R22
New Member
Posts: 339 
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Post by R22 on Jan 3, 2018 15:17:29 GMT -5
I am emailing my 2017 diary to Dan this afternoon. There was almost a four month period where I did not fish at all simply because I felt it was in the best interest of the fishery. Not that I do much damage in the numbers caught but because I simply don't catch that many.
Number of Days Fished 35
Number of Hours Fished 185
Number of Fish Harvested 0
Number of Fish Released 78
Number of fish over 30 inches 25
Number of days skunked 9
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Post by drag4striper on Jan 3, 2018 16:56:20 GMT -5
My 2017 diary will go out in the mail 1/4/18.
Days fished .................. 22
Hours fished ................ 136
Fish harvested ............. 5
Fish released ............... 76
Days skunked .............. 1
Fish 30" and greater .... 33
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BentRod
Global Moderator
Posts: 2,252
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Post by BentRod on Jan 3, 2018 17:29:43 GMT -5
I actually did a diary this year - easier to do one when you hardly fish at all apparently...
(All of this is on my boat - fished some with others - didn’t track that)
# of Days fished: 10
# of Hours fished: 30
# of Fish harvested: 0
# of Fish released: 31
# of Skunk trips: 1
# of Citations: 3
# of Fish 30” or greater: 15
# of Fish less than 30”: 16
And this stat is the real killer for me...
Last striper caught on: May 6th
Getting ready to change that soon, I hope...
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Post by coheasion on Jan 4, 2018 10:13:54 GMT -5
Really like seeing all of this information!!
Biggest surprise to me is Bentrod averaging 3 hours per day fishing- lol I usually spend that much time just catching bait ;-)
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Post by bushwacker on Jan 4, 2018 12:19:12 GMT -5
I really hate posting my stats up against you guys it's a little intimidating and shows I have a lot to learn. Here are mine for my first full year fishing SML.
28 days fishing
107 hours fished (3.82 avg)
26 fish landed
largest fish 31.25"
smallest fish 14"
Under 20" = 9
30" or larger = 6
13 skunks
My take away from year 1 on the water.
-I settled with fishing with the bait I could find easily instead of concentrating on better bait. In return I did not catch as quality of fish.
- I spent too much time JUST fishing and not enough time looking for the fish. I fished too much were the fish were not.
- 13 skunks is a bummer, but now I know 13 places not to start fishing that time of year.
- avg only 3.8 hours a day fishing need to bring that up. Kids play a big part in that lol.
- I fished pretty much all BW I am thinking I need to venture up Roanoke.
- Have made a lot of new friends through this fishery.
- Fished my first tournament ever, it was the TN tourney. Work has yet to let me get in one at SML, Hope to change that soon.
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Post by coheasion on Jan 4, 2018 14:40:27 GMT -5
I really hate posting my stats up against you guys it's a little intimidating and shows I have a lot to learn. Here are mine for my first full year fishing SML. 28 days fishing 107 hours fished (3.82 avg) 26 fish landed largest fish 31.25" smallest fish 14" Under 20" = 9 30" or larger = 6 13 skunks My take away from year 1 on the water. -I settled with fishing with the bait I could find easily instead of concentrating on better bait. In return I did not catch as quality of fish. - I spent too much time JUST fishing and not enough time looking for the fish. I fished too much were the fish were not. - 13 skunks is a bummer, but now I know 13 places not to start fishing that time of year. - avg only 3.8 hours a day fishing need to bring that up. Kids play a big part in that lol. - I fished pretty much all BW I am thinking I need to venture up Roanoke. - Have made a lot of new friends through this fishery. - Fished my first tournament ever, it was the TN tourney. Work has yet to let me get in one at SML, Hope to change that soon. This is almost verbatim how I felt after my first year on the lake. But, I wouldn't have it any other way as it was a great process to go through and I learned so much. Big thanks to @mward for running this site and to all of the valuable contributions from all of the members here....you guys have been my mentors at SML so thank you for sharing your experience, knowledge and memories.  |
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Post by mwardncsu on Jan 4, 2018 15:26:35 GMT -5
Alright - you guys tallying yours pushed me to get mine in on time this year....
Days fished .................. 31
Hours fished ................ 163.5
Days skunked .............. 2
Fish harvested ............. 0
Fish released ............... 101
Fish 30" and greater .... 63
Fish 35" and greater .... 16
Fish 37" and greater .... 3
I did not fish (for striper) from May 6th until Sept 16, and then only one time until mid-Nov when I picked up again - this Fall was just so hot so long that I avoided fishing as much as I have in past years - fortunately a combination of a mild winter early in the year and being in transitions of jobs allowed me to fish a bunch in February.
