Highs- Snotty august night with a fish on nearly every cast for 4+ hours. Nothing under 37" and the majority over 40". Waited a long time for a night like that.

Lows- knowing this is the curtain call for my paternal grandfather, who is directly and indirectly responsible for many of the great hobbies and places I have enjoyed in my life.

Highs: -Fishing with my son, 17 yo.

- Catching 9-10 lbers in the Maine surf on the fly rod. With the sun coming up over the edge of the ocean.

Lows: Telling 3 separate guys to "back the ef up" as they came and stood on top of me because I had caught a fish. Really bugged me. Almost came to blows.

Overall this has been my best year yet, so far. I still plan on doing quite a bit more fishing if the weather allows. I'm pretty sure I got my pb from shore (although I didn't weigh or measure it) and caught and released more nice fish this season than probably the last 4 seasons combined. This is probably due to me fishing more this year than I have in the past 7 or 8 years. I only got out on the boat 3 times and only one trip was for bass, but I fished a ton from shore and even learned to enjoy fishing the canal.

Highs were getting out a lot and meeting and fishing with people from this site. I also did 2 of the Kayak Scrambles (thanks, BigFish!), which were great. I'm looking forward to lots more next year. I learned enough about fishing the canal to want to learn more next year and I even made a half a$$ canal bike. I tried some new techniques this year and they definitely paid off for me with some really nice fish. And my biggest high of this season was getting out on the boat with my 5 year old son and dad for some bottom fishing fun.

There are never many lows for me when it comes to fishing, but there were a couple of things that could have been better this year. I didn't fish nearly as much with my dad as I usually do, although I did get him on his first canal bass in about 50 years. I only got out with RIJIMMY once, but hopefully we'll get a chance to fish together this weekend. I wasn't able to get Spence away from his GQ magazines to get him out, but I'll keep working on him for next spring. :uhuh:

Fishen wit all youse guys
 

Really, meeting and seeing so many people here. I get to meet them all personally, because I fish so much with Bigfish, and knows freikin everyone. I have trouble remembering their real names and he knows both the screen name here, the screen name on SOL, their dates of birth and their favorite colors, because they all order wood from him.

One fish in particular stands out. Their were many others in the low 30 # range and even more 20 #ers, many of which became dinner fare. Next year I have a goal of winning a monthly in the Cup. So now that I have said it, I wont catch a fish over 10 #'s next year.

Driving off the ferry in Vineyard Haven with my brother, Squid Kids Dad, for our annual sojourn across the sands of Martha's Vineyard. Buying gas, paying for Chappy ferry tickets every day, spending time with Bubba, Ronny, Keving, Sharkman, and every other person who is chasing the Holy Grail of fish on the Vineyard who thinks a person fishing on Chappy is going to catch it fishing from the beaches of Chappy. Stopping at Larry's and finding your the first person to open the cooler filled to the brim with fresh butterfish. Getting to first dibs is really special. Walking the beach under the lighthouse with the gale force winds shooting sand from behind you into the back of your neck so hard it really friekin hurt. And trying to work a plug parralell to the wind and get a decent workable cast.

Joining the Gibbs Classic club along with 18 other new members last spring. Enjoying a great barbecue that is part of the joining festivities that day at the Bource Campground.

Letting the canal become ground zero for the majority of my fishing pleasure. It is not easy fishing there, but it can be rewarding if you put your time.

Looking forward to fishing next year with wood I made. Caught fish with some of my stuff this year, but my plugs need honing.

2011

You need to start wearing socks, lol

highs - having a kid

fishing highs - august new moon was good. nothing crazy, but a few really good nights. its really the only time i got out with any consistency all year since i took a few days off from work for it.

fishing lows - the weather and my schedule never really cooperated in september and october.

High: Catching and releasing back to back PBs (45 &46#s) and watching my fishing partner become more excited than me once each was weighed. I have the best fishing partner anyone could ask for and his humor and friendship keeps things interesting even on slow nights.

Low: Watching a fish waaaaaay bigger than the 46 (got close look at it w/ headlamp) break off very close to shore. This still hurts very badly and cant seem to get it out of my mind.I often think of what I could have done different in the last 15 seconds of fighting. I had 33 nights in the surf in 50 days and fished hard this year....it just hurts.

highlights:
*August FULL moon... (killer!)

*8 block surf trips
*Almost tripled the number of keepers compared to last year
*66 nights fished
*5 fish over 31 pounds
*Lost count of 20 #'ers
*Fished with new people. (Thumper has a great attitude & is great to fish with)
*Met all my goals... ALL while being a father to 16 month old and doing a master's degree!!!

