I reflected this morning, sitting alone in my truck, with the defroster blasting for a good five minutes. The windows were frosted, heavily, both on the outside and on the inside of the window. Sitting there I pulled out my phone and checked the temperature, 11 degrees. 11 degrees and it’s not even November yet.
Sitting in the cold I started thinking about fishing and all of the good times that were had this year on the water. The guide season is officially over and I am already looking ahead to next year with plans for updates, changes, and new discoveries. Just last night I sat down and did some Google Maps Sleuthing and found a new stretch of river that I will be scouting next summer. I will be spending the long winter planning ahead and making sure come Spring that I am ready to go.
The Hooligan Stealthcraft treated me very well this year - I actually ended up using my Jackson Coosa kayak only a handful of times. Most of my trips were spent on the raft and I couldn’t have been happier with the performance. I hit the water 54 times this year on the raft - with my final trip of the year I had to break ice to get out to open water. Yes, it’s been THAT cold!
Reflecting and thinking of the water makes my happy for all the trips to come next year and into the years ahead. The Upper Peninsula holds more water and rivers than you could possibly do in a lifetime of fishing and I look forward, always, to the adventures that lay before me. Just this year I opened up 5-6 new sections of water that I had never done before. Those types of trips are always my favorite - new water is my favorite water. You never know what’s hiding behind the next bend.
Stay tuned this fall and winter for some awesome YouTube videos that I will be posting with some of the highlights from this year. I have tons of footage and tons of time to make some killer cool content. For now, I will sign off with some pictures here of some of my favorite catches throughout the season. I hope you enjoy!
As always.
Catch.
Release.
Wander.
C'est la vie.
Pura vida.
Carpe diem.