2010 - Some Goals Met, Some Unfulfilled

[SmartWeed]

In December 2009, I decided to see if I could catch a smallie in the Snake River every month of 2010. I also set a goal of trying to catch 2000 smallmouth in 2010. In early December I thought my goals were impossible. I was 116 fish shy of the total, and the weather had turned awful. My boat is kept in a shed type garage.

Finally, we did have a few days that were decent enough for a 78 year old man to head for the river. I struck out on the first two trips, but finally on December 27 I landed a nice 16" smallie on a pearl grub on my drop shot rig. That fish still left me 115 fish short of my other goal. Oh well, there were some great highlights in 2010. Some of which have been shown here before.

On April 15 The River blessed me with this beautiful 5 pound 4 ounce fish:


July 13 produced this black faced smallie. She was normal colored on the other side of her body:


On August 31 a spinnerbait lured this handsome 21" hard fighting dandy.


And lastly, on October 14 fatboy hit my drop shot rig and fought like a bulldog. He was only 16.5" long, but very unusual.


In all, I was very blessed in 2010, even though I didn't reach both of my goals. I was able to spend 142 days on the water, even though we had a very nasty spring. Not too bad for an old geezer. 2011 HERE I COME!
[signature]

[idahoron]

Great pictures. That last one looks like there was a sunfish in the family tree.
My own goal for 2010 was a bust. I wanted to take a week off and float the snake river from Walters Ferry to where ever I got. The plan was to camp on the islands and just drift for cats and toss junk at the Bass. I didn't get to take that trip but it is on the list for this year.
Another plan I had for 2010 was to fish more, I did that. Ron
[signature]

[cpierce]

A great year for you!

Some unusual catches too. I know that smallmouth are in the sunfish family, but that last picture sure shows it more than I have ever seen before.

Nice fish!
[signature]

[OvidCreek]

I am not a bass fisherman, and shame on me for that! That is an amazing goal and your fish are impressive. This is a great story whether one fishes or not!

Thanks for sharing!

OC
[signature]

[jeremypeace]

them are some nice fishe that last one sure is interesting!!! Congrats on the year.. Best of luck for the coming year...
[signature]

[hulapopper]

bless you smartweed for your post ! always enjoy s.w. bassin' you are my role model ! i can only hope to be hitting it hard as you when i am in my 70's. hope you catch 5000 this year !
[signature]

[SteelFisher]

I just have to say you don't look like your 78. All the fishing must be keeping you young and healthy. Hope 2011 will be as good of a year for you as 2010.

SteelFisher
[signature]