Low points:

*slow pick on mainland due to warm water in july.august, hence the 8 block trips)
*Last few outings!
*losing two 30#+ fish on consecutive casts at dead low tide on the same boulder.... (ouch!)
*Still no confidence in bucktail jigs... maybe because I took 15 casts with them all season!

well it never goes away really
...it only gets easier to make sense of it over time

it's the yin and yang of life ....the opposite of catching

Good time fishing Canal , got some big fish from the Rocks .Low No Albies this year .

Highs:

two incredible clear July nights kayak fishing on joppa with eels catching PB fish with other yak fisherman

catching my 1st BFT with Buzz in October

learning how well eels work when slow trolling behind the yak at night

Lows Not putting my brother into fish when we kayak fished barnstable harbor one summer night in August

No Block trip this year

the high ; watching my 5 yr old daughter catch a snapper blue herself ! Also a PB on fluke(29.5") fishing w/ a good friend was awesome. BROKE THE NET !!!!

the low ; breaking off something really big early in the season inexpicably, while using fresh 50lb braid. pain+suffering.

All lows for me...spent the whole spring/summer paying off my truck only to have my truck get sideswiped in Wellfleet center about a week after paying her off. Luckily the damage is not so bad and can be repaired. It was a tough year for me, but looking forward to some great ice fishing to come. I have lots of payment free dreams for next year!
Later,
Rick

Season isn't over

Highs - Bought our first house in May (which will be a low as well). Fishing with some good people and some good fisherman. Lucky to be able to fish with some good experiernced anglers here and there, and occasionally get into some nice fish. The amount of bait locally really made for some great fall fishing. Some great beach blitzes 2 minutes from the house. You cant beat that.


Lows- Didnt get to really put in real hard hours in the surf. The first 2 1/2 months of this summer after working on the house I was to tired to fish. I was mostly just heading out for an hour or so. Ill make up for it next season.

Yes, I understand what your saying and such is life I guess.



. I do know what I did wrong and made that correction on the 2 PBs I caught a few days AFTER losing her. Never,ever fish a spot without an good place to land. I follow this rule 99.9% of the time and for some reason that night @ 1am..."oh Ill fish this rock over here, no good place to land but I'll worry about it later". All I really had to do was move 15 ft to the right while the fish was on would have had no problems landing as she was licked,laying on her side 10-12' ft away from where I was standing (had head lamp on her for about 5 seconds)...but after 1-2 minutes of trying to get my footing/finding a spot to land, she got her shoulders back, pulled hard, swinging parallel with the shore right through a large boulder-field into old dilapidated mussel bed, and well..."it just hurts". Both the 45+46 were caught in the same location where I lost this one (if I had to guess size Id say well over 50, maybe close to 55,but I was tired,1am in total darkness so take that for whats its worth) and where each fish struck was probably not 5 ft from one-another. I was just fishing to the right "15ft" where shallow water prevails and had access without falling into a hole 8-10' deep in waders @ 1am. Ill get my redemption, its just a matter of time. Cant stand the wait though. Now I can only dream as the water gets colder.

high points
learning to trust using a needlefish lure,slow and slower is killa'
(finally learning some patience)

found some hot blackfish spots in smithtown bay, 10 minutes from my launch spot

may/june fluking

low point
july/august fluking...heat was killer

breaking off some sweat lures only because of a cracked guide on my pole...more of a reason to keep building

high winds this fall...will it ever stop blowing????

LOWLIGHTS~~~

my first time to fish Geeberry, was way too late in the season and weedy in a blowing and wet Nov storm around the New.

losing "sumthing" HUGE at the Ditch in the middle, during an Easterly drop, around Oct's full. also, dropping my first take at the Canal
due to Spring and buck fever. tried to horse it in waaaaay too green.

landing bupkiss for the HABS Fall Classic.

zigging, when we should've zagged during the MS and missing some difference making stripers and booos during the tourney.

fishing the least amount of time i've ever fished in six yrs and for the first time not landing a pb from the surf.
i missed big fish in my honey hole, TWICE!!
:wall: :wall: :wall:

HIGHLIGHTS~~~

fished the DIIIIITCH for the first time ever and fished it w/BBeach!!!

landed a pb for AYC with one of Mike's conrads, 28#'er.

scored sum schwag from OTW for a Striper Cup weekly, and the StriperFest party was most excellent ~~hanginig with and seeing the usual suspects. i was bummed to have missed the DeCostas, there.

