New for 22

[Trox]

I plan to start always fishing with a purpose. Doesn't have to always be something big, something like "get a little more comfortable with a spinnerbait today" would be a good purpose imo. 

Not saying that it's bad to just go out there and have a good time, but why not get something else out of it while you're at it!

[uglyasheck]

Planning on not buying any fishing gear this year as soon as my Tackle Warehouse order gets here. LOL

[Holetail]

Mostly planning on continuing to learn the lake I’ve been fishing the last month or so. Getting used to fishing deeper than the 5’-6’ I’ve been used to. Have relied heavily on weightless plastics last year so it’s a change to start using weighted setups.
Found what appears to be a large brush pile in the middle of it yesterday in 22’ of water. Most significant structure other than a few humps that I’ve found so far. Thinking it will be productive during the summer when the water gets hot.
Finesse is the game there right now but I’m hoping a moving bait bite will pick up in the spring. 
Also want to take a few short day trips to some other lakes, but not sure how much this will happen. nice to only be 5 mins to some decent fishing

[Gera]

Patience... 

[Siebert Outdoors]

Try and get my kids catching more fish and cast and catch by themselves.

[dgkasper58]

13 minutes ago, Siebert Outdoors said:

Try and get my kids catching more fish and cast and catch by themselves.

I am in the same boat.  I need/want to buy some ice fishing stuff to get 1000's of bluegill for them!  

 

Have you ever thought about adding them to your site?

[N Florida Mike]

On 1/9/2022 at 11:07 AM, Bird said:

Something new ?

A technique I've not given much time to is wacky rig so will make an effort in 2022.

 

I'm kinda of hard headed and usually don't stray far from tried and true.....more specifically a weightless stick bait or Texas rig.

 

Who knows, a wacky rig may end up a go to for 2022.

I have done great with T rigs, but have maybe caught 2 fish ever on wacky. 

[dodgeguy]

On 1/9/2022 at 8:17 AM, Deleted account said:

 

I'm going to find a fluoro I like,........... NOT!  

Right !!!!

[Junk Fisherman]

11 hours ago, uglyasheck said:

Planning on not buying any fishing gear this year as soon as my Tackle Warehouse order gets here. LOL

I give you a month.  

[GRiver]

I going to try different techniques, I’ve been just T-rigging curly tails and senko for a while now. What to wacky rig the docks and fish heavy cover. Also fish new areas on the St Johns River… seems I just fish the same places, I know they produce bass, but they’re other places that have them too.

[Luke Barnes]

I have one and only one new thing I'm going to do and that's swim jigs more instead of chatterbaits. I fish pressured ponds mainly and I'm thinking and hoping a swim jig will be more subtle and get an extra bite or two. Other than that, I'm going back to the basics. 

[roadwarrior]

Got a new shoulder. Hopefully getting ready for a return in March.

 

[cyclops2]

Highly fished waters are VERY tough for average guys.  I do not do them anymore.

[T-Billy]

14 hours ago, cyclops2 said:

Highly fished waters are VERY tough for average guys.  I do not do them anymore.

That's all we have in my neck of the woods. There's only two options, let it frustrate you, or embrace the challenge, and put in the time to learn how to catch those fish. 

[Luke Barnes]

4 hours ago, T-Billy said:

That's all we have in my neck of the woods. There's only two options, let it frustrate you, or embrace the challenge, and put in the time to learn how to catch those fish. 

That's part of the reason I lost confidence. I fish ponds that are pressured most of the time so its a challenge for sure. A three bass day is fantastic for me. 

[Zcoker]

I'm gonna slam Headwaters Lake in Fellsmere Florida in my kayak this year. It's powered, so I can get back there to the juicy spots. That place has been off the wall insane, btw, with double digits daily. I've spent a bit of time on it already, going places the boats can't go. Some far out fishing there, too, like everything dreamed up that a bass would love put into one single place. It's almost alien looking, some parts of it. I've spent most of my time south of there and have got into some great fishing. Probably do more tournaments this year. Last year I won some, which was nice. So many places to explore here in S. Florida, and my list is big, so most likely taking things one trip at a time lol 

[T-Billy]

2 hours ago, Luke Barnes said:

That's part of the reason I lost confidence. I fish ponds that are pressured most of the time so its a challenge for sure. A three bass day is fantastic for me. 

You saw your success rate drop by moving away from the T rig and Ned, and throwing more moving baits. Go back to those old confidence baits and add that splitshot or mojo rig you were thinking about. Those are all techniques that'll get bit a high percentage of the time. So is a Senko. 

[Sphynx]

Subject to correction upon review of my journal from last year, I think the specific baits are going to be buzzbaits, frogs, and chatterbaits, had very, very low numbers produced in the aggregate totals last year and I get the feeling that it's me doing something wrong...not the fish...might try to mix in a few new plastics too just for grins, we'll see.

