Fish Stories from 2010

This year's adventures allowed me to fish in a dozen different states, best I can recall, fishing for everything from Niagara River steelhead to farm pond bream. I don't think I'll add any more states before day's end on Friday, but you never know!

My most northerly trek this year was to beautiful Lake Vermilion in northern Minnesota. I never made it as far south as I often do, with my most southerly 2010 fishing trips having been about halfway down the map in Alabama and Mississippi.

Two of my boys actually caught the individual fish that stand out the most in my mind - Nathaniel's giant rainbow from a small special-regs stream in Arkansas and his 60-pound blue catfish from Alabama and Asher's pond bass that had a snake in its throat!

As far as my own fish go, my favorite from 2010 wasn't necessarily a trophy. It was just a nice quality walleye that slammed a Lindy X-Change Jig at Devils Lake in North Dakota, after "last cast" had already been called - a perfect cap to a great afternoon of fish catching. Oh, but what about that beautiful brown trout that took my Road Runner Original Marabou from beside Nantahala River bluff while Nathaniel and I were helping field test some new baits with TJ Stallings? Tough call.

Favorite day on the water is even tougher, but that one would have to go to a float on Arkansas' spectacular Buffalo River, sharing a canoe with Nathaniel and the river with three other good friends, Alan Clemons, Lawrence Taylor and Glenn Wheeler. The scenery was spectacular and the fellowship fabulous, and the smallies rampaged our YUM Dingers all afternoon.

Another fun and really interesting afternoon was the one I spent with Tommy Biffle, when he first picked up the rig that he would later win a Bassmaster event with and caught fish on first four casts he made with the rig. The head, hand made for Biffle by a friend at the time, would later be introduced by Gene Larew as the "Biffle Hardhead." He had it matched with a Biffle Bug.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to make my living "writing fish stories," for the places I get to see and for the friends I get to share time on the water with as part of my work. I wonder what 2011 will bring!