Year in Review

Well just like anything this time of year, it's a good time to look back at 2010 and it's no different with me and fishing. I've evaluated as much as possible and tried to process everything I learned last year and hope to parlay that info into a much better 2011. Here is a sampling of what I learned last year and how most of it came from other fishermen beating my brains in.

Lesson #1: Always have a senko tied on no matter what. I usually do but even during the pre-spawn event at Baw Beese where I never thought it would come into play, it did. Jim and Trish Rice both caught good limits that day and a lot of our club events were won with the same lure.

Lesson #2: Rely on my instincts. I fished several tournaments in 2010 and pre-fished all but three of them. Guess which three I did the best in? That's right. I can catch fish pretty good but need to quit being stubborn and doing what I did in practice even though they're not biting and just go out and fish. I bet I'd do better with this attitude in 2011 and there's only one way to find out.

Lesson #3: Learn St Clair a little better. I've always wondered why tournament guys always head to Canada and to the southern end of the lake rather than head north? Well Randy Peck showed my why this may be a good option when he hammered 21 pounds in Anchor Bay during our club event. I always thought this would be a decent area during the hot summer months but never practiced up there. I will now.

Lesson #4: You can be on the fish and still not catch them. This was never truer than at Ovid when Matt Morgan and I shared water and he caught 16 pounds while I caught 2. Matt and I were doing basically the same thing but his presentation was slightly different which made all the difference in the world. Afterward he explained to me why he caught them and I didn't and it made perfect sense, albeit too late. I did listen to him though and used that same technique to catch the second biggest bass at the Classic a few weeks later.

All in all it was a decent year for me, I made the Classic after fishing only 7 tournaments and had several decent finishes throughout the year. I didn't win a tourney but felt I was close and am excited about next years' venues and think they fit my style of fishing. And one more thing I learned is that I need a new boat, but don't we all?