Hindsight - Would you have done anything differently this season?

[lo n slo]

last winter i made some artificial “trees” out of pvc pipe and sank them in pairs (which made fishing them in deeper water an ordeal at times) i should have created one large brush pile, but i will add to each of them this winter with real trees. i should have known better.

[Bird]

2020 was perhaps one of the more memorable years. 

93 yr old mom passed. 

Last child moved out.

Wife encouraged me to retire after many years of being a workaholic. 

 

Did more fishing in 2020 than the previous 10 years combined. 

 

Hope everyone has something to smile about in 2021.

[NoShoes]

I would’ve spent more time learning to fish structure rather than the log that everyone else pitches too....

 

but it was a very good looking log though...

[the reel ess]

I went to So FL last winter. I fished a couple days down there. One for peacocks and one for largemouth. It was very successful both days but I didn't catch any monster largemouth except for a 7 pounder the guide actually hoked on a freelined shiner ?. But I'll go to Okeechobee next time. The guide told me that's the best bet for a double digit bass.

[volzfan59]

My plan for 2021 is to fish more! I have no excuse, I'm retired and have all the time in the world. I can't believe that I only went fishing three times. Going to spend this winter getting my boat ready. Think I'm going to sell my motorized kayak.

[Spankey]

51 minutes ago, volzfan59 said:

My plan for 2021 is to fish more! I have no excuse, I'm retired and have all the time in the world. I can't believe that I only went fishing three times. Going to spend this winter getting my boat ready. Think I'm going to sell my motorized kayak.

I get out. For a working guy can’t complain too much. But hope I live long enough to retire in a couple/few years. I just want to be able to go like 3 or 4 mornings in a row. Starting in the dark and fish while the sun is coming up. That is my favorite time slot to fish. I like the early morning darkness. 

[the reel ess]

22 minutes ago, Spankey said:

I get out. For a working guy can’t complain too much. But hope I live long enough to retire in a couple/few years. I just want to be able to go like 3 or 4 mornings in a row. Starting in the dark and fish while the sun is coming up. That is my favorite time slot to fish. I like the early morning darkness. 

Same here. The wife is in her last year before she retires. She's a public school teacher. I don't know how long I can stand working with her retired. I just turned the big 5-Oh! She's 53.

[Big Hands]

On 12/2/2020 at 10:21 AM, Sphynx said:

Please tell me you've named him Catfish Hunter...

You may have just triggered the 'geezer alert' feature.

[Sphynx]

2 hours ago, Big Hands said:

You may have just triggered the 'geezer alert' feature.

If you say so, putz! LOL!

[volzfan59]

23 hours ago, Spankey said:

I get out. For a working guy can’t complain too much. But hope I live long enough to retire in a couple/few years. I just want to be able to go like 3 or 4 mornings in a row. Starting in the dark and fish while the sun is coming up. That is my favorite time slot to fish. I like the early morning darkness. 

 

23 hours ago, the reel ess said:

Same here. The wife is in her last year before she retires. She's a public school teacher. I don't know how long I can stand working with her retired. I just turned the big 5-Oh! She's 53.

Guys, If you can pull it off.....RETIRE!!! I was in Law Enforcement for 32+ years. In 2013, I had had enough so I walked. Best decision I ever made. Down to one blood pressure pill and one stomach pill a day and my stress level is pretty much zero. One strange thing, now that I'm retired, not sure how I ever had time to work! 

[the reel ess]

On 12/4/2020 at 12:14 PM, Spankey said:

I get out. For a working guy can’t complain too much. But hope I live long enough to retire in a couple/few years. I just want to be able to go like 3 or 4 mornings in a row. Starting in the dark and fish while the sun is coming up. That is my favorite time slot to fish. I like the early morning darkness. 

Mine too. Sunrise is a magical time. And a good part of the year here, it's the best bite. Most of the big fish and most bites have come early. 

[slonezp]

No regrets. It seems that the more life gets in the way, the less I get to fish. Guess it's all part of the master plan. The last 2 years have taught me a lot.

Cherish the time spent with your loved ones be it fishing or not. 

[Craig P]

I can't say that I would change anything.  Like many others, my usual lake I visit was super busy at all times due to COVID this year.  There were even times when people would show up with Waverunners at 7am and Center Consoles up to 23' on this small 1,100 acre lake became a common sight daily, it was crazy!  Ironically, It turned into my most productive bass season ever.  Partially probably because I targeted many of my outings on days where the weather was not as attractive to pleasure boaters......although that only seemed to make a small difference in traffic.  The big difference I'll attribute to just gaining more experience with the lake, electronics and techniques over the last 3 years and it all coming together.  Needless to say, my confidence is at an all time high right now and while I won't lay down my rod this winter, I know that the days in-between outings will grow longer as it gets colder.  Can't wait til spring to do it all over again.

