2012 Year in Review

2012 was a fantastic fishing year for us.  There were times when we caught 50 fish in just a few hours, and there also were times when we fished all day for only a couple or no fish. There were a bunch of firsts, we fished new water, and above all we just enjoyed being out in the outdoors as always. We caught everything from tiny wild trout to muskies, and everything in between.  Fly and spin. Here's some highlights....

This year was our first year fishing for stocked trout in lakes and actually being successful. We fished 3 different times on two lakes and caught fish each time.  Rainbows and brookies.  Here's the first fish of 2012 caught during a blizzard on a half frozen lake.

During the spring, and a little in the fall, we had fun as always fishing for stocked trout. 

We tend to fish for stocked trout more because of where we live, but we got out a lot for wild trout too.  Even got to fish some streams in central PA for the first time(Spring Creek, etc..) along with all our usual streams. There's just something special about fishing those cold, clear mountain streams for wild brookies, browns, or rainbows. 

A lot of the high number days we had were because of panfish. Yeah, they're small, but they can be a blast to catch and the action is often non-stop.  We got out perch fishing on Lake Erie, fished a bunch of lakes for crappie and sunfish, and even caught a good amount of white perch on LaDue Reservoir and the Cuyahoga River.  Bluegills, pumpkinseeds, green sunfish, warmouths, yellow perch, white perch, white bass, crappie, they're all fun.  They also taste pretty good too!!  We released most of them, but not all ;)

We hit the white bass run on a local-ish creek this spring, and also caught them and HYBRIDS(!!) on some other rivers throughout the spring and summer.  They definitely fight hard for their size, and you can't beat those drag busting runs the hybrids make! 

In July I had the chance to fish out in Colorado, and that was an awesome trip!  The scenery was breathtaking, and the fishing was just as good!  It took a couple streams, but I caught the CO wild trout slam one of the days.  A brookie, brown, rainbow, and my first couple cutthroats. 

2012 was the first year we started getting serious about carp on the fly.  It's a blast, but sight fishing to spooky fish can be challenging.  We got a lot spinfishing also, but they're so much funner on the fly rod.

The smallmouth bass kept us busy all summer too.  And some largemouths. Caught a bunch of  walleyes too, even some on the fly.  And I can't forget about catfish, they're always fun in the summer and often provide consistant action.

 One of our most interesting fishing days was the day we caught fish in three different states, OH, WV, and PA all in a couple hours!  Here's a freshwater drum from the Ohio River.

Our first ever two muskies landed happened in 2012, and it was also a great year for northern pike on a bunch of different waterways close to home.  I love catching fish with teeth, even if you need some bandages every once in a while!!

 And last but not least........steelhead!  The conditions were bad most of the times we got out, but we stuck with it and caught fish.  From Rocky River on the west side of Cleveland, to Walnut Creek near Erie, PA, and a few other places in between.  They are definitely one of my favorite fish to catch. 

 2012 was an awesome year and hopefully 2013 will be just as good, if not better!  -Nick