my 2023 season

[gim]

Overall I would rank it as very good.  I've been fishing here for about 25 years and this was the second best season I've ever had (2020 was my best ever).  I went 33 times between mid April and mid October, ranging from 2.5 hours to 5.5 hours in length each trip.  For about a month from mid July to mid August, it was slower because we had several heatwaves and the water was 80+ degrees, which clearly affected the fishing.  Since mid August, its been gangbusters.  For both largemouth and smallmouth.  I put 9 bass in the boat that were 20+ inches - 3 largemouth and 6 smallmouth.  In an average season, I catch about 3 that big.  I also won two small derbies, had some pretty good crappie fishing this spring, caught some accidental walleyes/pike, and netted 2 sizable tiger muskies.  The final week of fishing (the week before last) was ridiculously good, as I went largemouth fishing one day and then smallmouth fishing another.  Finishing the season on a high note helps with 5 months of "winter."

[TnRiver46]

Good uns!!

[Fishlegs]

Looks like it was a very good year.

[CPFJason]

Man those smallies.

[gim]

10 minutes ago, CPFJason said:

Man those smallies.

That was honestly the primary reason I ranked the season so high.  I went after them three times and all three times were gangbusters.  It has taken me 3 years to get on a good smallmouth bite because the lake is massive and the weather/wind generally does not cooperate.

[Swamp Girl]

7 hours ago, CPFJason said:

Man those smallies.

 

I know, huh? Gimruis caught some that made me laugh, cause their girth was ridiculous! 

 

Well fished, Gimruis. You catch smallies WAY, WAY bigger than what I catch. 

[TOXIC]

Great pics.  I would rank my season as very good.  We did very well on the Rappahonock river for species and size. Our Florida trip produced some hawg largemouth.  Our Lake St Clair trip was bumper smallmouths with the added bonus of 5 man limits of walleye on multiple days when the wind was too stout for us to cross the lake.  It was our first time targeting them and we knocked it outta the park.  Our season isn’t over as we fish the hot water cooling lakes of a nuclear power facility that is 3,000 acres.  😂😎

[gim]

2 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

Well fished, Gimruis. You catch smallies WAY, WAY bigger than what I catch. 

I got some really good advice from @Dwight Hottle and @A-Jay on targeting big water smallmouth. The information they’ve shared on this specific subject not just this season but over the course of years here has definitely helped me dial it in better. The amount of water to cover out there is staggering.

[Swamp Girl]

I too have learned so much from the BR braintrust. Just this morning, @PhishLI suggested a season-specific tactic that put my biggest bass today in the canoe. 

[fishingtx]

It's so weird to me that y'all are ending your seasons, I don't mean to brag when I say this but ours down here never really end. Sure the weather gets bad like 25-30mph North wind and 30 degree highs but that's still fishable weather. 

[gim]

7 minutes ago, benburkefishing said:

It's so weird to me that y'all are ending your seasons

Just part of doing business in the northern tier. In about a month, usually around Thanksgiving to early December, people will be ice fishing in northern Minnesota on Upper Red Lake. And I mean thousands of people will be out there. Just not me.

[MIbassyaker]

...and in addition to ice fishing, a number of Great Lakes rivers get a big run of Steelhead that continues all winter where the water isn't still enough to freeze....

 

 

So the fishing doesn't necessarily end, just the open water bassing (or most of it, anyway)

[gim]

10 hours ago, MIbassyaker said:

...and in addition to ice fishing, a number of Great Lakes rivers get a big run of Steelhead that continues all winter where the water isn't still enough to freeze....

There area couple river locations here that people try to fish all winter too - specifically pool 2, 3, and 4 from St Paul down to the Red Wing area, as long as it doesn't get bitter cold.  Some years they are able to fish those locations all winter, some not.  The primary target is walleye and sauger, and the season never closes at these locations (although pool 2 is C & R only all year).

 

The biggest issue are the access points.  No one is really plowing them out when we get snow.  They often turn into very slippery slopes (literally) too which can spell disaster when trying to launch or load a boat.

 

Speaking of snow.  I got about an inch of it last night.  Hopefully it all melts in a day or two because I still have more yard work that needs to be done before "winter."

[Functional]

you guys get northern pike, musky and some incredible smallmouth fishing. I'd say thats a fair trade for the shorter season! We may have that available in the south but nothing like you all have it in the norther parts. 

[T-Billy]

Very nice @gimruis. Congrats on a great season. I see you even found yourself a pretty nice floater!!! 😁

[Susky River Rat]

Great season buddy! Maybe next year I’ll have one to write about lol

[shimmy]

That is an awesome season. Do you fish out of Minneapolis? One of these days we should team up and get some big green fish in the area. 9 over 20 inches sounds awesome man. 

 

Troy

[gim]

19 hours ago, shimmy said:

Do you fish out of Minneapolis?

I am in Plymouth, west suburb of Mpls.  But ya I do most of my fishing within about 40 miles of my house, especially for largemouth.  Mille Lacs for the smallmouth which is about 90 minutes one way.

 

Let me know if you're ever around, I fish solo about half the time, so there's quite often room for another person.