Ended my 2024 catches with a few spots on the crystal clear Belews Creek. Happy new years all! Best of luck to anyone else going out on your last 2024 fish ventures.

Got some salt water work in today with my dad.

I don't do resolutions at the beginning of the year and much prefer goals for myself. I wanna hear every one's goals for 2025 are.

Fishing and non fishing alike.

Mine:

-Fish for bass in a different country or any land outside of the U.S. mainland.
-Catch and cook redfish
-Get back out to Cali to fish off shore
-Complete rigging up my kayak and fish at least two kayak tournaments.
-At least one international trip
-Catch a peacock bass
-Have a fresh lobster in Maine
-Get back to one of the islands to see family. Guam or Hawai'i.
- Get into better shape, train more consistently and return to the platform to do at least one powerlifting meet.
-Catch a 5+ largie
-Catch a 20" Smallie
-Organize and complete one group trip to fish for Bluefin in Cali.

May add more later, but I hope to repost all the responses with the results at the end of 2025. LFG!

Since we were talking about new lures entering the market, I thought I would share the older ones.

Got to look thru my PaPa Bills tackle box, left with my father in Maine. He used most of these lures in the south on Lake Lanier, Lake Hartwell, and Lake Russel.

I like fishing tournaments on as many different lakes as I can. I’m in Indiana and get down to Kentucky and Tennessee a couple times a year also. My biggest problem is I’m a single parent and can’t always get out to pre fish a lot of the lakes so I tend to stay shallow and fish flats and points mostly. I was just wanting to get some feedback on how others go about fishing new lakes during tournaments, like how much time graphing to actually fishing. Trying to grow instead of always sticking to what’s comfortable. Thanks

There’s one area of a lake I frequent where I learned to not throw baits that make contact with the bottom. I didn’t know what was there, but through trial and error I knew I’d get hung or loose a lure if I threw a Texas rig over there. I assumed it was a gnarly stump or something, but today I finally got some answers 😂 this side scan thing is truly a gift!

Since we are sharing books, here’s a great one to help work on those communication habits.

When fishing action bait in Clearwater, can you just use braided line or do you have to use a leader?

I mean what else would I wear to the office Christmas party.

Thank you Brian Barde for making a custom rod for my father in law for Christmas!