and 50s in this area. I now know better and hold out hope for future seasons. Bait has been and still is present, mostly macks, but seeing herring, and small baitfish in good numbers as well. Very few pogies locally however.
Had two weeks of chasing blitzes from beaches within three towns. Outside of that, my success rate in the surf was lower than I would have liked, so can empathize with many who saw off years from the shore. Overall, one of the best and latest falls for me, ever.
With my body no longer able to pound the rocks as I used to, my boat is my great pleasure. Say what you will, but it allows me to fish where I want, how I want, and I make no apologies. I do question the time and expense I have made in making plugs, when all I seem to do is liveline macks from the boat...again, no apologies there either.
No complaints... Other than not seeing and fishing with friends I have seen in past seasons, and missing out on albies... With good health, family, loved ones, and friends, if we can survive this economy, hope will spring again for yet another year.

Two out of the three times I was able to get out were relatively productive, not huge fish by any means ... but every time I did get out was equally satisfying.

Ugh! Between a messed up achilles, plantar fasciitis in both feet and now a torn rotator cuff. Ugh!:sick:

. sometimes the fish zig when you zag

I didn't answer the poll .. Greatest spring ever ,, Worse fall ever .. My best year ever in numbers only because I fished the funnel (canal) mostly and the beaches very little . Hull spring in the yak was good to me ,, rest of the time dead . Don't like the fact my favorite beach the mussel beds are stripped clean .. What's that ? I was lucky a lot ,, what Slip said ..

Spring started out great, but then medical issues half way through the summer pretty much ended it for me.

Loads of teen fish and almost nothing else. But seasons are about how often you go and how much fun you have, and by that measure it was a good one.

May and June were great... barnstable harbor, race point, and cutty were my highlights and a few good trips to the "funnel" as Eddie calls it... can't wait to get back to cutty early next June with the SB boys

I predict a bluegill moratorium will be in place for 2012 in MA, then yellow perch for 2013.

But seasons are about how often you go and how much fun you have, and by that measure it was a good one.

Amen to that :uhuh:

I had fun regardless of the catch rate for bass. I got another tuna on the spinner. I fluked out at Nomans,I got a YF south of RI. Prior to the season I had a goal of trolling big wood at sow and pigs and I started to learn how to accomplish this effectively.Canal was fine considering how seldom I fish it. Is bass fishing what it was 5 years ago? Not in my opinion. Buzzards Bay was a ghost town with fish passing through on their way to somewhere.I did get a few weeks of albies a mile from the dock; cast at them and by the time the lure hits the water they are 200 yds behind you.Fun when they are eating though,even my dog liked it.If my season ended yesterday I would be happy, toggin could not have been better. Five weeks til I get a new hip and I will be as good as new for next season. Tight lines...

Spring was promising, had a great time fishing the beaches around here, and the ditch was really fun in june (highlight of the year), but then as the year rolled on, it got progressively worse for me. all surfcasting, all with plugs, save kicking some macks on the rocks when they swam by.

BTW I hate seals. Seal quota: black powder rifles only, 2 seals per day 50 in minimum. noses go for 20$ per

I voted is was a good season, there were not tons of fish around, and very few schools of fish breaking, but is was consistent.

I caught fish every trip out whether it was charter or fun.

Thats around 30 trips.:uhuh:

I predict a bluegill moratorium will be in place for 2012 in MA, then yellow perch for 2013.

Time for Save the Worms!

This is my first season so, I refrained from voting as I am not sure how it compares to other years.

I would certainly say it was personally a huge success for a first season.
Well over 300 fish. 99% taken from shore(or wetsuiting) on plugs.
I have three plugs that i feel confident in and feel I always have a shot at fish. No one trick pony stuff for me.
And throughout the season I met some awesome people in the process.

Couldnt ask for much more. Sure beat the last few years I had. :rotf2:

May -August great! Nothing over 35# and alot of fish numbers wise ,but a great season. Watched Tyelr progress and catch multiple 20# fish and thats what it's about.
September - present...lousy ,the fall is eluding me again. But I'm not done yet.
So the saga will continue.

spring started out pretty good then died 2nd week of june.need a great november to save my year.

And throughout the season I met some awesome people in the process.



Nice meeting you too Greg :rotf2:, not sure I'll ever forget the 6 mile ride in the lightning/downpours then getting under the bourne bridge to have the sun come out...and alot of other laughs we all had this year.

This is my first season so, I refrained from voting as I am not sure how it compares to other years.


Couldnt ask for much more. Sure beat the last few years I had. :rotf2:

You even got to boat and bobber fish for striper!

I had a pretty decent season. can't complain. Got out on friends boats a few times and got keepers and had a ton of laughs. I had a surf day last week that made my season.

I have three plugs that i feel confident in and feel I always have a shot at fish. No one trick pony stuff for me.


