Been a nice visit up here in Wolfeboro, NH over the holidays with family. I hardly ever settle down for long anywhere and I almost never go a few weeks without my fly rod in hand. Granny and I have been hanging low, eating too much, watching lots of football, sleeping in and believe it or not, its so warm we have been canoeing.
During the day I’ve been getting ready for the Show Season Tour. I’ve been doing art. I update all my presentations and then recite them a few times to make sure they’re ready. My first gig is next weekend January 5-7 at the Marlboro, MA Fly Fishing Show. Then its Denver, NJ, Atlanta, Minneapolis and on for a Canada tour. Its going to be a busy start 2024 for sure.
There will be lots of fishing travel as well for 2024. I have two big trips on the books already. I’ll be back to Bhutan for golden mahseer in April and both Granny and I will be fishing West Cape York Australia with Josh Hutchins of Aussie Fly Fisher in September. There’s a bunch of my usual escapades as well and spots where I plan to fit in something crazy!
Speaking of 2024, I never really closed the books on 2023. The year was solid and somewhat normal. The first of its kind since 2019 when began the Covid craziness and then Granny and I made the move. Though friends and family thought we were out of our minds to leave Idaho and the Yellowstone Country, we could not be more happier in Hayward, WI. 2023 marks our first full year here and we absolutely love the huge change!
A deeper rundown of 2023 goes like this:
I fished 124 days: 37 for trout, 69 for warmwater species, 11 in saltwater and 7 in the rainforest of Borneo. I fished at least six states, three Provinces of Canada and left the country six times.
I caught 40 species on the fly – 9 were new ones that include the white sucker, American shad, silver redhorse, river redhorse, burrito grunt, bullseye puffer, Sultan barb, tinfoil barb and last but not least – the red kaloi! My total is 455 give or take one. I will update my exact count soon. Every year of my fishing life I’ve added new species but I must admit, the list of additions gets smaller every year. My ultimate goal is 500. Of course once I reach that it’s off for 600!
While all the new species were incredible I had a few favorites that weren’t new:
Monster walleye from the Columbia – The smoking yellowfin tuna of Baja – Giant channel cats from Manitoba – Granny’s hefty pike from Gangler’s in Manitoba – Big bull trout of the Metolius – Winning the Silver Medal in the Worlds in Kamloops Canada – Coaster brook trout off the Canada side of Lake Superior – More muskies this year than last – Granny’s jumbo WI largemouth – Living large with the new Striker raft – And I could go on and on. 2023 was a dang good year!
And none of all this good fishing would be possible without the best sponsors in the fly fishing industry. Thank you Simms, Yellow Dog Fly Fishing, Yeti, Scientific Anglers, Outcast Sporting Goods, Winston Fly Rods, Bauer Fly Reels, Costa, Aire Whitewater, Flyfishers International and Kate’s Real Food
That’s all I have time for. Happy New Year everyone!
nice fish! That walleye is a trophy