Favorite fish/story/trip of 2024?

Two come to mind.
My last field season day of 2024 was pretty awesome for a few reasons. It marked the 3rd year of an NGO-led and volunteer-driven fish presence sampling effort adding both species and waters to the ADFG Anadromous Waters Catalog, and the 6th year of this sort of work for me. The last day also pushed us over the triple-digit threshold for both waters added (streams, lakes/ponds, anadromous polygons) and in stream miles with habitat added to the catalog.
I had our SE Engagement fella along for the ride on the last survey, and these juvenile coho - in a previously undocumented lake at the head of a small island system with no prior observations of coho presence - were the lucky ones that put us over the top in terms of species and miles.
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the last steelhead presence survey day of 2024 was also a banger, as I was able to document steelhead in two streams (mainstream and trib) where no previous record of steelhead existed. As a bonus, I documented spawning activity in nearly every reach of usable spawning habitat of the trib. With these 2, I've now added steelhead to the assemblage of 20 streams with no prior documentation of habitat use by steelhead.
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It was a good year.
 
Kid fishing has been my favorite for a while, but the category was very thin this year. Maybe only one day; bigger trips all got bumped by 17-year old life. Labor Day at G’mas, wading wet in the Allingham pool, 98f in the shade, she stuck a slurper with a long cast to the log on the other side. With the old 755 fenwick and a buzzball. Pretty swell. Proud dad, laughing at how cold she got…

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Up in BC fishing with @Irafly, @troutpocket, and @Yardus. We were out on a lake with the boatman hatch of all boatmans. The entire lake was full of them. The morning dragged on into the afternoon without a strike. The silence of our determination broken by the rare occasional slashing gulp of obvious bigger fish.

Finally mid cast I yelled out in frustration universe give me a fish!!!!! Load enough for my friends to hear. And just like that I was instantly into what became the biggest fish of the trip. In a flash I was stripping line and the fish jumped damn near over my head. IMG_6956.jpegOn a day that produced very very few strikes (think I ended with 2 or 3). What are the odds I cry out to the universe just before a fish were to strike? Im talking a split second before the fish hammered it.

On a year with a lot of memories the universe fish takes the 🎂 for me....
 
For a couple of years I'd been following threads here and on WFF about "tuna". Last winter I made the decision to gear up and booked a trip. Thanks to @Cabezon's efforts and dillegence and the graciousness of @J Watrous, @Kfish and @Matt B for gifting me flies I joined Steve, @Bagman and @SilverFly on a 50 mile run out of Westport. @Nick Clayton captained the boat for a trip and experience I will never forget (and plan to repeat "next year").
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Holy smokes: albacore are TOUGH, FAST and they're delicious!

I had the opportunity to joing the Spring Fling at @Roper's Ranch this year. I'm looking forward to doing the same next year. Great place and fun people to fish and BS with.

Merry Christmas and best wishes for a happy and healthy new year to all.
 
I had some nice days. My son (13 y/o) caught his first dry-fly trout on the Flathead. He is always catching fish…when he goes fishing, which is infrequent. I turned 50 this year and did a great Norcal trip with an old friend, in September. Mccloud, Hat, Trinity all had excellent fishing. My buddy got his first-ever steelhead. I also did a solo overnight into the Sierra to a lake with very cooperative cutthroat.
 
Fishing with the kids is always a joy. They always remind me why I love fishing.
Honestly, my favorite day of the year started out as a quick trip to a local detention pond to check for frogs. We had brought the rods with us because the day before we saw what we thought was a few rises. Ended up hooking a few cutties on spinners that day, which was a surprise because I had assumed if anything was in there it would be bass or panfish.
Was great because the pond is less than 5 minutes from our house, so it opened up a lot of quick trips for me and the boys to wet a line and spend some time on the water together this year.

