What did you learn in 2017?

[thedonnguyen]

i learned that buying a home and taking care of said house will literally suck all your fishing time.

[FishDr]

I learned that health issues can really put a crimp in your fishing time, make you seriously reevaluate your priorities, and, most importantly of all, make you wish you'd maximized the quality of any fishing time you get.  I'm hoping '18 will be better, fishing wise - I'm embarrassed to say that I made fewer than a dozen night trips this year.

 

I also learned that while you can buy your kids swimbait outfits and "starter" swimbait kits, you can't make them go fishing with you.  They go, when they want to, and you've got to be happy with that.  Maybe next year they'll join me on a summer night trip for bass...

Edited December 24, 2017 by FishDr

[swimbaitman]

I learned that every single year can be drastically different. Another big take away is that i need to really work on fishing cold water better. I have been very annoyed by soft baits and glides in the past, but i need to work on picking those up in the cold months more often. I also learned that not going out on the kayak as often and fishing from shore really limits me in catching fish

[mcaetano2905]

No secrets. Great thing about sb fishing is you always learn something new. Post urs my 2017 takeaways are:

1. Power handles. I am embarrassed to post my fav. I bought an Abu c3 from an su member for small change. It came with a power handle that did not fit. I bought the power handle for abus and have since just luved it paired with a bps pete maina musky rod heavy with a fast tip. Braid and 40 lb fluoro leader with a barbed down slammer 2x crankdown (original hooks touched up) was too much fun this year. Long bomb casts omg. Embarrassing rig that slams em.

2. Tx to su members I picked up baits that I rested. I tackle boxed my shellcrackers but used em after hearing of good news here and after an su member school me on em. For some reason they work here but not there kind of deal. I luv the feeling of a fiberglass rod loading up.

 

Btw pics r of my bud holding my fish. He keeps track of the weights and numbers. That is his deal.

My reel is the same: Abu C3 with a Power Handle!

[HookdUp]

I learned to fall in love with the slow roll of the Hudd ... I fell back in love with swimbait fishing overall ... I mostly learned that catching fish on swimbaits has a lot of similarities to catching fish on conventional tackle baits .

[Bloodkitty]

I learned a similar lesson to FishDr. I'm actually sitting here writing this just five days removed from MPFL reconstruction surgery in my left knee. I turned 40 in May, and it's been one health issue after another. Even though one of those issues was the result of a strange accident, I still think if I were in a healthier situation it could have been and probably would have been avoided.

 

Even though I exercise a good bit, I'm still carrying too much weight on me. Not only is it affecting my fishing time, but these issues are also affecting my ability to work at the level I'm capable of career-wise. And if I can't work at that level, that's also going to take away from fishing time. 

 

2017 sent me a very clear message-- "Get your ish together and get healthy." It looks like my love affair with nightly beers and cheeseburgers is over. Sigh.

 

So 2018 I'm committing to losing 60lbs and doing whatever else it takes to work at the level I'm capable. I believe achieving both of these things will make my time on the water more enjoyable, productive and result in some mother effin DDs!!!

 

Happy New Year, SU!!! Here's to a great 2018!!!

[ChaseEmToTheBank]

I learned how to appreciate the big ones. Document and study every bite and follower. I really learned that every year can change. Nothing is set in stone. This fall compared to last fall had me shook. At first I was bummed out but looking back on the past few months I really had to work for the bass I did catch and it made me a better fishermen. Also dialing in one Swimbait sometimes works better then throwing 10 different ones.

[Pike]

I learnd that medium sized baits (2-7oz) catch more and bigger fish for me.

 

I learnd that it makes no fun for me anymore to fish those giant baits which require ultra heavy gear.

 

I learnd that less but high end baits that I have confidence in are better.

 

I learnd that multi species fishing is a lot more fun than doing the same over and over again.

[Andrewwang1769]

I learned how to swimbait fish, been doing it since august and i goddamn love it. Also learned that i can catch 11 inchers on a deps 175. Learned to creep bottom with hudds, little skeptic at first but it frikin works. Also learned that a 68 hudd looks miniscule in the mouth of a 3 lber

[Nateraz]

I learned how to target structure and boat position/angles for certain spots are very important to having consistent success.

I also learned when to pick up or put down the swimbait, I believe this helped me catch some of my biggest fish this year, but when the conditions just aren't right and you believe or know a swimbait is not the correct tool for that job I switch. I always knew this, but this year I put that into effect and had one my best year in quite a while. Here are three fish that a switch to or from a swimbait made the difference. These are my top 3 biggest of the year as well.

 

 

 

[Harshwaters]

A six inch swimbait is tiny and i wasted alot of money buying tiny baits.The night bite is magical.New Hampshire is too FN cold and wish i could chuck big baits year round.

[Jig-N-Spoon]

After chasing tournaments pretty hard for the past several years, I learned that I still enjoy chasing after trophies with big baits. That one big bite per day mind set is kinda hard to reestablish after chasing limits daily but the first big bite gets the pump running. I also realized that at 64, I absolutely have to have the correct equipment to huck 8-10 oz. baits all day. I also learned, or more like realized, that I need to work less and play more as my time on this earth may be getting more limited by the day and I need to capitalize on what I love doing as much as my work, which I also love doing (except for a few old sore heads). I look forward to this year and hope to top last years big catches of 12.92, 12.32 and 10.48. So far, it has been a late spring in TX and the spawn is way behind normal. Whack 'em guys, 'spoon

[NoahFertick]

Probably the most important thing that I learned was a bit more of bass behavior. I had a pretty crappy year for largies cause I was usually trying to force a finesse bite that just wasn't there, but I started using other baits (like big baits) much more often and had a really good fall. I've only been fishing consistently for a bit over over 3.5 years, and the past 10 months or so I've been noticing that I actually understand whats going on forthe most part in high detail, and I'm having a lot more success because of it. Make sure to push yourself out of your comfort zone as much as you can, cause I only got good at bass fishing when I started to do that.

[Queue]

I learned an awful lot of the SoCal SB crowd are awfully quiet in the catch category without a truck to chase.  I also learned the current CPR every bass culture is working against increasing the opportunity to catch larger bass with greater frequency.