 

[lo n slo]

19 hours ago, volzfan59 said:

 

Guys, If you can pull it off.....RETIRE!!! I was in Law Enforcement for 32+ years. In 2013, I had had enough so I walked. Best decision I ever made. Down to one blood pressure pill and one stomach pill a day and my stress level is pretty much zero. One strange thing, now that I'm retired, not sure how I ever had time to work! 

preach it

[Mike L]

On 12/4/2020 at 10:47 AM, the reel ess said:

I went to So FL last winter. I fished a couple days down there. One for peacocks and one for largemouth. It was very successful both days but I didn't catch any monster largemouth except for a 7 pounder the guide actually hoked on a freelined shiner ?. But I'll go to Okeechobee next time. The guide told me that's the best bet for a double digit bass.

Let me know when you come down. 
 

 

 

 

Mike
 

[NYWayfarer]

I would have brought out my kayak to fish earlier in the season and fished in it more often this year.

 

The virus stopped me. Not for fear of getting out as I did plenty of bank fishing. But fear of the kayak “flotilla” in my local rivers and lakes. People discovered that kayaking is a socially distanced activity. Kayaks were sold out in my area for months. I could not imagine having to fish around all of them.

 

I waited until the novelty wore off for these folks before I started taking my kayak out. I caught my two biggest fish this year from the kayak.
 

 

[MGF]

6 minutes ago, NYWayfarer said:

I would have brought out my kayak to fish earlier in the season and fished in it more often this year.

 

The virus stopped me. Not for fear of getting out as I did plenty of bank fishing. But fear of the kayak “flotilla” in my local rivers and lakes. People discovered that kayaking is a socially distanced activity. Kayaks were sold out in my area for months. I could not imagine having to fish around all of them.

 

I waited until the novelty wore off before I took my kayak out. I caught my two biggest fish this year from the kayak.
 

 

The little river that my wife and I fish had an absolutely unbelievable number of tubers and kayakers. They were so thick this year that it actually made it hard to fish at times. When things get too crawded I'm happier at home.

[Spankey]

3 hours ago, NYWayfarer said:

I would have brought out my kayak to fish earlier in the season and fished in it more often this year.

 

The virus stopped me. Not for fear of getting out as I did plenty of bank fishing. But fear of the kayak “flotilla” in my local rivers and lakes. People discovered that kayaking is a socially distanced activity. Kayaks were sold out in my area for months. I could not imagine having to fish around all of them.

 

I waited until the novelty wore off before I took my kayak out. I caught my two biggest fish this year from the kayak.
 

 

State had ramps and parks shutdown in my area. But really only effected early season. 
 

I don’t think we will be under the same situation this coming season. That’s my hopes. 

[schplurg]

On 12/1/2020 at 9:13 AM, Sphynx said:

Other than the obvious "I wish I had started out throwing what eventually ended up working" which hardly counts as a productive review, I guess spending more time at it is my biggest one, I tend to drift off and just enjoy the outdoors while I'm fishing, I take breaks and have a pipe and just soak it all up and suddenly 45 minutes of fishing time is gone, not the world's worst sin by any means, but one I am certain is costing me fish, I also would like to continue refining he selection of gear I take on bank trips, and have a few techniques that I want to get better with, next year is going to be the walking bait for topwater, I always seem to overlook them and I want that to change, for a moving bait I want to start fishing a jerkbait and swim jig more often, and this will be the year I want to really get the drop shot figured out. 

 

Taking that pipe break can possibly result in more fish. I often take breaks when I'm not catching (easy to do for me!). Sometimes I'm frustrated and thinking I should just leave. That break can recharge me and change my attitude.

[Sphynx]

9 hours ago, schplurg said:

 

Taking that pipe break can possibly result in more fish. I often take breaks when I'm not catching (easy to do for me!). Sometimes I'm frustrated and thinking I should just leave. That break can recharge me and change my attitude.

Lol, fair point, I rarely get a crack at fishing more than a few hours a day, during the summer I get to fish all day every other Sunday, but the rest of the two week cycle is a couple of hours after work, so 45 minutes can be a sizable chunk of my available time, still though, it does give me plenty of time to consider conditions, and what to throw.

[TheBasslayer]

IMO I should have fished more and with a bigger variety of baits.

[YoTone]

I had a decent year considering I fished a lot more due to this thing we had. Only thing I think I regret is not fishing  more productive bigger waters.

[scaleface]

I have hind-sight after every time I go fishing . Next year I plan on bringing jerk baits out in the warm months . I think  some nice bass can be lured  out of the thick brush with them . 

[BassFishinBrandon]

1. Go to a lot more bodies of water than my go to spots.  In Connecticut you can get a special permit to fish some water sheds that I think is only 20$ for 2 years and includes a free pass for a family or friend.  

 

2. Get out of my comfort zone more frequently.  I tend to throw poppers or spooks in the morning and usually soft baits any other time.  So I need to focus on throwing more cranks, jigs and swim baits.

 

3. Get out more.  This year was tough with work and I didn't get out much during week days when in previous years I'd rush to the water after I clocked out.

 

4. My biggest goal for next year is to land a bass on a freaken frog! I have had blow ups and misses and I have never landed one.  My only hook up can in some super thick vegetation and the line snapped.  

[MassYak85]

Honestly not too much. Maybe focus more on worms in the summer, and in the Fall I definitely tried to force that "Fall Feed" bite waaaaaaay too early. But the Fall was good and I took a chunk of the spring off because of Covid so not a great season but I definitely feel I made some strides.