2012 year end fishing review

[MuskieBait]

Various sites has started their year end posts...so let's start one here.

Year 2012 is THE BEST year in terms of advancing my fishing Life List. To date, I had added 71 new species this year, increasing my species number from 206 to 277. There are three species I’ve decided to withheld – White Crappie (only caught a hybrid), Redear Sunfish (juvenile to difficult to confirm 100%) and Sea Lamprey (hitchhiker).
As memorable as the species hunt has been, it was really the people I’ve met this year that opened a new chapter (and new opportunities) for me.

Early January, I took my Italian friend Andrea for his second icefishing adventure. We fished a new lake and I caught my biggest Northern Pike caught through the ice.



Andrea caught a bunch of ice pike too.



Then I met a new friend, Evan, who shared a few spring trips with me. We fished a spot that I had known for year but in the spring for the first time…and we caught some nice steelhead…



…plus I caught my first Silver Redhorse. Silvers are quite common, but strangely I have not caught them until this year. Once I caught my first one, I’ve been catching them everywhere!



I met a new friend in London, ON. Dennis simply loves to fish and doesn’t care what he catches. He loves catching redhorse sucker species and showed me a favourite spot of his.



I found a mess of Golden Redhorse, Silver Redhorse and Shortnose Redhorse. I also saw some carpsucker…and I’ll definitely spend some time fishing there this spring to figure out these carpsuckers!



Roughfish Eli and I had been chatting for a while online and he invited me to fish Ottawa. Eli was quite the guide and he put me onto my first Greater Redhorse, a fish I’ve chase unsuccessfully for the last few years.



We also found a mess of Shorthead Redhorse on one of Eli’s favourite spot.



Then I met Richard and his son Tristan. They bought a lot of lures that I was selling, we chatted, and soon we were planning to fish together. Something just clicked. I enjoy helping people explore new areas, new techniques and new species. This day, we were lucky the carp wanted to cooperate, and I put Tristan on his first Common Carp.



I met Pat this year on Roughfish and we’ve chatted about snakehead fishing. I’ve tried to target Cobra Snakehead in Florida in 2010, but failed way short of even getting a hit. Pat has a knack for catching Northern Snakehead, and he invited me to visit Virginia to catch them. When my plans fell into place extremely nicely, Pat’s guidance ensured success on my first photographed Northern Snakehead! This is one of the most memorable moments this year for me.





Back in May, I met Michael for the first time while waiting for the ferry to the Islands. Little did I know this would change my angling adventure for the rest of the year. Michael was keen on learning and catching new species…and he seemed trustworthy enough. I wanted to help him catch a bowfin, and I was very pleased that the three bowfin we found that day were extremely willing to play.





I trusted Michael enough to invite him to my special muskie waters, hoping to get Michael and Kazu, my friend from BC, on their first muskies. Unfortunately, both came extremely close to their first muskies but not close enough. I caught my second muskie of my life, but Michael and Kazu caught some nice largemouths. It was just great to fish with Kazu, my Fishing Sensei, again.







Then came late July…a long awaited and prepared ahead. This is my most productive species hunting trip to date. I caught 43 new species and recaptured another 9 species. It was pretty sick! Every species was special…but some more than others.

I chatted with my friend Eric just a few days before I left on the trip. He has an extremely scarily good spot for Bat Ray…and he guided me to some monsterous Bat Rays!



I work hard to catch target fish, but sometimes surprises come along. These two have got to be my most unexpected, but most memorable surprises on the trip – Rainbow Seaperch and Onespot Fringehead





Catalina Island has got to the spot that was most fun for me to fish this year. The water was so clear, and the fish was so cooperative, it was just a pick and choose kind of fishing!



This has got to be my most satisfied catch on my California trip. It worked hard for it and the reward was just amazing!



Again, it was the people that made the trip. I fished with Elijah from SCSF. I’ve been chatting with Eli for several year and we’ve gained mutual trust and respect for each other. I somewhat consider him as my brother from another mother. Finally, I had the opportunity to meet with him in person. It was probably my favourite day of fishing of 2012.

On top of that, I was there that day when Elijah caught his first California Kingcroaker, Michael caught his first Barred Surfperch, and ALL THREE OF US checked off the elusive Eastern Pacific Bonefish!



