A Year in the Life of a Fishbum

[S.Trutta]

Every year I like to go back and see where I fished, what I caught, who I fished with, etc. Its a great way to relive old memories and get you thinking about all the new memories that will be made in 2012. I fished ALOT in Michigan, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Georgia, and NC and took a pile of photos and a little bit of video. Each month has my single favorite picture and a quick description of how the month unfolded. I hope you enjoy and I look forward to seeing others posting up there angling years!

January: Cold, snowy, and downright tough steelheading. We got out a few times and hooked a few fish but nothing too exciting. At the end of the month we headed to Arkansas for a streamer trip. The weather and water really screwed us but we made the best of it and caught a fee decent fish along the way.


February: Cold and snowy again but we got an early jump on the steelhead bite and caught some great fish without seeing a sole around all month. This particular fish was caught on a a very snowy frigid day....one where we found 3 steelhead and had the entire river to ourselves.


March: What a great month of steelheading this was. Still very light traffic on the river and we caught lots of fish just about every trip. This fish topped off an insane day and I thought was just a really cool look at a bright hen steelhead.


April: By far the most popular month of steelheading here in Michigan....probably why we spent it as far from the crowded steelhead rivers as we could and chased browns with streamers instead. We caught some upper teeners and flirted with the 20 inch mark a few times over the trips.....but this fish stole the show. That day it was our only fish of a 16 mile 9 hour float....but its just the reason we fish that section religiously with giant flies. Strip, strip, boom!


May: Streamers by day, spinner falls in the evening, pretty much the perfect way to spend the day. This quality brown broke a long fishless streak that day and also christened our new 2 man pontoon!


June: June is a grab bag of techniques for trout, bass, carp, and a host of other fish. We had some tough days on the flats casting at thousands of cruising carp but the water was too cold for them to eat. The end of the month is know for its hex hatch.....we got caught back in the swamp a few nights in violent t-storms, but finally hit it right and got some nice browns on #4 hex spinners. SLURP!


July: Spring transitions to summer and we mainly target smallmouth and pike...with a little daytime nymphing and nighttime mousing for browns thrown in. This pike crushed an 8 inch jointed deceiver right at dusk on our favorite warmwater river. (Note* fish was released just fine...he just got a little bloody from the hook buried in his cheek.)


August: Another month of bass and pike with a nighttime mousing trip or two when the moon is right. The bass fishing this summer was awesome and these guys will bend a 6wt into the cork!!


September: Transition to fall. We leave the warmwater fish alone until next summer and concentrate on egg eating trout, streamer eating browns, and the start of our grouse season on the 15th! The brown was greedily eating eggs behind 4 or 5 spawning salmon. He couldnt resist a glo-bug tumbling down the river.


October: October is all about bird hunting for me. Awesome grouse and woodcock hunting all over the northern part of the state. The foliage is outrageous and I am always sad when its over. This big grey phase busted out of some scrub oak and giave me a hard right to left crosser at about 20 yards. One shot and my feather supply was re-stocked for the upcoming year.


November: The best steelheading month of the year in my opinion. Not the most fish of the year, but not many people out on the rivers because of bird and deer season. We caught alot of fish this month but this fish that rocked a big flashy sculpin fished on my 2 hander took the cake.


December: We've had a warmer than average December and its fished more like a continuation of fall than winter. The steelhead fishing has been as good as I've ever seen for this time of year....yet thats not what ill remember most about this month. The browns have come off their spawn and we have gotten a whole mess of gorgeous fish on egg and nymph patterns while searching for steelhead. This brown, which flirted with 20 inches, rocked a nuke egg right at dusk and capped off a day with 4 steelhead and over a dozen good trout to hand.

[lewdogg]

Solid work! I was reminiscing about the year myself over the break... wish I caught half the big browns you did!

[Swamp Angel]

What a wunnerful year! I am gener'ly loathe to offer compliments to Yankees, but I must admit that you have produced quite a good story fer one to foller. You have inspired me. Those were some great photos an' 'scriptions of the way things fell fer y'all over the course of each month.

I feel as though I have jes' completed readin' through an entire year's worth of trout-fishin' magazines! Thank you ever so much.

[wheretofishtoday]

those are some great fish! that bass looks like a 10lb+ ................were any of those fish caught on tamarack creek there in michigan?

[Windknot]

Thank you for putting that together....I needed a distraction, and that was splendid!

May you enjoy 2012 even more than last year!

[Arborfly]

+ one to all the above. I dont ususlly make a new year's resolution but this year I want to learn to fish like you Well done

[Revive]

Freakin sweet Rich. Very nicely done if i do say so myself.

[mnemetz]

What a great year man. Terrific post & thanks for sharing.

[Big Browns]

Another great year in review post...

The fishing is great and the camera work too! Any year where you fish at least one day a month is a good year.