The "Best of 2016" thread

[icebadger]

i dig that pic of Scowardnj with that softball sized puffer fish in his hand. those fish are cool.again great job everybody.

[FASTEDDIE29]

Year in and year out this is one of the threads I look forward to every year! Friggin EPIC AWESOMENESS!!! Kudos to all NJ anglers that are out there year round doing what they do best!!! "CATCH MONSTERS" And "VARIETY!!!" I absolutely love all the pics!!! Way to go fellas! We should have an NJF magazine or yearly fishing calendar........YEP, YEP!!!

[JDTuna]

Way to go, everyone! Amazing catches all around. Great to see the fishing opportunities in the Garden State!

[NJSquatch]

Amazing Posts! Say what you will about Dirty Jerzy but we do have a great diversity of fishing opportunities. Kudos to NJFGW!

2016 was all about being dedicated and getting out there. My first open water trip was on February 27th and I just wrapped the boat on December 10th. I started a fishing log this year and have 85 entries. That is about 1 fishing trip every 3 days. I know it isn’t in the same league as some of you maniacs but I feel it was a good effort.

The spring was amazing with solid and consistent action on LH. Caught some decent large mouth, small mouth, my first Tiger Muskie, PB Crappie, PB Walleye, and PB Pickerel.



Did my annual 2 week vacation to Lake George in July. The weather was beautiful and was able to get out every day. Caught tons of small mouth on the deep water structure and large mouth along the shoreline structure but nothing trophy size. At the end of the last day I was blessed to catch my PB Lake George Large Mouth at 5lbs on the nose. This is a real trophy for this lake with such a short growing season.



Back in NJ, summer was about checking out new bodies of water since the big lake gets out of hand with pleasure boaters. Caught some nice large mouth including my PB Hopatcong LMB at 4.25lbs.



Fall is my favorite time of the year to fish. Less boat traffic and generally pleasant weather. Had a fantastic hybrid trip with Chrisper and JDTuna with the boat catching 33 fish to 24”. Got out on the infamous tin can and trolled up some well feed large mouth. I even got out on the salt water for my first striper trip. We had an EPIC day in the Raritan Bay with non-stop action. I lost count but caught around 40 fish to 36” and had 5 in row (#6 came unpinned). The 3-man boat had to have close to 100 fish. Finished the season hiding from the relentless November wind and managed a few small mouth and walleyes.



Looking forward to some serious ice fishing to start 2017 and scratch a few more species off my list. See you guys out there!

[Matt_Conway71]

Wow!

[Andrushkin33]

Ahhh

Another year almost over. What can I say I do have a lot to be thankful for this year but since I went through 3 phones not that many pictures remain.

Year was full of firsts so lets have them listed:
First keeper striped bass of shore.
First bluefish of shore
First keeper summer fluke of shore
First keeper blackfish of shore
First puffer of shore.

Amazing year on saltwater for me. Had a chance to witness and participate in bluefish feeding blitz frenzy. Absolutely unreal.

On another hand sweet water for me was not that kind but still had an amazing time being out and about.

Of course this year wont be complete without my annual list of places that have received donations of rod and reels.

And places are below:
1st donation was received by Budd Lake. Extra brownie points to whose who will manage to hook up with it this winter. Location: Weeds right to the right of castle.
2nd donation was received by Spruce Run. Extra brownie points as well. Location: About 200 yards from the swimming beach.
3rd donation was received by pond in East Brunswick Park. Forgot the name of it but it does hold a state record for white catfish. No ice fishing allowed there though. Location to the left of parking lot by Riva Rd.

Since year is not over yet looking toward adding some more personal best.

See you on ice you maniacs.

Andre

[Chrisper4694]

time to ask santa for some rod leashes!

[tycomps]

Originally Posted by Jigman13

This is prob my favorite shot of the year...my daughter Saylor's first fishing excursion... crazy how fast they grow!

It just doesn't get better than this! I still remember my first clunky Zebco push button reel. Cherish every second, it's a whole new world when they hit their teens!

[AndyS]

Amazing !! Hope everyone does well in 2017 !!

[NorthJerzyG]

Great looking fish all!!! Here's to many bent rods and PBs in 2017!! Here's a few of my best of for 2016. Wasn't my best year but I did manage to knock a few new species off the list and caught a couple PBs. Hope to get out more this year and test some new waters.......