2023 WRAP UP: THE SAD TALE OF SKUNKS, MUSKRATS AND A DRAGON...

 

2023...

Its all about perspective...

The wise dudes have always said that hindsight is 20/20.  Not even going to argue that point.  Looking back over my fishing exploits this campaign, I can see I should have done things a lot differently throughout the course of the year. 

But one cannot live by what-ifs, I wonder's or fish yesterdays memories.  

All this proverbial wisdom came to me today, the last day of 2023, while I was unhooking and releasing the last stocker trout of the day.  This time of year sees me usually bobber fishing with power bait nibbles, nightcrawlers, meal worms or in really tough conditions,  dead minnows.  (Live baitfish are not an option on most of the lakes I fish.) 

Simple and basic and I'll be the first to admit, rather boring at times.

In days past, when you found what the trout wanted, it was usually a given that option would work at least until the end of February.  And then, it was kind of a contest to find what worked until the next batch of stockers hit the lake..

But over the last two years, the prevailing weather pattern went from a solid La Nina, to an El Nino and things are definitely not the same.    

A group of noisy Canadian geese flew over head just above the cottonwood tree-line and landed somewhat roughly in the steel gray waters of the little lake I was fishing.  A large muskrat surfaced, then piddled around through the waves as the northwest wind blew with a briskness akin to its February fury.  It gave me a rather indignant look before it submerged once again and disappeared.  

Nature doing nature things.  I'd watched the same scene play over and over again every fall since I had started fishing for trout.  And despite its familiarity, I stood and just took it all in for a brief moment.  

2023...not exactly a banner year for me angling wise.  

I am thankful it is nearly over. Not going to try and even bullshit you all, or try to sugar coat the results of all the extra effort I had to put into making this year even moderately decent.  It was tough trying to put it all out there and attempt to keep it all together

All in all, it was without a doubt, an ass-kicking and teeth busting grind...and I had thought last year was rough.  

But I should have been honest and more realistic with myself because 2023 just plain started out that way. It was clear nothing was going to be easy, nor would it be predictable. Neither option which I terribly mind, but I had thought once I had everything dialed in, fishing would get better.  I was optimistic and rather hopeful.

I was also dead wrong.

From the first of the year , it was an tedious journey through the looming ominousity of a new El Nino, an unexpected gall bladder surgery and slow recovery, insanely rising gas prices, and the stranglehold of an expanded drought which ultimately carried over to drastically lower water levels in both lakes, reservoirs and streams that were already low from the previous two years.  

Classic kick in the nuts.

Add in the usual seasonal curve balls : patches of oppressive heat and humidity, high surface temperatures that were in the lower to mid 90°'s, the absence of the usual seasonal winds, a ridiculous increase in fishing pressure on waters in my area, and the inevitable and predictable movement of most of the fish away from the beaten shorelines.

But 2023 was much worse than the usual.  All of this previously mentioned items culminated in drastically changing the feeding habits, times and locations of the fish no matter where or when I fished.

Mother Nature, with her fickle demeanor, can be a fickle bitch and I evidently had really pissed her off.  

She chose to be my worst enemy  and throw everything else she had at me as well...  Extended hard water period, shorter spring and pre-summer periods, clearer water, increased thicker and deeper weed growth...but the real killer was the incredible amount of minnows and other forage that was available everywhere I went.

Tough times for a shoreline angler.
Immeasurably tougher than 2022.

 But fishing is fishing and that doesn't always translate into always catching and that is where I struggled.  July always marks the first month of the proverbial desert around here and that desert doggedly stretches onward until it meets the oblivion of October. Skunks abound and many trips resulted in few fish even with live bait (where legal) from shore.  

 Despite all the countless trips and hours I logged, the numbers and quality of fish were not anywhere close to where it should have been. 

 I will admit I felt a certain amount of defeat.  But anyone who knows me knows I will not go down without a fight.  Surrender was never an option.

So I stuck with it when other hard core anglers had already called it until autumn came, and managed to squeak out some low numbers, one fish at a time.  

Then came autumn and the fish reacted much differently than I had grown to expect.  I adapted where I could, given my limited options along the shorelines.  Some trips were better than others.  I took what information I could gather and adapted further.  Things looked promising up until a torrential rain in late October that saw the lake I primarily fish come up nearly 8 inches overnight, leaving it with a deep hue of dark chocolate.  It fished like it too.

And just like that, my fall walleye bite started winding down and downright died an agonizing death the beginning of November.

Fast forward a bit.  As of today, December 31st, most of the waters I fish are still open water.  Have never seen anything like it. I am sure it has happened, in some way shape or form over the years, but not recently enough to come up on my radar.  Or I am getting Alzheimers.

Typically, the lakes ice over around the weeks of Thanksgiving.  And weird enough, we did have some nice ice forming on the lake that week, but everything warmed up and the winds came.

By the first week of December, thin sanctuaries of  ice clung tenaciously to the shorelines only while the winds, now a daily constant, have kept the lakes suspiciously wide open despite freezing overnight temps.  

