Fishing Goals 2025

[Johnsfolly]

I definitely understand the burnout. I've been fortunate to be able to tack on a couple of days onto my business trips and have caught most of my new species doing that over the last two years. I will do the same this year.

Tadpole madtoms have been kicking my butt and I want some pay back. So that was not a hard carry over. I consider them as a swamp species along with swamp and glassy darters that I did not land in 2024 🙄.

I will also be travelling to OK a fair amount this year for work and likely will do a couple of side trips into AR.

I know that I have lost at least a couple of red fish bites and again I want payback. 

[Ham]

9 hours ago, Johnsfolly said:

I definitely understand the burnout. 

I’m still mad at em

[Seth]

I’ve accomplished nearly all of my personal goals regarding big fish and tourneys over the past few years so my goals are changing. The only two goals I really have are to fish with dad as much as possible and try to take more youth out fishing.

[MOPanfisher]

My foals for 2025 are pretty basic, go fishing.  I have now been retired for a year and in a perfect world I would have worn out some fishing equipment.  Unfortunately the fates didn't agree with that plan.  But fortunately I have a few places I can still handle getting to and fishing from, and some buddies who will help out.  Physically I just can't doe some of it anymore.

[Blll]

I have a weird goal. While traveling around Beaver Lake, where I'm blessed to have a slip, I've seen huge carp. Yep, carp. Where I came from near Chicago we fished for carp on purpose. Other than maybe stripers, I don't know of a freshwater fish that fights harder. No one targets them on Beaver at all. That is my weird goal for 2025. To establish a pattern and target these hard pullin' things. My PB carp is 25# but I've seen bigger here. They are here, why not catch em'. I know, weird.

[Quillback]

1 hour ago, Blll said:

I have a weird goal. While traveling around Beaver Lake, where I'm blessed to have a slip, I've seen huge carp. Yep, carp. Where I came from near Chicago we fished for carp on purpose. Other than maybe stripers, I don't know of a freshwater fish that fights harder. No one targets them on Beaver at all. That is my weird goal for 2025. To establish a pattern and target these hard pullin' things. My PB carp is 25# but I've seen bigger here. They are here, why not catch em'. I know, weird.

Usually there are quite a few carp on the dam end of the lake.  I have not seen that many this year for some reason.  

[FishnDave]

6 hours ago, Blll said:

I have a weird goal. While traveling around Beaver Lake, where I'm blessed to have a slip, I've seen huge carp. Yep, carp. Where I came from near Chicago we fished for carp on purpose. Other than maybe stripers, I don't know of a freshwater fish that fights harder. No one targets them on Beaver at all. That is my weird goal for 2025. To establish a pattern and target these hard pullin' things. My PB carp is 25# but I've seen bigger here. They are here, why not catch em'. I know, weird.

A fly rod is a very fun way to go after carp.  In lakes, when the mulberries are ripe, find mulberry trees along the shore that are dropping fruit into the water.  Common Carp, Grass Carp, and Channel Catfish all like those spots.  I'm not familiar with Beaver Lake, but if there's restaurants on the docks, carp will often hang around those too, as people like to toss bread and french fries into the water to watch them eat.  In open water areas, a slow-sinking nymph pattern can get bit.  Small crayfish patterns in shallow rocky shoreline areas.  I've even caught them on small white baitfish patterns when the young shad are concentrated.

[Quillback]

It is forbidden to fish on or near the commercial docks on Beaver.  If I was serious about carp fishing, I'd bait an area near the bank over at Indian Creek.  Plenty of nice bank to set up some carp rods and wait for a bite.  I have never seen anyone fishing for carp on that end of the lake.  I'm assuming there's bow fishing going on, but haven't seen those guys either, but they could be out there at night.  

[snagged in outlet 3]

1 hour ago, Quillback said:

If I was serious about carp fishing, I'd bait an area near the bank over at Indian Creek

Can corn the day before then hang on!😁

[Quillback]

15 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

Can corn the day before then hang on!😁

That's a good one.  The serious carp guys are more sophisticated nowadays.  They make up bait balls and shoot them out there with slingshots.