2012 In Review (Or - The Minutiae That Can Be Generated With A Spreadsheet!)

[Goose52]

I saw that some folks were posting facts and figures for their successes in 2012 so I decided to join the party and fire up Excel and crank-out some semi-interesting factiods from my "catching" spreadsheet...

 

2012 was a pretty good year for me.  A new 9.54lb LMB PB.  Lots of bass in numbers, but not quite as many quality fish as in 2011.  I do keep detailed “catching” records and the statistics are sorta fun to review. For those that are interested in such minutiae, here are some of my stats for 2012:

 

263         Days that I caught fish

1236       Total fish caught

1202       Total bass caught (all LMB)

9.54lb     Biggest LMB caught (new PB)

48.6lb     Biggest fish landed (grass carp)

853         Fish caught from the bank

383         Fish caught from the boat

41           Days I had the boat on the water

9.3          Average number of fish on a boat day

 

Baitcasting vs. Spinning:

668         Fish caught with baitcasting gear
568         Fish caught with spinning gear

 

Baits:

880         soft plastics

356         hard baits

 

 

Fish by Rod Brand:

7              All Star

268          BPS

635          Loomis

1              Phenix

14            Shimano

311          St. Croix

 

Fish by Reel Brand:

649          BPS       

3              Daiwa

568          Pflueger

16            Shimano

 

Fish by Line Test:

12            4lb

121          6lb

157          8lb

427         10lb

84           12lb

2             14lb

433         20lb (braid)

 

Gasoline consumed to support fishing:  ~80-100 gallons (estimate)

 

Best fish photo posted this year:

 

[00 mod]

Very detailed log you have there.  Much more detailed than I do.  And man am I jealous of this one fact:

 

263         Days that I caught fish

 

How many days did you fish?  Did you ever get skunked?

 

Jeff

[Goose52]

Hey Jeff - I fish "every day" - the quotes are there to indicate that there are a few exceptions: when I'm on a trip, a couple days a year when I just get too busy to grab some time to hit a lake, and when the water is hard. It doesn't happen often, but I have to admit that I have just flat skipped a day a few times when the weather was too brutal (although I do fish in the rain and have fished with the wind chill under 15deg).

 

While I don't fish big water at all, I do have 11 little lakes (5 to 201 acres) plus a couple very small ponds all within a 6 mile radius of my house. So, it's just a matter of jumping in the car and driving a few minutes and I've got some water to fish. Not a lot of big, quality fish in these lakes, but at least a place to fish.

 

Do I get skunked - not often in "prime time", but certainly I do in winter. I couldn't buy a bite in December and haven't caught a fish since December 28...but have fished every day.  I even got skunked once in the boat this year - the last time on the water in November...and that was 7 hours on the water... 

 

So, for 2012, I probably fished about 300 to 320 days, perhaps more. I only keep "catching records" - not "days fished" records. However, I did jot down in the spreadsheet the days I didn't catch a fish in "prime time" - March through October:

 

OT = out-of-town

 

March 2 - skunk

March 20-22 - OT

June 5-7 - OT

July 17 - OT

Sept 11-13 - OT

October 1 - skunk

October 3-10 - OT

October 23 - skunk

October 29 - skunk

October 31 - skunk

 

For comparison, in 2011 I had 262 "catch days" (eerily close to the 263 catch days in 2012) and in 2010 I had 220 "catch days" (I had hard water in January and December that year).  So, I've caught fish on 745 days during the last three seasons.

 

I recently "un-retired" with a little gig that will take some time later this year so I think my numbers will be going down for 2013

[A-Jay]

Very cool list of facts and figures Goose.

 

 I keep records but they aren't quite as detailed.  Mine revolve around the conditions, time of day / night,  weather &, moon phases.

 

One thing I do keep track of is fish lost; specifically if my line or leader was broken. I really hate that.

  I do it to remind myself whatever that particular line, knot and conditions I was fishing (usually some structure) it didn't work and don't do it again.

 

I've had a few seasons where I never broke off.  And have had a few when it was more than I'd like. 

My Fluorocarbon phase was brutal.  That's done now.  It's braid and mono and I'm good to go.

 

A-Jay

[shimmy]

Great log. This is always fun stuff to read. I agree with another member when they stated how awesome that photo is when you first posted it. That is just awesome.

[Goose52]

A-Jay - keeping a record of break-offs is a pretty nifty idea.  I should pick that up for this season.  Just from memory, I probably had somewhere between 6 to 10 this year - each time probably due to rookie mistakes on my part.  I lost a 50 pound class carp that I probably could have landed - I'm pretty sure I had a nick in the line that I didn't catch in time (10lb test).  Three times I broke off on 8lb mono on the same reel and it was driving me nuts - one time it was on a BIG fish (same lake as my 9.5 pounder)...turns out that the drag was tightened down and I didn't realize it...duh!!!  Each time, I tend to name myself as the tentative causal factor, and think of what I did and how to prevent it in the future...

 

Hey Shimmy - I jot down notes as I fish and it really doesn't take long to record the data on the water - then a few minutes in the evening for data entry. Some folks think it's crazy - but it's fun for me to play with the data.  Yeah - an 8x10 of that bucketmouth is on my wall - she wasn't a 10...but she had a big mouth for sure!

[00 mod]

I wish I could claim no break offs. Or even under 10. Problem is in my club lake there are grennel that eat bass lures like a bass does. I always blame them, but I am sure sometimes it is my fault.

Jeff

[A-Jay]

Magnum not target species, like 50lb carp, are simply casualties of war.  If you were targeting that fish you would probably have landed it - along with several others.  So that one might not make the data page, more of an honorable mention I guess.

 

Clearly you have skills so it's not like parting your line is a routine occurrence.

