Goals for 2012

Last year I only set three goals for myself. As you saw they were:
1. Catch 50 trout
2. Only keep one striper
3. Do not use eels for bait.

I will probably stick to the last two again this year. I can't guarantee I won't use any eels or only keep one striper, but I will be conservation minded and keep both to a minimum. As for catching 50 trout, that was much easier than I thought it would be. I caught 224 last year. I am not going to try to reach 250 or any other number this year. Whatever happens happens. I enjoy trout fishing, but I do not want to give up a good striper tide just to pad stats.

So over the last few days I came up with some goals this year. As I was writing them down they kept coming to me. It was nice having only three last year, but since I branched out and attempted to catch many species this year, I have more goals for the future. At the end of the year I will come back and revisit them and see if I was successful  or if I fail

Here they are in no particular order:

1. Catch a twenty pound carp ( the biggest I caught this year was 17 pounds)

2. Camp at Shawme Crowell ( campground down the Cape open all year )in the spring and trout fish all weekend

3. Fish Ethan and /or Shoal ponds for remote wild trout experience.

4. Fish Nickerson State Park

5. Go to Acadia National Park for vacation in June

6. Wachusetts Reservoir
                Fish for lakers in April
                Fish for smallmouth and rock bass in May
                Do not fish Wachusetts in the fall when I could be striper fishing

7. Go to New Hampshire as often as possible

8. Try to fund my fishing habit through magazine articles, selling old stuff, anything other than my work pay check.

9. Try again for false albacore in late summer.

10. Catch a carp on a fly.