2014 has been utterly amazing, I couldn't have asked for a much better year! As I continue with the goal of promoting the sport of kayak fishing, and the fantastic opportunities that are here in NB for people to take advantage of, so many fantastic memories and accomplishments has been made. That being said I have been adding some things to my bucket list just as quickly as I've been able to knock others off. So here is a few goals I'll be setting for myself here in 2015!
- New Species! I landed 19 species in kayak in 2014, so I want to break that personal record and land at least 20 different species in 2015! To do that, I'll need to not only explore new waters, but learn to be a better angler in many ways from others. The species I didn't catch in 2014 which I want to land in 2015 include:
- Land Locked Salmon
- Brown Trout
- Rainbow Trout
- Muskie
- Flounder
- More Salt Water fishing! The times we spent in the Bay of Fundy in 2014 were great, but we only got out a few times. After catching Sculpin, Mackerel, and even a few pollock and smelt out in the salt water, I want to hook into something a lot more impressive. Not necessarily a Great White Shark, but something I've never see or heard of, or something a good 3 or 4 feet long anyway!
- Explore new waters. NB has so many fantastic fishing opportunities which I haven't had a chance to enjoy yet. From the rivers of the Miramichi, to Long Lake Adventures up north, to dozens and dozens of lakes and ponds throughout the province. I'm hoping to visit waters all over our province this year! If you have some great waters in your backyard and would like me to come visit, by all means let me know!
- Catch fish standing in my kayak! I know many others fish regularly standing in their Predator 13 kayak, though I've not really given it a try. This year, I need to suck it up, practice standing and casting and then hopefully get the feel of bringing in a few small fish like perch. Assuming I can get my sea legs under mean in the kayak, I'll then move on to more exciting fish like pickerel while standing.
- Catch my first fish on a fly rod. Despite my Dads best efforts to get me into fly fishing in my youth, I always stuck with a spinning rod/reel. Now, with a new fly rod from Streamside thanks to their Christmas Facebook contest, I'm hoping to get the hang of this type of fishing and bring in a few trout or even pickerel with it!
- Roadtrip!!! Finally, my last goal for 2015 is to take a road trip to go fishing with one of the many friends I've made through this sport who live in other parts. Whether it's my dream trip (Fraser River in BC for White Sturgeon), back home to Newfoundland to catch cod in kayak, down to Florida for Tarpons, or even just a day's drive to New Hampshire to visit Tim Moore and go fishing for Pike, I'm hoping to hit the road sometime this year and fish a species or two we don't get here in NB!
Happy New Year! Best of luck with your goals. I think you should search out other sturgeon species one by one and add them to your lifelist. White sturgeon would be an awesome one to go for next. :)
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