I felt like this Fall was off - some of that is probably the fact that I did not fish as much as I did in past years, only fished 1 vs 2 days on a weekend, and BIG bait was tough to get till the VERY end of the year vs. a little earlier. It probably is also a reflection of the #s of fish, but I really did not fish for numbers - think I only used ales one time and that was the last trip of the year with Mitchell (which was on his boat but I included here as I don't think he's turning in a diary) - so bait selection I am sure plays into numbers....
Looking forward to 2018!
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Post by Jason54 on Jan 10, 2018 10:09:55 GMT -5
My turn!
Days fished 20
Hours fished 140
Days skunked 3
Fish harvested 4
Fish released 54
Fish 30" and greater 27
Fish 35" and greater 10
I need to fish more! I fished mush less than the previous year. Still a successful year I landed my largest freshwater striper at 39.5".
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ajrod88
New Member
I'm still learning.
Posts: 237
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Post by ajrod88 on Jan 10, 2018 14:10:10 GMT -5
My turn! Days fished 20 Hours fished 140 Days skunked 3 Fish harvested 4 Fish released 54 Fish 30" and greater 27 Fish 35" and greater 10 I need to fish more! I fished mush less than the previous year. Still a successful year I landed my largest freshwater striper at 39.5". Those are some Impressive stats right there. 37 out of 58 over 30''! I'd be happy with that ratio! Nice |
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Post by mwardncsu on Jan 2, 2019 14:07:04 GMT -5
Reminder to submit your 2018 fish diaries to Dan Wilson......
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Post by coheasion on Jan 2, 2019 16:17:15 GMT -5
OK - 3rd year in a row doing this....lets see how this past year stacked up to years past. Summary - pretty similar to 2017 honestly. For some reason this year has felt like a bit of a disappointment but I actually caught a greater number of larger >30" fish this year than last year....even though it didn't feel that way, mainly because I had kind of expected some real big fish this year and they just didn't materialize and the largest fish was 36" for the year vs 38" for the prior year. Fish per hour increased greatly though - from .26 per hour in 2016 to .58 in 2017 to .71 in 2018.  |
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BentRod
Global Moderator
Posts: 2,252
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Post by BentRod on Jan 2, 2019 21:50:32 GMT -5
My 2018 fishing log for my boat:
1 trip
2 people
7hrs fished
3 fish caught and released - 37”, 37”, 37.5”
Pretty sad trip wise, but I’ve had the skiff out of the water for the last 6months fixing years of abuse. Hoping to get her back to the lake next weekend, so maybe I can fish some in 2019....
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Post by quackquackboom on Jan 3, 2019 9:05:04 GMT -5
OK - 3rd year in a row doing this....lets see how this past year stacked up to years past. Summary - pretty similar to 2017 honestly. For some reason this year has felt like a bit of a disappointment but I actually caught a greater number of larger >30" fish this year than last year....even though it didn't feel that way, mainly because I had kind of expected some real big fish this year and they just didn't materialize and the largest fish was 36" for the year vs 38" for the prior year. Fish per hour increased greatly though - from .26 per hour in 2016 to .58 in 2017 to .71 in 2018. I felt like this year was a let down also. Bait was TOUGH for us this year. Last year I could get good bait in 30 minutes to an hour every trip almost. This year the big bait was very difficult to find. my numbers were down too. Didn’t have any of those non stop mornings. Typical trips were one to three fish. |
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Post by bushwacker on Jan 4, 2019 8:47:05 GMT -5
Ok here's mine for my 2nd year Striper fishing. Fished all Black Water but a couple trips I ventured as far as Becky and Betty's Still a lot to learn.
25 - days fishing 121.5 - hours fished (4.86 avg per day) 55 - fish landed 30" - largest fish 15" - smallest fish 14 - Under 20" 2 - 30" or larger 5 - skunks
Take away from this year. 1. I do not have more time to fish so I need to make the best of the fishing time I have.
2. I over doubled my landed fish from last season. 3. I can't seem to find the big girls. 4. Still need to focus more on finding bigger bait. 5. Went from 13 skunks to 5. 6. Really need a 4 stroke, My 1995 150 Ocean Pro is thirsty.
Best take away: I had a Reely Blessed year and am very thankful for all the great friends I've made learning this fishery. The new fishing buddies, the contacts, the Mafia tournaments with my Son. Thanks to everyone that has been apart of it. Happy New Year and tight lines for everyone this 2019.
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Post by coheasion on Jan 4, 2019 8:53:19 GMT -5
Thats the Best take away my friend. Congrats on a good year and Happy New Year!
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