And then there’s Thomas…what can I say…those Hawaiians know how to share that aloha, even off the Islands. Thomas not only hooked us up with two boat trips, but offered us a place to stay and feed us really well with gourmet foods…including really damn fresh Yellowtail!!! Again, I can’t thank him enough…and I can’t thank his boat owner friends enough for taking us out.





Fall came…and Eli invited us to fish one of his productive spots for Lake Sturgeon. I can’t thank Eli enough to put Michael and I on our first Lake Sturgeon…a fish that had been dreamt about by both of us for a very long time. I promise to put Eli on his first Golden Redhorse, Northern Hogsucker and Grass Pickerel next spring. Really, I’m still speechless…





There really wasn’t much time for me to fish this fall, but my last species caught opened a new chapter in my angling journey. I had full adopted micro fishing and I’m really looking forward to the new micro species adventure to be taken in the near future!



There are so many memorable fishing moments this year to share them all…but the people I met really made my year. All the friends I've made this year are people that I will no doubt become good friends for years to come.

And my favourite quote this year was…

“Massive headshakes!” (while fishing for shiners with float rods and reels)


New species caught this year...in chronological order...

1) Striped Shiner
2) Silver Redhorse
3) Emerald Shiner
4) Hornyhead Chub
5) Northern Longear Sunfish
6) Greater Redhorse
7) Logperch
8) Grass Pickerel
9) Spottail Shiner
10) Golden Shiner
11) Spot Croaker
12) Summer Flounder
13) Atlantic Croaker
14) Atlantic Silverside
15) Striped Killifish
16) Mummichog
17) Redbreast Sunfish
18) Swallowtail Shiner
19) Satinfin Shiner
20) Tassellated Darter
21) Northern Snakehead
22) Blue Catfish
23) Yellow Bullhead
24) Banded Killifish
25) Eastern Mosquitofish
26) Calico Rockfish
27) Vermillion Rockfish
28) Copper Rockfish
29) Gopher Rockfish
30) Rosy Rockfish
31) Kelp Rockfish
32) Rainbow Seaperch
33) Black Rockfish
34) Olive Rockfish
35) Woolly Sculpin
36) Monkeyface Prickleback
37) Eagle Bat Ray
38) China Rockfish
39) Canary Rockfish
40) Lingcod
41) Speckled Sanddab
42) Onespot Fringehead
43) White Surfperch
44) Blacksmith
45) Pacific Jack Mackerel
46) California Sheephead
47) Treefish
48) Opaleye
49) Senorita
50) Halfmoon
51) Garibaldi
52) Topsmelt Silverside
53) Rock Wrasse
54) Shovelnose Guitarfish
55) Leopard Shark
56) California Kingcroaker
57) Yellowfin Croaker
58) Walleye Surfperch
59) Halfbanded Rockfish
60) California Lizardfish
61) Greenspotted Rockfish
62) Greenblotched Rockfish
63) Freckled Rockfsih
64) Yellowtail Rockfish
65) Thornback Guitarfish
66) Haller's Round Ray
67) Eastern Pacific Bonefish
68) Spotfin Shiner
69) Lake Sturgeon
70) Western Blacknose Dace
71) Rainbow Darter

Other fish I've caught this year...

1) Rainbow Trout
2) Brown Trout
3) Brook Trout
4) Chinook Salmon
5) Atlantic Salmon (smolt)
6) Largemouth Bass
7) Smallmouth Bass
8) Pumpkinseed
9) Bluegill
10) Green Sunfish
11) Rockbass
12) Black Crappie
13) Northern Pike
14) Muskellunge
15) Yellow Perch
16) Walleye
17) Freshwater Drum
18) Channel Catfish
19) Brown Bullhead
20) Black Bullhead
21) Creek Chub
22) Common Shiner
23) Silver Shiner
24) Common Carp
25) Goldfish
26) Mooneye
27) Shorthead Redhorse
28) Golden Redhorse
29) Bowfin
30) Round Goby
31) Shiner Perch
32) Barred Surfperch
33) Spotted Sand Bass
34) Barred Sand Bass
35) Kelp Bass
36) Pacific Staghorn Sculpin
37) White Croaker
38) Pacific Sanddab
39) California Scorpionfish
40) Red Drum
41) Striped Bass
42) Bluefish

That makes 113 species caught in 2012...that's insane even by my standards!