[Bigassbass]

Going to have lots of fun fishing, get a tan, chill more, make some new friends.

[Luke Barnes]

1 hour ago, T-Billy said:

You saw your success rate drop by moving away from the T rig and Ned, and throwing more moving baits. Go back to those old confidence baits and add that splitshot or mojo rig you were thinking about. Those are all techniques that'll get bit a high percentage of the time. So is a Senko. 

That's my plan after talking on here. Stick with the basics and what I know works. Regain confidence and add in a new technique that i already have everything for. 

 

As far as senkos, 2021 I really focused on the wacky rig and it paid off. Its a straight up fish catcher. It will stay in rotation indefinitely. 

[FishinBuck07]

2 hours ago, Bigassbass said:

Going to have lots of fun fishing, get a tan, chill more, make some new friends.

This is something else I need to do!  Quit getting myself spun out about the fish I am not catching and just enjoy the fact that I am out there on the water!

[Wprich]

Work on building confidence in fishing senkos mainly wacky and neko rigged bought a few colors to try.

[Luke Barnes]

2 hours ago, Wprich said:

Work on building confidence in fishing senkos mainly wacky and neko rigged bought a few colors to try.

This was my goal for 2021 and not am I so glad I did. I have so much confidence in a weightless wacky rig now that it wont get left home. 

[Big Hands]

2 hours ago, Wprich said:

Work on building confidence in fishing senkos mainly wacky and neko rigged bought a few colors to try.

I was mystified by weightless wacky Senkos in my recent past, but since I decided to give them more of a chance, I have became quite enamored with them. I really don't know why I was struggling with them. For half of 2021 I was burning through bags of them at a rapid pace. I even bought a light action Expride spinning rod that will basically be my 'Senko rod'. Prime Senko season will be here shortly.

------------------------------

As for my own fishing aspirations for 2022, I would like to get jig fishing figured out. I think I have had a bit of an epiphany on how to fish them after a recent outing with a fellow BR member. I am very much looking forward to making jigs a strong point for me rather than have them be the bane of my fishing existence as is currently the case.

 

That said, I have seen over the years, that we don't always get to dictate what the bass will prefer. Some years, they go ape crazy over a certain technique, and then the following year, it just doesn't materialize for whatever reason. I don't know what patterns will bear the most returns this year, but I hope I keep learning how I can unlock them and then home in on it consistently. 

 

Last year, the lake I literally fish 98% of the time was drawn down 140' in five months. Oddly enough (to me), the fishing was fantastic during that time. Now, it has risen over 55' in the past couple months, and no one knows exactly what it will be in the near future. I will just have to take what it gives me and figure it out from there.

 

There is only one other lake that is ten times further away that I can fish without having to quarantine my boat (yay California), and I don't generally like it nearly as much as the lake that is just a few minutes away. So, I am kinda stuck in my choices and yet I still feel fortunate to have a decent lake very close by.

[Luke Barnes]

13 hours ago, Big Hands said:

I was mystified by weightless wacky Senkos in my recent past, but since I decided to give them more of a chance, I have became quite enamored with them. I really don't know why I was struggling with them. For half of 2021 I was burning through bags of them at a rapid pace. I even bought a light action Expride spinning rod that will basically be my 'Senko rod'. Prime Senko season will be here shortly.

------------------------------

As for my own fishing aspirations for 2022, I would like to get jig fishing figured out. I think I have had a bit of an epiphany on how to fish them after a recent outing with a fellow BR member. I am very much looking forward to making jigs a strong point for me rather than have them be the bane of my fishing existence as is currently the case.

 

That said, I have seen over the years, that we don't always get to dictate what the bass will prefer. Some years, they go ape crazy over a certain technique, and then the following year, it just doesn't materialize for whatever reason. I don't know what patterns will bear the most returns this year, but I hope I keep learning how I can unlock them and then home in on it consistently. 

 

Last year, the lake I literally fish 98% of the time was drawn down 140' in five months. Oddly enough (to me), the fishing was fantastic during that time. Now, it has risen over 55' in the past couple months, and no one knows exactly what it will be in the near future. I will just have to take what it gives me and figure it out from there.

 

There is only one other lake that is ten times further away that I can fish without having to quarantine my boat (yay California), and I don't generally like it nearly as much as the lake that is just a few minutes away. So, I am kinda stuck in my choices and yet I still feel fortunate to have a decent lake very close by.

That was me in 2021. The wacky just clicked and I never looked back. 

 

Also I'm jealous that you have such a nice lake so close. I have many ponds that have different makeups to them close so that's what I have to experiment with.