What are your top fishing memories of 2022?

2022 I committed to fishing all 4 NWT events. Detroit River, Lake Francis Case, MS in Prairie Du Chien, and Green Bay. It was a thrill and had great partners in all events, some I did better than others in. At the end of the year, I was in 14th place for co-anglers and qualified for the championship on Lake Erie out of Dunkirk NY.

Day 1 I fished with Matt Reber from IA and we had a good day finishing around 7th I believe. Day 2 I got matched up with eventual champion John Hoyer and he put on a clinic. I caught some fish (proof is on the NWT video on YouTube) but John was on a completely different level. Ended day 2 in 3rd place. Qualified for day 3 and fished with Adam Anderson out of Amery. It was my second time in the boat with Adam as we were matched up in Mobridge in 2021. We slipped a couple spots but I learned so much and had a blast.

Fishing that championship was quite a thrill.
Final memory of 2022, after two years without a boat, I bought a Ranger 620 in September and had some really good outings on P4 this fall.
No NWT for me in 2023, the locations don’t match up with my schedule well though I’d like to try one on the pro side just for the experience. Maybe 2024 once I learn how to use my new boat and electronics.

Looking forward to 2023 and the possibilities!!

March – couple of 10lb class brown trout on the White River in Arkansas, among other good ones.

April – Some epic pre-spawn smallie fishing on Lake Michigan. Several fish over 5lbs and one just short of 6. Water temp in the 30’s!

May – Missed winning the City Auto Glass Walleye Classic by 5 oz. ‘First losers’ some would say.

August – Some satisfying solo musky catches…52.5” and 50” being the biggest.

Oct/Nov – Had three of the most memorable fishing days of my life: Targeting smallies, my buddy and I had an 80 fish day with 12 over 5lbs and the biggest being 6. Next day fishing solo on a different lake, I targeted walleyes and caught 130 with many in the 23-27” class. The next day, met up with my buddy for more smallie action where we boated 118 that averaged over 4lbs, with 11 over 5lbs and a 6lb 3oz big fish. Still feeling a ‘fish high’ from that little 3-day excursion.

Caught a nice walleye on the first cast with my 5 year old on the river by our house. A nice mid-upper 40’s musky with my 5 year old and the Malmo Mafioso over the 4th, a 21″ smallie on the annual Rainy HB trip, and a fun trip with my buddies on Lake Superior for my 40th would top the list of memories. Perhaps the biggest is my oldest becoming self sufficient dock fishing at the cabin, I love it, but rebaiting and taking off 4″ sunnies, does in fact get old.

Some very cool 2022 memories. Here is mine: probably the single best day of fishing in my life! Not having been in Canada for a couple years, I gladly settled on my dog Cash as my partner as Canada at the time had some stringent crossing rules and nobody could go with me. My first full day back offered me absolute perfect boat travel weather. Something needed fishing a large open Canadian lake, if you want to find the spots unspoiled. I boated roughly 6 hours that day, the rest of the hours left for fishing. Boated 15 pike over 40″ including a 48″, 2 45″ and two 43″. The fat females were up shallow and polarized glasses spotting the largest girl’s were key. This was so much fun as I chose the fish I wanted to catch slowly cruising a large flat as shallow as possible. A simple drop of my spoon triggered inhaling bites every time. The 48 was / is my personal best. The one time I forgot my digital scale this fish was without a doubt 28# of pure pike. Selfy does this gal little justice.

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