 

But when I look back at seasons past and add up "the Big Fish" - there would definitely be more in that section if I'd landed the ones that broke me off.

 

A-Jay

[Goose52]

On the break-offs, one advantage I have is that there are no toothy critters in any of my lakes.  Like we were talking about in the knot thread the other day, I just try to tie a good knot, wet the line when I cinch it down, make sure my drag is set properly, trim and retie frequently, retie every couple fish, feel the line occasionally for abrasion, etc.  Then, when I get home from fishing, every rod that has had line in the water gets the line trimmed back (6" to 12" min. - sometimes a couple feet if necessary) and a fresh knot before being put away.

[Dwight Hottle]

Nice log goose. Obviously your preparation & attention to detail serves you well.

[Goose52]

Hey Dwight - I get teased about my record keeping...not only for fishing but for other hobbies as well. I think it relates to my background in aircraft maintenance and manufacturing, and being in the Quality field. One tends to work with lots of records in these environments - I guess it transferred to my personal endeavors...

[Wayne P.]

Good records. I just keep a number for bass caught.

[Goose52]

Good records. I just keep a number for bass caught.

 

I know you do Wayne...and your totals are usually at least THREE times mine as I recall...

[Wayne P.]

I know you do Wayne...and your totals are usually at least THREE times mine as I recall...

LOL, no for 2012 about twice as many in about 1/3 the days

[ww2farmer]

You have inspired me, I do keep a log as well, but it's more like a diary entry, I'll have to get into it and break it down, see what I come up with.

[MCS]

I am curious to what your catch rate is fish to hours? I seen a few of y'all post days to fish but a day for some of you is 8 hrs on the water where a day for say me is 1 maybe 2 if I am lucky. This year I started to keep records like this myself. And I love the pic of the big ole head.

[Goose52]

You have inspired me, I do keep a log as well, but it's more like a diary entry, I'll have to get in to it and break it down, see what I come up with.

I also record location, water temp, fish length, weight for 14" and over, and some other data.  The data has come in handy for looking at seasonal or water temp trends and in some cases determining which of the 11 lakes to concentrate on.  It really doesn't take long to jot down the data on the water.  

 

I am curious to what your catch rate is fish to hours? I seen a few of y'all post days to fish but a day for some of you is 8 hrs on the water where a day for say me is 1 maybe 2 if I am lucky. This year I started to keep records like this myself. And I love the pic of the big ole head.

Boat days are 4 to 9 hours. From the bank, I fish anywhere from 45 minutes to 4 hours.  I probably average a fish every 45 to 60 minutes of fishing time.  You have to work for your fish in my little lakes - they are not productive at all.  For instance, the local bass club has a metric they keep based on the total number of fish reported caught and the total angler hours for the tournament. During tournaments, the catch rate is about 1 fish every 1.5 angler hours. Some 2 angler boats will not get a 5 fish bag during a 6-7 hour tournament - and that is with a 10" keeper size. The tournaments are often won with a 5 to 7 pound bag.  That's my water....

[SirSnookalot]

I keep no records, the year was ok for the most part.  I probably fished somewhere around 340 days this past year, been skunked in saltwater, can't remember being skunked in fresh, it may have been only a 6" fish, but I caught it and avoided the schnied.  I probably didn't catch more than a couple of dozen fish with convential gear, just about everything was caught using spinning rigs.  All the 20-25" bass, snook over 30", larger jacks, tarpon, and my largest fish may have been 180-200#( about a 7' reef shark), were pale in comparison to my permit.  Caught the permit where there are none, caught it on as bucktail, they prefer live crabs, ran it down on foot 300 yds so I didn't get spooled, luckiest catch of my life.

I don't weigh fish as a rule, but I have marks on some of my rods so I have a good idea of lenght.  I ended 2012 with a 45" cuda and started 2013 with a 24" LMB.

[MCS]

I also record location, water temp, fish length, weight for 14" and over, and some other data.  The data has come in handy for looking at seasonal or water temp trends and in some cases determining which of the 11 lakes to concentrate on.  It really doesn't take long to jot down the data on the water.  

 

Boat days are 4 to 9 hours. From the bank, I fish anywhere from 45 minutes to 4 hours.  I probably average a fish every 45 to 60 minutes of fishing time.  You have to work for your fish in my little lakes - they are not productive at all.  For instance, the local bass club has a metric they keep based on the total number of fish reported caught and the total angler hours for the tournament. During tournaments, the catch rate is about 1 fish every 1.5 angler hours. Some 2 angler boats will not get a 5 fish bag during a 6-7 hour tournament - and that is with a 10" keeper size. The tournaments are often won with a 5 to 7 pound bag.  That's my water....

 

yeah it depends on my water too, some is like that and some is plentiful. I recall seeing on the Va dept. wildlife reports that they say anything from 1-2 fish per hour is a healthy/average fishery. I just am curious to compare apples to apples, knowing there will be descrpencies based on misc things. No statistic is perfect.

 

 

 

I keep no records, the year was ok for the most part.  I probably fished somewhere around 340 days this past year, been skunked in saltwater, can't remember being skunked in fresh, it may have been only a 6" fish, but I caught it and avoided the schnied.  I probably didn't catch more than a couple of dozen fish with convential gear, just about everything was caught using spinning rigs.  All the 20-25" bass, snook over 30", larger jacks, tarpon, and my largest fish may have been 180-200#( about a 7' reef shark), were pale in comparison to my permit.  Caught the permit where there are none, caught it on as bucktail, they prefer live crabs, ran it down on foot 300 yds so I didn't get spooled, luckiest catch of my life.

I don't weigh fish as a rule, but I have marks on some of my rods so I have a good idea of lenght.  I ended 2012 with a 45" cuda and started 2013 with a 24" LMB.

 

Helluva end and start to your year!!!