As it stands, it doesn't appear there will be much of an ice season around here this year.  Great for me but terrible for the guys that love to ice fish.  In a way, maybe its a little better that way and gives the fish a much needed reprieve.  All in how you look at it...

Like I said...Perspective.

As it stands, logic dictates  going into the second year of this El Nino,  I'll have to play everything day by day in 2024.  Im not going to assume it'll be easy, predictable or even good.    Basically, I'll have to get into the boat and kayak much more and  be quicker to recognize when the seasonal periods have pushed the fish into different locations.  I'll also have to recognize when the pressure increases to uncomfortable levels and look for new havens to ply.

Furthermore, I'll force myself to travel far outside my home range this year...Oahe and lake Sharpe (my second homes) Pactola, Sheridan and Deerfield ( my third homes).  Hope to finish my quest of fishing all the dams on the Missouri River and then start venturing either deeper into the PNW or start fishing Lake Superior and Lake Michigan.

So 2023...yeah...I'm over it.

Onward to 2024...The Year of the Dragon...

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Now on to the actual useful statistics and information:

1. 314 days fishing (down 10 days from last year, 2nd 300+ day fishing in a row)

2. .12 cents license cost per fishing day

3. .07 cents license cost per trip

4. 520 fishing trips (up 105 trips from 2022)

5. 1400+ fish (down 800+ fish from 2022)

6. 2 miles of fishing line (¾ mile of 4#, ¾ mile 6#, ¼ 8#, ¼ 10#)

• main brands of fishing were Stren, followed by Crappie Max, Trilene and Seaguar

7. Fish species caught (13 species/down 1 from 2022)

• Largemouth

• Black crappie

• White Crappie

• rainbow trout

• walleye

• sunfish

• catfish

• bluegill

• drum

• northern

• white bass

• wiper

• rock bass

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Master Angler (Catch and Release)-22 (Down 2 fish from 2022)

• Largemouth Bass-17

• Black Crappie-5 (15” or better)
  
  

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TOP 5 PRODUCERS

• JIGS AND GULP

It was stunning how quickly this bait combo proved itself for most of the year. Last year, this combo came in at #3.

When it became painfully obvious the jerkbaits and other early spring lures I typically used in the fertile flatland/lowland lakes I fished would not work due to the low water levels,  The jig and Gulp got the job done on a multi-species front. 

The only thing I needed to change were retrieve speeds, size of bait and action.

 Versatile, efficient and very deadly. It accounted for nearly 65% of the fish I did catch. It doesn't get much simpler than this combo.

• JOINTED RAPALAS
  
  
  
  
  A perennial favorite in black and gold and black and silver, the numbers 9's and 11's accounted for their fair share of bucketmouth this year.
  
   I've been fishing for 50 years and this lure, to me, still has the most realistic action of any crankbait. It really shined during the night fishing trips when the skies were overcast and fished just under the surface.
  
  One of the things I've gleaned over the years is that if the bite is going to happen with them, its typically going to be between the hours of 10 pm and 2 a.m.
  
  
  
  
  
• BOGSTALKER PADDLETAILS/FINESSE WORM
  
  
  
  
  I literally poured over 450 dozen soft plastics this summer in all shapes and sizes. Worked on polishing up a few of the custom colors I've come up with, like Dakota Frost, Starlight, Mahi Mahi, and reviving older colors like Scuppernog, retro Purple, etc.
  
  The baits styles that really shined were the paddletails and proved to be consistently effective from early June through the beginning of August for bass and panfish.

• SMITHWICK ROGUES

Taking over the heavy jerkbait duties for the Husky jerks this year were the Smithwick Rogues. I started out with Husky jerks but it became quickly apparent they came nowhere near as close to catching walleyes for me this year as they have in years past.

But the rogues stepped up and delivered. They maintained a degree of consistency none of the other jerkbaits I normally use could do, including the Jackal Rerange, which is a remarkable bait in and of itself.

But as stated previously, the prime periods to use the jerkbaits this year were short...way too short. They were not effective this fall either

• AUTHENT-X PULS-R/MOXIS

When I wasn't fishing with my own plastics, I used Moxis and Puls-r soft plastic ring baits.

I  accidentally discovered how effective they were for largemouth a few years back during a windstorm in the spring. 

Since that fateful evening I have made them an integral part of my spring and autumn arsenal.  Additionally, I purchased several molds of both styles of baits and started making my own so I can tailor them to changing conditions.

I've actually caught more big largemouth on them than I have walleye or sauger.  Not bad for a bait primarily designed to catch walleye and sauger.

 

For me, they worked really well in the spring and fall and on really breezy evenings.

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Will be starting to paint cranks later than usual this winter. Looking  to expand into other types of baits like spoons and in line spinners.    Had hoped to learn how to tie trout flies.  This may still may be an option as I seriously consider taking the plunge and getting a fly rod.  

Regardless of what transpires this upcoming year, I am going to wade into the waters of 2024 optimistically, admiring it for what it is and what it offers...

Perspective...and tight lines peeps.