After keeping electronic Fishing Logs for 10 consecutive years, 2017 was the 2nd consecutive year of not keeping one. I had planned to do one, but then fell behind early in the season on logging results from outings and had to give it up.
So...there are many 2017 metrics that I don't have solid numbers for....such as total fish caught, how many days fished, how many of each species, etc.
But there are some metrics I do have a fairly good handle on.
I caught 20 species of fish this year, 19 of which were caught on flies. (I had at least 2 fair-hooked Grass Carp on, but did not manage to land any of them).
I caught 2 species I had not caught on flies before...a Black Bullhead and a Hornyhead Chub.
I caught new or tied flyrod personal bests for 4 species.
I caught at least 10 fish of 5 different species that qualified for an Iowa Master Angler Award.
Some notable fly-rod-caught fish from the year:
-21.25" Largemouth Bass
-15" Black Bullhead
-8.25" Rock Bass
-28" Bigmouth Buffalo
-28" Channel Catfish
-28" Common Carp
I caught 14 Largemouth Bass between 18" and 21.25".
I caught at least 25 Channel Catfish on flies this year.
I caught at least 20 Common Carp on flies this year.
Overall, it seemed like a pretty good year. I don't have the hard numbers to back it up, but I feel like I caught a LOT of Largemouth Bass on flies this year, compared to previous years....and the numbers of 15"-18" fish was excellent! Hopefully that translates into a lot more 18"+ bass in the next several years.
I didn't feel like I caught as many bluegills and crappies as in past years. I fished for them less, but even when I targeted them, I didn't catch as many. Maybe the booming bass populations have something to do with that?
15" Black Bullhead |
16" Smallmouth Bass |
13" Crappie |
28" Bigmouth Buffalo |
8.25" Rock Bass |
Pumpkinseed Sunfish |
Pumpkinseed Sunfish |
Common Carp |
21.25" Largemouth Bass caught on November 15 |
28" Channel Catfish |
Add caption |
Hornyhead Chub |
20" Largemouth Bass caught on February 28 |
Technically the fishing season...and even the OPEN WATER fishing season isn't over. Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I drove by a pond on the way to work this morning that was 100% ice-covered. We are supposed to have a bit of a warm-up, so I expect the ice will melt off, and isn't likely to start forming again until @ December 5th. We shall see if I'm able to squeeze in some more flyfishing this year.
If not....its been a VERY good year, and I really enjoyed the fishing! Hope you did as well.
20.5" Largemouth Bass caught on December 1! |