It’s been a little quiet on this blog as of late. Work has unfortunately taken precedent in recent weeks with fly fishing (and tying) likely to remain on the back burner until after the new year. Still, as 2023 comes to a close, I thought I’d take the time to reflect on a few memorable catches from the past 12 months.
With that in mind, here are my Top 5 Fish of 2023.
Honorable Mentions
Narrowing this list down to five proved a more difficult task than I had initially expected. As a result, I wanted to include a few honorable mentions as well. While write-ups are not included for these, clicking on the links below will take you to images of each.
#5 – White Mullet
While this may seem a little laughable, I truly feel the lowly White Mullet deserves a spot in this year’s Top 5.
My second species of Mullet landed on the fly, it was a cool experience to catch not one, but two of these guys on a shrimp-patterned Ned Fly while targeting Snook in Islamorada.
While many assume mullet won’t take a fly, I’ve now had luck targeting them in three consecutive years.
Better still, a second angler was able to join in on the fun during this particular session; forgoing targeting the larger game fish species until he had successfully landed a white mullet of his own.
#4 – Redfish
While redfish are far from a rarity here in Louisiana, this fish makes the list solely due to the effort landing it entailed.
Launching from Pointe Aux Chenes on a cold, windy morning in February, Ken Holmes and I would cover roughly 30-miles round trip before finally spotting and landing this fish somewhere south of Catfish Lake.
Measuring in at just over 30″, it would be the only fish we saw all day. Credit to Ken for the countless hours of poling he put in to put me on that fish.
#3 – Goldline Snakehead
When I began planning a series of south Florida trips in the spring of this year, the Goldline Snakehead sat prominently near the top of my list of targets.
Common in the canals around Fort Lauderdale, I entered my March visit with high hopes of checking one off my list. Unfortunately, luck was not on my side as my brief visit to the canals in question resulted in only three explosive short strikes on my top water offerings.
A return visit in April, however, provided a shot and redemption. And, after a number of fruitless hours hiking up and down the canals, opportunity presented itself.
As the sun began to dip lower on the horizon, I spotted a small head emerging from a clump of vegetation in the canal. Flipping a small Clouser in its direction, I was rewarded with an immediate strike.
The sound of splintering graphite that followed my hook set, however, made for an interesting fight as my rod exploded and I found myself battling a small snakehead with the remnants of my 8-wt.
#2 – Largemouth Bass
In March of this year, my friend, Simon, invited me to join him for a day of bass fishing on his friend’s hunting lease in central Louisiana. We’d be fishing a stretch of flooded bottomland hardwood, and he suggested I bring waders as the best fishing was usually away from the shoreline.
The water consistently produced fish in the 2-3 lbs range, and Simon’s son had recently caught and released a fish pushing 6-lbs on conventional tackle.
Undeterred by a cold front that greeted us on the morning in question, we began the day working the shoreline and cypress stumps with a variety of large streamers. The bite was slow, but consistent, and we each managed to catch and release a number of fish in the 3-lbs range as the morning progressed.
Growing more brazen as the day progressed, I eventually found myself wading chest deep between the cypress trees in search of bigger fish. And, after landing a few that may have challenged the 4-lbs mark, I hooked into what would be my largest of the day.
My best bass of the year, Simon confirmed it was the second largest fish that he had seen come out of this water. He then remarked how brave (or foolish I was) to wade chest deep given the 11-ft gator that frequented this hole…
#1 – Tarpon
While I spent four years living and fishing along Florida’s Atlantic coast during the early 2000s, my fly fishing was limited by the gear I had on hand. Armed with only a Cortland 5wt during those years, larger saltwater species always remained out of my reach.
Long at the top of my bucket list, tarpon became a focal point when I began returning to south Florida with regularity in 2023. While Jake managed two from shore in Islamorada during our late April venture, I remained tarpon-less; jumping just one 60-80 lbs fish that quickly taught me the importance of good knots.
Returning one last time in September of this year, I was intent on finally checking the species off the list. When the opportunity finally presented itself in Key West, I was ready. And, after a few refusals, I finally managed to check a Tarpon off my list (albeit a small one).
That’ll do it for me. Now let’s here about your top fish of the year. Comment below. Or better yet, email me a picture. I’d love to include a Readers Gallery as part of this post!!
Tight Lines!
Chris
2023 Readers Best Catch Gallery (coming soon)
Click to Enlarge (see full image)
Heck of a year!