Fish Catching Travel
2012 Review
What an interesting year Fish Catching Travel has had. We have been lucky enough to catch quite a few fish this year. It has seemed that when one place has not cooperated, another has. Some good fishing memories were created, and I was glad I was there.
One thing I noticed this year is that some of the biggest fish of the year were caught by the fisherman in the back of the boat. In Canada I caught not only the biggest muskie, but the most out of the back of the boat. One of my nicer bass this year came from the back of the boat on Fayette County.
My brother Shoedog, not only caught the biggest bass of our recent trip to Falcon out of the back of the boat, he caught 3 over 7 in a row off one place fishing behind 2 people. He also managed his biggest bull red while trout fishing with 8lb line, a real battle we caught on film.
And there were a couple of days this year when we whacked the trout. Though I caught several good ones, I still have to catch the real monster. Hopefully that will happen at Baffin in the next couple of weeks. Several of those days we found them under the birds, which was great fun.
I also got introduced to duck hunting by my friend Chris. And every trip, whether we killed a bunch or not, was a cool outdoor adventure. As my love of the sport continues to grow I know that will be one of the few things that takes me away from the fishing. And thanks to the coast, you can knock them both off in the same day!
And my readership has continued to grow. I can not tell you all enough how thankful I am to have you stopping in. What started out as more of a self journal has turned into a real website. Though my initial writing was for myself, now I do it for you. And it would not be possible without you.
I also would like to thank the following websites for letting me post my reports. I would never try to steal their readers, I simple find that it best way to share real fishing information, the good and the bad. So if you do not know any of these guys be sure to stop by their websites. I promise if you are a reel fisherman you will find stuff on their sites you will love.
2CoolFishing http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/
Texas Fishing Forum http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/forum_summary
FishingTx.Com http://www.fishingtx.com/forum/index.php
Strike King http://www.strikeking.com/forums/index.php#1
Austin Bass Fishing http://www.austinbassfishing.com/forum/
CYBER-LAKE.COM http://www.cyber-lake.com/
4reelfishing.com http://4reelfishing.com/videos/
The World Wide Fishing Club http://www.theworldwidefishingclub.com/
I also appreciate your emails and comments. Even though I do not post most of the comments to my site, I read each and every one of them. And I do my best to answer any email and questions you might have. So if I missed you for some reason this year, try me again. And if you have something to say, say it. I am a big boy. If I do not know what you are thinking, how can I respond? And if you have a picture you would like to have me post, send it to me. Ever thought about writing about your fishing trips? Contact me, I would love to have reader input.
And with that comes the only real complaints I have had this year. Over the last year I have had 7 complaints in 45,629 visits. Not a bad ratio as far as I am concerned. All of those were from folks who did not like me writing about a specific place. My discussions with those folks have been civil other than one particular gentleman. He claims I am part of the reason it is so crowded in some places. I am flattered that someone thinks I have that kind of influence, the truth is most places are only a secret in our mind. In fact his suggestion was that I write about another area more crowded, and just make up a story. Well the best way I knew to repond to that was by the next trip going to that crowded area, we only saw 6 boats all day, and catch some fish. Well we whacked a limit in nothing flat in the “crowded” area.
I wish I would have handled that one differently, it kind pissed me off, so my revenge was to go there and get it done. Definitely petty on my part. Which leads me to the bigger point. Folks it is not where you go, it is what you do when you get there. Chasing the magic place is not the answer. The answer is to keep learning and experimenting. Find out how the fish you want to catch react, refine what you do best, and then apply it where you are. I have alwasy believed that fishing is something to be shared with others. There is nothing better than helping folks find a real appreciation of our sport. That was my answer to those first 6 folks, and should have been my answer to number 7.
And looking back at my New Year’s resolutions I actually got most of them done. The one I am most proud of my intent to fish with at least 5 people I have never fished with before, and I got that done. My favorite was meeting a guy fishing on the pier at the ramp, and taking him several times. So thanks to Todd, Aaron, Rick, Brian, TJ, and I am sure a few others. You make my year special. Also, I had 2 fish left on my bucket list, and I was lucky enough to cross the muskie off the list. I did not manage a Tuna, as lions, elephants, and other cool Africa game got in the way. Oh well, who knows, maybe it will happen this year.
And finally, as you know I have always told you what I was catching on, and I try to make it the very bait, by the specific company that makes them. Lures are tools, nothing more. I hope over the next year to attract a few sponsors to help with the cost of this project. So if you know someone who would like to help an everyday fisherman who works hard at catching fish, and then telling you all where and how, let them know.
Duck Hunting Video
First I would like to apologize to one of our party that day. In the original post I called him Ron. His name is Russell. It is hell getting old, and the memory isn’t what it used to be. But he was a good guy to hunt with, and he can breast a duck like nobody’s business.
If you have ever thought about buying a GoPro to record your own adventures, watch the following video. The reason it works so well for me is I wear it on my head, and record what is close to me. In this case it clearly had it’s limitations. Low light, steady rain, high flying ducks, there was lots of things to make it hard. My friend Jeffish did the filming, and I was actually surprised we got what we did.
So as you can see they were flying and dying.
You can see at the end the camera shake. We were cold and wet, so you can see how limited use they are. But for everyday filming of your fishing adventures they are the way to go.
And finally, this week something I hoped would never happen, did. I have been boat less for the last 4 days. I had already scheduled service on the flats boat, and then I spun the hub on the skiff. One of the reasons I kept the skiff was to always be sure I had some way to get on the water, and then of course this happens. I mean it is no big deal, but funny since I used the old “need a spare boat in case” as the justification for keeping both when my wife asked it I was going to sell the other boat when we got the new one. Now that is funny right there.
So thanks for stopping in. South Texas got some much needed rain, and I hope to be out on the water to see the results. We have some warm days ahead, and it is time to catch not only a big bass, but a big trout. So hop of the couch and find a way to get to your favorite water.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
