Goals for the 2016 Fishing Season

[bkohlman]

My goal is to be the non-boater of the year in our bass club. 

[anthonyfip]

I want to land a bass heavier than the pound test used to catch it.  Did it with a walleye this past year, now time for a largemouth!

[River Dave]

7 minutes ago, anthonyfip said:

I want to land a bass heavier than the pound test used to catch it.

Ooohh I like that idea, that's a great challenge. I throw an ultralight spooled with 6lb mono about half the time I'm fishing and catch a lot of 3 pounders with the occasional 4. I've never caught any bass over 6lb with it but my PB smallmouth is right at 6lbs and was caught on the ultralight and I once caught a 36" Northern with it. I absolutely love big fish on light tackle.

......I suppose I should also add that there are limits to my whole "big fish on light tackle" statement. I was having so much fun with the ultra a few years back that I decided to downsize to a micro. Worked great for a while and I landed some 1.5 - 2 pounders and even a few pickerel with it but it broke the first time I hooked a Northern. I guess there are limits

[WI_Angler1989]

41 minutes ago, anthonyfip said:

I want to land a bass heavier than the pound test used to catch it.  Did it with a walleye this past year, now time for a largemouth!

I'm gonna do the same, hellooo 2# crappie line!

[BassCat29]

To be more consistent and adapt faster to changing conditions.

[ww2farmer]

If I have posted it once, I have posted it 1000 times............my goals going into ANY upcoming season are:

#1 Don't fall out of the boat and drown

#2 Take my kids fishing as much as possible

#3 Have fun................it is just fishing

#4 Don't break anything expensive

#5 Spend the least amount of money as possible on crap I don't need

#6 Spend as much time on the water as I can, it's better than sitting around the house

The fishing always takes care of itself.

 

[ethan-333]

fishing deep more

[junyer357]

12 hours ago, anthonyfip said:

I want to land a bass heavier than the pound test used to catch it.  Did it with a walleye this past year, now time for a largemouth!

I did that last year. I was actually crappie fishing with a kids transformers pole. Caught one just over 7lb on 6# test. It was a lot of fun. Good gosh was it a lot of reeling on that thing. It must only be a 2:1 ratio or something.  

[capjohnson.mike]

I want to get a few more rods and reels..because we all could always use more. I'm stuck between loomis or st.croix frog rod. And trying new baits and techniques to produce bites.

[WI_Angler1989]

Hearing everyone's goals makes me want spring to get here even more! I hope everyone accomplishes what they want, both the real and the silly. 

 

[LittlePineyAngler]

On 2/9/2016 at 11:39 PM, Basspro3106 said:

I know must guys don't want to hear this but I need to take it easy with buying tackle I think I only use 15% of the things I buy.

i would have to agree with you on this and should possibly be added to my goals for this season.

everyone has some great ideas for goals this season but what i want to focus on this year is not stressing out so much when im on the water. When i fish of course i look to have success but sometimes i think i stress myself out to the extent that im not taking enough in. Just having the opportunity to be out there and enjoying the sport is what im going to focus on this year. 

[Felix77]

I have two goals for 2016 ...

1 - Kayak different bodies of water.  Got stuck in one lake which on occasion produced fish.  Need to explore more

2 - Lipless CB's.  Made it a goal to have one tied on all next season to learn the subtleties of it.

[Fishin Ethan]

A couple goals for 2016

1 Go shore fishing from the beach to catch southern flounder

2 Catch a bass over 5lbs

3 Find new Honey Holes 

4 Spend more time on Bass Resource

[WI_Angler1989]

I have a few new goals after hearing everyone elses:

-actually USE all the tackle I bought this winter to leanr. Things like dropshot (completely new to me), finesse jigs, etc.

-go on fishing trips. Whether it's a full blown 3 hr drive campout, or a day trip to a new lake.

-catch a 5# smallie 

-get reacquainted with my small local lake. I grew up fishing it and have stopped canoeing it. You don't get the full effect from shore. 

[lo n slo]

goal #1 is done. we finally sank our brush this afternoon. spoke with a couple guys at the ramp who were coming off the water and they had pics of two fatties. love them fatties.

[lo n slo]

goal 2, check. annual boat cleaning/PM performed today with the exception of electrical connection maintenance and lower unit gear oil. emptied all lockers/storage compartments, vacuumed, washed, waxed and greased. broke a tie down strap, time for a new pair anyways. 

[Gundog]

My goal this year is to try to keep my lures somewhat organized so I don't have to go thru next year what I gotta do this year. I also want to learn to catch fish on a shakey head. I've tryed in the past but always gave up too soon. This year I wanna stick with it.

[wisconsin heat]

On 2/10/2016 at 5:48 PM, WI_Angler1989 said:

I'm keeping my eyes peeled. I don't have many stores around here sadly, just scheels and gander which have next to nothing yak wise. 

Try Farm & fleet in Chippewa ( I work there) , Fleet Farm or Dunham's in Menomonie, cheaper kayaks than Scheels or Gander. 

 

I have an 8' sit in kayak that is rather small, but my store got it in by accident and sold it to me for $60. Far from an ideal yak, but it gets me from one end of the pond to the other. 

Goals for this year are to fish more, fish for more species more often, and fish new waters. Simple, but rewarding if I break out of my comfort zone.

[Starchalopakis]

On 2/13/2016 at 11:37 PM, ethan-333 said:

fishing deep more

+1. Agreed.

[Scarborough817]

fish bigger baits, use my new fish finder, fish a lot of frogs and most importantly enjoy everyday on the water

[Bluebasser86]

On 2/9/2016 at 0:05 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

I want to figure out how to catch fish on a drop shot. It seems like such a simple rig and concept, yet I can almost never have any success with it.

I also would like to stick with my usual yearly goals of a largemouth over 6 and a smallmouth over 4. I haven't managed to do it two years in a row yet, so maybe this year will be that year.

They're not monsters but I'm giving it an honest effort. I had several other bites and would have caught more I'm sure but I broke off the one and only hook I had because I only had about 30 minutes to fish. 

[WI_Angler1989]

7 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

They're not monsters but I'm giving it an honest effort. I had several other bites and would have caught more I'm sure but I broke off the one and only hook I had because I only had about 30 minutes to fish. 

Hey, they're fish after all. Plus doing it on the dropshot is a victory! Very nice start. I'm jealous of those power plant lakes......even my rivers are iced up for the most part.

[Bluebasser86]

1 minute ago, WI_Angler1989 said:

Hey, they're fish after all. Plus doing it on the dropshot is a victory! Very nice start. I'm jealous of those power plant lakes......even my rivers are iced up for the most part.

These were cold water fish. Everything around here has been thawed for a couple weeks now. 

[WI_Angler1989]

18 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

These were cold water fish. Everything around here has been thawed for a couple weeks now. 

Even more envious then. I'm tired of hibernating.

[Gundog]

19 minutes ago, WI_Angler1989 said:

Even more envious then. I'm tired of hibernating.

Agreed. Even with the warmer than normal winter I still am getting antzy to get out and fish.