So Greg....you got my attention... what are your 3 go-to plugs...

Between not getting out, and going left when the fish go right... absolutely horrendous season.

Just happy getting out... but results have been worst season I've ever had. And that's on the heels of the previous worst season I've ever had...

Nice meeting you too Greg :rotf2:, not sure I'll ever forget the 6 mile ride in the lightning/downpours then getting under the bourne bridge to have the sun come out...and alot of other laughs we all had this year.

I think we can go ahead and narrow that down to stupidity. I think both of us did not want to be the one to suggest heading in. That was until that last strike. :biglaugh::rotf2:

and how can we forget the now infamous

Skip: "Is there a handle on my reel?"
Mike: "Nope"
Everyone: WTF?

You even got to boat and bobber fish for striper!

I can definately put that down on the list. Lol
I never thought I'd be fishing with bobbers.:biglaugh:

Well let's see, If I was there yesterday it would be an awesome season, but so far skunk city. But since our season is just starting I'm hoping for just one fish....a SIXTY :rotf2:

May through July was better than most, Aug through now has been worse than all seasons combined. Horrible

bad season for me. nothing over 30 pounds. good june and beginning of july. then august and september was crap. got tired of the commute and lack of production. i think i might just fish a few local freshwater ponds next year.

I did not vote because i saw no "average" year in the vote...and in the end.. it "averaged" out.

..late May and June were fantastic...during my vaction on the full moon in June, I had the best daylight plugging I've seen in 20 years... july was normal with river fishing dependable,Myself a a few differant anglers had night time fishing that left large schools of fish( off of the beach) from 20-45lbs feeding because we had had enough for one night( work always seems to get in the way) and around Plum Island( in the river) we had a nice Mix of fish, small to very large ( I had two in one night that might have made 50 or better had I wanted to weigh them).. teen and low twenty sized bass returned to the river mouth( and never really left it) in numbers not seen since the mid 80's...large swimming plugs on wire line by night or live lined macks by day made for a sucussfull trip.... enter Irene... she made a muddy mess of the Merrimack and surrounding beaches... rough storm tossed seas and ground swells kept me from my usual shallow water haunts along the beach front... as soon as things cleared in mid tolate September, the rains re-muddied the river distributing coffee ground consistancy mud out and along the beaches to the south.. clearing out any fish that had shown up... I think I counted 14 fish come over the gunnels ( large, anything under 15lbs is schoolie material, yes i think old school) Mid September through the second week of October... I would consider 14 fish a NIGHT "normal " in most years average.......and I went fishless my last 3 trips... which included a 9 hour daylight marathon of live mac swimming and wire line trolling that covered water from New Hampshire 2/3 of the way to Gloucester.. we even tossed poppers to bluefish ( they dont count either)so the end of the season was a dissapointment of sorts.. I could have moved south ( Like I would have in my younger days) looking for fish south of my domain.. but I dont see the need.. a few more fish wont change my life... as long as I make it back to the dock safely each season it's a good one.. even if the skunk flag is flying..
One thing that did make this a special season, I began fishing with a new fishing partner this season, the first time since 04 that I havent fished alone on a nightly basis...we fished ( and caught fish) on nights when sane people would stay home( and I would have tossed in the towel if I were alone).... even when it was slow..windy ... wet and miserable.. we found a reasons to laugh and to take "one more cast" more often than not.. it lead to one more fish which of coarse led to a few more "one more casts"..

i'd say average, too. didn't get out as much as usual, especially in the fall. catch rate was about normal, though size of fish was down a bit from the last few years, i think primarily because the weather and my wife's work schedule really didn't line up for my "big fish tides" at all this year.

had a good trip to Cutty. Not a ton of fish or favorable weather, but good company, and good ribs.

had a great trip to BI. Again, not a lot of fish or favorable weather, but good company and found/was shown some good looking areas for return trips. Dropped one good one, but the ride out there that night was the highlight of the trip. May try to get in a commando trip out there in early November if the weather cooperates, if not I may still go and just hit PPP :hihi:. By far my favorite place to fish and just be, even though my success rate is much better at home. if I ever win the lottery, that's where you'd find me.

I did not fish near a much as usual this year. I attribure it to a combination of aging, lack of interest, and just doing other things.

Driving to and from local and distant haunts at all hours of the night is just not as appealing to me as it once was.

Very good year, fished a little smarter, caught a few more fish, had a PB, and I made some new friends. It has been good so far and it ain't over, not by a long shot.

I fished my usual 2 weeks in Maine and it was my worst season in 20 years. And I can't wait to get out and try next year! Hoping my timing was just bad and the fish stocks are healthy. I think I'll appreciate it more if I have a good year.

