2023 Fishing Season

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The fishing season of 2023 has been a wild ride for me. Not only did I catch a bunch of new species, but I caught my PB, caught fish on new lures, became an ambassador for two companies (Pulse Fish Lures and Kistler Rods), and even had my daughter tell me she wanted to fish with me.
I started the year off slow, but come June I would get the unfortunate news that I was getting laid off from the company I've spent the last 6 years working for. It was a real kick to the self esteem, and that was worsened further with the 4 months that followed where I was going on interview after interview, unable to find a job.

During this unfortunate time, I made sure that every week, at least once a week, I would go fishing. At this point it was less about the actual fishing and more about my own mental health. I couldn't sit in the house scrolling through hundreds of job listings for hours.
 
It was during this time that I improved my Tacklebox web app, developed a fishing board game proof of concept called Hawg Lake, and tried saltwater fishing with my dad.
Among all of the trips I managed to take during this time, there were two trips that stood out. The first was our bank fishing trip to Stump Pond in Smithfield, RI, where my dad caught his first big largemouth on a hacked together Carolina rig that was sitting in his van for months. Shortly after his catch I landed a nice bass on a wacky rig.
The second, though chronologically first, was landing this lunker at my favorite local fishing hole. I would be smiling here but I was baffled by the size of this thing, because I've never caught something this big let alone at this local pond. Not only this but I was using a popper, a blue/silver Poppy McPopface that I got from Monsterbass a while back.


Overall this year has been a great year for fishing. The year isn't over yet, but New England falls are short and I am still trying to figure out the bass migration patterns as the weather changes and the waters cool down. I've stocked up on some black/blue skirted jigs to use when the water cools, but first I need to find the bass. I know that once the weeds die in the middle of the fall, the baitfish and bluegill move to find safer homes, which in turn leads the bass to follow them. For now I am on the chase, but I am determined to catch a late fall/early winter bass.

Keep doing you.

Andrew




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