Prime Rib at FLO's and fishing with Iron Mike and Chefchrisjoe during the HABS,,,,,,,,,,,,,,then, the Raffle/Awards Shindig on Sunday.

fishing the MS Surf Club Challenge with some old friends from SoCo and meeting Mooks and Dave from CA that same w/e!! fished with tha Bossman ~one night, and Veracka ~very briefly. also, finally landing some fish for the tourney and team!! took me 4 yrs, but it was worth the weight!! missed the heaviest striper by 4 lbs and lead all others.

winning the "It's Over" was a BLAST and i can't wait til next year.
thanks again, Mike and Scotty for the plug and tins. they WILL be abused next year!!!

meeting some of the MSBA's finest(Pollock, Pollock's partner, Sales) and getting to know and fish with them to wind down the season.
that same w/e, i talked to fishbones, and met OD Mike in SoCo.

finding Gooseberry Beach in a howling storm, in your face winds, plenty of rain, and high surf. then at first light, it cleared, the wind laid down, and i worked the entire neck,,,,,,,,,,,,,what a SPAWWWWT!!!

i had a GREAT year! not so much from the weight side of the equation, but from the people side,,,,,,,,,,,,this season was
off the charts and far more rewarding than any before it. and for that i am MOST grateful!!
:grins: :grins: :grins:

ALL HIGHS
 

:fishin:First year out in the surf,no injuries.joined CSA,awsome,met some,fished with some great people,kev,aram,fishrick,woody,billy d,and so on.lots of trips.not to many fish mostly schoolies.lots of awsome nights,ended the year with a 35" P.B.and managed somehow to get last fish in to ITS OVER contest.:uhuh:santas bringing some new gear so i can give back the stuff i borrowed that i couldnt have fished with out:jump1: The lows lets see ,the seasons over NOW WHAT!!!!!:buds: Great year looking foward to many more.:soon:

Highs: getting to kayak at night on some truly awesome nights. Getting to fish with sister & brothers and their kids and have THEM catch plenty. Getting swept up by the swell from a passing cargo ship in the canal and not losing the fish I had on at the time.
Kayaking with friends and family AND catching fish to boot!


Lows: not getting to fish as often as I would have liked due to weather conditions (kayak +wind +rain = :sick::yak::no2:)
I don't mind a little rain, but I'm talking gale force winds and tropical storms!
Not getting more friends out kayaking (I bought a 2nd one for that reason)

You need to get out for some Scrambles with the Yak Rats next year. Lots of fun with great people!

Lot's of highs with new boat, overnighting it with wife at neighboring islands and fishing our way home.

Lows...the depressing fall bass run on MV...

Highs: my boat in the water from mid-March until Nov 30th. Caught lots of different species including my annual BFT which this year waited to mid-Oct. Fished with many new friends, too numerous to mention, out on my boat. Made a few casts into the ditch with ODM(maybe that was a low?) Acquired lots of plugs, right BF?

Lows: no albies/bonito this seaon. got a job (maybe that was a high?)

Dawg, I gotta tell ya, I love you. I know you are bright, articulate and well spoken. But when you write a long post like this in BassDawgism, it just gives me a headache. Just to difficult to decipher all your.

love you too, my bruthah~~~
:) :) :)

thanks for the compliments; the length was due to the number of highs and lows, the text is directly attributable to my fun-loving nature when retelling tales. it is for some, and NOT for others.

i appreciate your opinion, and will endeavor to curb my enthusiasm a notch,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,then again, it ain't EVEN Winter, yet!!!
once the popcorn begins to flurry, ALL bets are awfff~~~
:biglaugh: :biglaugh: :biglaugh:

:rotf2::rotf2::rotf2::rotf2:

Some might think the MV Fall Run was just right :hihi:

high point fishing with 2 of my sons south county rock pile and getting fish.low point was probably 2nd week of june fishing shut down for few months where i was fishing.all in all had a great year sure as heck beats works,when you have fishing rod and are out on the water its a great high.

High point: 9/1/10 between 10PM and 1 AM picked up 7 fish from 45 to 48". Best night of the season with high hopes for a strong fall season.

Very Low Point: 9/2/10 at 9:30 PM shortly after getting out on the rocks fell and broke 4 ribs. No fishing for the next 10-days.

High point was the fish in the picture. Nothing huge, but it was the first week of May. I think I was one of the first people in MA to catch a 20 lb. fish last season.

Low points -
1. My boat was out of commission for all of July.
2. I did not land my first BFT like I hoped.
3. The Elizabeth Island fishing was the worst it has been in years.