Excellent Spring. Slow Mid July-August. Fun fall. My uncle and I got the tuna bug bad this year and spent a lot of time dragging squid bars when the striper fishing got slow. I got to fight 7, all under 150lbs. Those thoughts kept me smiling while I was enduring more than a few skunks from shore targeting stripers.

Wish I fished freshwater more often, kinda got away from it this year because of the Striper Flu. I got my PB, fished a few days in the spring blitz and won the Trollfest tourney in the fall. I fished with some characters this year, good people.

1 pound sandwich
"Slim, this is the biggest fish I ever caught!" - Markjr
$17 special
Where is my T shirt
Critter lost the big one.. and I have a picture of it
Raffle
TRASK!
Marisa was born
snap, snap - Mojo was born
Pepe's picnic
Pickles
"Slim this is the biggest fish I ever caught" - Mojo
Justin we tried to save your tent
Tobey - the grill that does everything
bring out the gimp!
watching Friday on the access road
No Sleep Til
"How come every time I'm at the canal, your at the canal...at the God Damn Cribbin!? Catching up all the stripers, all the Blue fish...I love STRIPERS, I Love BLUUUUUE FIIIIISH"

My season.
On a scale from 1-10. 9.5
Despite this economy business was up and plenty of fish and mackerel all season to keep people happy.
Did far less offshore trips for ground fish & tuna but with fuel @ $4 per gal and lots of double bookings for the day could care less about running 2+hrs and burning double the fuel.
Did last 2 bass trips for the season yesterday may try to sneak in 1
last cod trip till they close us down nov 1st.
After that will sit on the anchor waiting for large till they are gone or when I haul out after thanksgiving
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

spring and early summer,everything else after was touch and go,seems i lost more than i reeled in after late summer early fall,put my stuff in the storage closet ,maybe someone will twist my arm enough to drag it out again,keeperreaper seems to think there could be a last push at the ditch(good luck with the new job)

I'm not voting because I don't care, I love to be outside with friends having a good time, catching a fish is just a bonus

Aside from 10 days fishing the Canal the rest of the season was a bust. Never have I seen so many placed without fish. The Vineyard was dead water after Irene except for a few days with Albies.Rhody was crazy with the number of fishless places. The locals all said about the same thing. Breachways held a few from time to time but that was it.Maine was not what you'd call a hot spot at all. Laughed at the fish reports especially those that said we clobbered the fish where I was only landing a couple from time to time. Didn't know 2 fish was a blits LOL. Got some serious worry for the next couple seasons. Young of the year looks good and a load of small fish in the Chesapeak but the Nets,seals and commercials are all still there along with an economy that's gonna have more people taking home fish to feed the family.Time to make more calls to raise limits to 36 an 0ne fish everywhere.Commercial cup and other tourneys need to make some tough choices.

so prior to that happening I'll be thankful for everyday I get regardless of how many fish I catch. Not to be a smartass, but I do enjoy just being there and seeing some of you mugs.

:fury:horrible season. i have only been out a couple dozen time haven't had much time to fish. have not caught one bass or one blue... lost about 5 plugs due to linetie errors and bail flips... snapped 8" off the tip of my custom built surf rod, and not to forget the one time on my vaca i had a chance to go to the canal only to get there and realized i left my plug bag on my kitchen table.. fall river to the cape alittle hike.

rene

LOL Know what you mean swimmer LOL

I did not get out too much, the times I did were not too productive. A few fish here and there. Between kids activities and car problems, not a whole lot of fishing

From a surf fishing standpoint in New Hampshire 2011 was just awful. There has been a steady decline in the catch since 2005, with big drops the last three years. The only saving grace in 2008-20010 was a run of good size fish in the fall. This years fall result were about 10% of the 3 prior years.

From the human stand point it wasn't much better. Half the nights I fished alone because people just quit going due to so few fish. People I usually met along the way weren't there this year. Our club numbers are also declining and I just returned from fishing the Tri-state in RI where the group numbers were way down. While I still love being out there at night it's not as good a time as it was.

Decent. Early spring was the usual blast in the tin boat with plugs till June. Got my largest canal fish in several years on a homemade, with several other late morning days that were very good in June. Had probably my best, most enjoyable, day of the year with Numbskull along the islands in his boat throwing plugs, all tide blitz in a fog bank all alone along one of the holes, very memorable. My comm. season was a total bust as the fish were elsewhere and I couldn't be bothered to go chase them and I had other things to do most of the time till Sept and the Albies came in, more fun, then more distractions. Did catch some fish yesterday, although they were small it was still nice to be out fishing in the tin boat with my daughter. I don't get hung up on the catching much anymore, just luv being near the water is all I need to enjoy myself.

Catching was great in the spring. Summer was a little slower than past years for me, and since Sept. it's been pitiful. Always great to get out there though. Still hoping to make one more trip before hanging it up for the season.

Biggest regret was I wasn't able to make either Trollfest. Next year for sure.