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I have had great trips over the years to Labrador, Quebec, New Brunswick, AK/MT/WY/ID/WA, and destinations in Europe. My favorite trip, which I take every year, is to Grand Lake Stream in Maine. The fishing is "always" good for LL Salmon and Brook Trout, but the company I keep with old friends telling great stories and great lies is what makes the trip. The time spent fishing is wonderful, but the sitting around the campfire smoking cigars and pipes (and swatting black flies) is what makes the trip special. We have lost some great partners over the years, but seem to always find new people to add to the group. It's about a 6 hour trip each way from where I live, but well worth the time
 
All of the fishing I did this last year was within 80 miles of my house, most of it much closer.
I’m tempted to say that my favorite fish and fishing was in the lazy stretch of stream down the hill from home in the early June evenings after work and before dinner with this guy:IMG_1284.jpeg

But there were other more distinct outings. Like the day SRC loved a #6 caddis pupa here:
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Or catching cutthroat on a stretch of mountain stream my father, grandfather, and great grandfather fished regularly:
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But if I had to pick one day and one place, it’d be here:IMG_1280.jpeg
A tributary of a stream I’ve fished for close to 35 years, sharing a rod with my brothers, my mom on the bank watching birds. She used to cram us in the back of an old Vanagon with our bikes and rods, drive us way up the dirt and gravel roads that follow this water and drop us. We’d work our way back down fishing, wading, swimming, and riding and meet her in the afternoon at the bottom of the hill.
There are only so many of those kinds of days on that kind of water and never enough of either.
 
Little Fork said:
All of the fishing I did this last year was within 80 miles of my house, most of it much closer.
I’m tempted to say that my favorite fish and fishing was in the lazy stretch of stream down the hill from home in the early June evenings after work and before dinner with this guy:View attachment 136669

But there were other more distinct outings. Like the day SRC loved a #6 caddis pupa here:
View attachment 136670
Or catching cutthroat on a stretch of mountain stream my father, grandfather, and great grandfather fished regularly:
View attachment 136671

But if I had to pick one day and one place, it’d be here:View attachment 136672
A tributary of a stream I’ve fished for close to 35 years, sharing a rod with my brothers, my mom on the bank watching birds. She used to cram us in the back of an old Vanagon with our bikes and rods, drive us way up the dirt and gravel roads that follow this water and drop us. We’d work our way back down fishing, wading, swimming, and riding and meet her in the afternoon at the bottom of the hill.
There are only so many of those kinds of days on that kind of water and never enough of either.
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Yeah that last photo looks perfect. Resident Cutts? Glass 3wt? Hell yeah.
 
Always my favorite thread of the year!

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My first guided trip ever. I was in West Palm Beach with friends and booked a "night shift expedition" to sight-fish snook under dock lights at midnight. 4 hours of consistent action with some jack crevalle mixed in, and my buddy even got a juvenile tarpon. Fished with Capt Chris Lenahan.

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Second year fishing the local Charleston saltmarsh in my own boat. This redfish was sight-fished with a good buddy's fly, on a random winter weekday off. A pretty average specimen for our area, but nice colors and a strong fight.


Happy holidays from the Lowcountry!
 
MarshRat said:
Always my favorite thread of the year!

View attachment 136860

My first guided trip ever. I was in West Palm Beach with friends and booked a "night shift expedition" to sight-fish snook under dock lights at midnight. 4 hours of consistent action with some jack crevalle mixed in, and my buddy even got a juvenile tarpon. Fished with Capt Chris Lenahan.

View attachment 136861

Second year fishing the local Charleston saltmarsh in my own boat. This redfish was sight-fished with a good buddy's fly, on a random winter weekday off. A pretty average specimen for our area, but nice colors and a strong fight.


Happy holidays from the Lowcountry!
Click to expand...
Damn, those are some dream fish!
 
My obvious choice
S

Thread 'Few Words'

Ridiculous trip, incredibly humbled by my experience.

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First of the trip

Special fish, she was so pretty. Silver with blue and pink markings, iridescent gill plateIMG_2322.jpeg
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But we are here for lake trout
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So damn lucky

Musk Ox
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BearIMG_3697.jpeg

Lights
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This is despite not getting my check bag until half way through my trip! Make the most of what you are presented with.
 
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