2025 was a decent year for my flyfishing. I managed to land 62 species, but only 2 were new-to-me on fly. I'm at 145 species on fly... I believe 125 are U.S. Freshwater, and 20 are Saltwater. I did not travel nearly as much, only visiting Illinois and Arkansas in addition to my home state of Missouri.
I caught 30"+ specimens of Shortnose Gar, Silver Carp, Bighead Carp, Grass Carp, and Paddlefish. I caught new flyrod PBs (Personal Bests) of: Hybrid Striped Bass (25"), Shortnose Gar (31"), Shadow Bass (9"+), Flier (8.7"), Warmouth (9"), Mirror Carp (27"), and as I mentioned.... Bighead Carp and Silver Carp (over 30" each).
I caught what I believe to be the first fly-caught Northern Snakehead in Missouri... The first ever on any tackle was caught in 2023 (by others). That's pretty cool, considering I was also just the 2nd person ever to catch a snakehead on fly in Arkansas.
I finally caught Fliers in Missouri! I caught just my 2nd ever Banded Sculpin. I also caught some Bantam Sunfish, which I'd only caught just 1 or 2 before... so that was pretty cool for me.
My lifetime-on-fly numbers of Grass Carp, Koi, Goldfish, and Bowfin are now at 300, 539, 409, and 246, respectively.
One day, I caught 16 different species on fly, which I believe is a new record for me.
Below are some of my favorite fish from the year:
