Your Plans For The Coming Year

[rps]

Unlike many of you, I do not often fish between the end of October and Spring break. School duties, basketball games, chaperoning dances, holidays, and cold weather conspire to keep me off the lake. As a result, by the time Spring break comes, I am nearly frantic with cabin fever.

Over the winter, I have mentally rigged and re-rigged my equipment in hundreds of ways. I have resolved to learn the patterns that worked for others last season. I have read articles and decided to learn the new techniques discussed in the articles. Most years, Bass Pro and Cabela’s base their first quarter financial forecasts on my business.

This all may sound familiar to some of you.

I think it might be interesting to hear from others:

What are you planning to do different this year?

What new things have you bought for the upcoming season?

I am too embarrassed to give my complete answer to those questions here in this first post. However, to start, I will admit I removed a perfectly good two year old trolling motor and replaced it with a new 24 volt Minn Kota with co-pilot. I hope I do not have to reinforce the boat bow to handle it. Anyone need a 12volt 50 pound hand control Motorguide?

Don't leave me hanging here. Tell it, brother.

[LarryC]

AG&F has been busy stocking Beaver Lake with walleye...we now have a catch-able population over 18". At least that’s what I have been told by fisherman who know how to catch them. I would like to learn how to catch them...I already know how to eat em.

I want to give Black Salty’s a try for striper fishing.

Started downrigging for stripers more last year. It seems like a quite viable technique so I added a older 9.9 Johnson Sailmaster to the boat for a kicker couple of months ago.

Latest tackle addition came just yesterday...two Daiwa SG17 Sealines equipped with Depthmaster rods. Gota stimulate this economy somehow. Not quite sure how I’m going to use them yet.

[msamatt]

RPS:

I haven't purchased and new gear or tackle lately. I am working on a list however. My goal for this season is fishing as much of the Meramec from its upper most stretches on down to Onandoga as I can. I really love fishing the upper most stretches of some of our rivers but there's only so much of the year during which you can float them.

[msamatt]

Larry:

Fish your windblown shorelines and look for coves and other areas with weed beds. Walleyes like moving water and weeds. In-Fishermen has all sorts of great books and videos packed with great walleye tips and tactics.

[Gavin]

Something different....

I want to float a few sections of river that I havent floated before, fish as often as I can, and take our little girl on her first float trip. Hope to get out to N. California in the fall to visit my sister and do some fishing up near Redding.

New Tackle.....

Took and inventory of my fly and spin tackle about a month ago...Since then I've restocked all my favorite baits, and added a couple to try this summer.. plus I went through all my baits to replace or sharpen dull hooks, beat up skirts, etc. Still need to respool a couple reels, clean, inspect, and rig a few fly lines, and tie more flies.

[RSBreth]

Fish both Table Rock and Beaver more this year. Finish my Smallmouth Bass book. Take my little boy fishing on his 3rd birthday.

The only new things I've bought are a couple of spinnerbaits and flyting material. I need a good cheap new baitcasting rig for shallow cranks, but I'm a little strapped right now.

[Phil Lilley]

I want to, at last, float and fish the Current and Elevenpoint Rivers this spring or next fall. I hope to take the family and do multiply day floats trips and do some camping.

I'd like to fish a couple of lakes I haven't been on much - Stockton and Beaver Lakes.

I am planning on spending 2 weeks at the cabin on Naknek in Alaska. Hope to explore a few new rivers and do some more camping. May be help my buddy Duane with the new camp but we'll see on that.

I'd love to head to Wyoming and Montana in the fall. Al's fall pics were too much to bare!

I'll let the cat out of the bag... Babler and I are going to try for the mother of grand slams. We're calling it the "Grady Grand Slam" after Rex Grady who is the only person who has done this that we know of. In 24 hours, on 3 lakes, catch legal limits of crappie, white bass, walleye, bass and trout but we're trying for a limit EACH. We're going to document it carefully with video, audio and images. Of course, the lakes are Bull Shoals, Taneycomo and Table Rock. Where each species will be caught will depend on the day and conditions.

[Jon]

Wow, where do I start?

Got the boat re-carpeted. Done.

Need to still re-carpet the live well lids and storage compartment lids. Not done, will get to it this summer.

Boats ready to go though this spring. was'nt last spring. I'm ready to go now!

Bought 3 new rods and two new reels. Two Berkley Cherrywood Graphites, and one Abu Garcia Cardinal rods. Not high dollar stuff, but hey, I'm just fishin. I mounted two new Diawa Regal 3000 xia open faced reels to the Cherrywood rod and Cardinal rod.

Got all my reels re-spun with new thread.

Bought several different walley lures, Lindy stuff, floating hook with trailer, spin blades of various colors, jig heads.

Bought some new plugs for Walley.

Bought some Berkley Gulp black leaches and minnows. Heard they work real well for the eye's.

New rod holders for the basement wall.

Rigged both new open face reels with Lindy rigs and hooks with spinner blades.

re-organized my tackle box 12 times.

i think I'm ready to go, no I am ready to go!