““If you’re too successful to fish whenever you want, one could argue that you’re not really a success.”
John Gierach
Somehow, in the blink of an eye, another year has come and gone. It was a year that saw far more time devoted to work than fishing, and, as a result, this blog has fallen into a state of disrepair. My day job, a new business venture, and countless hours tending to my recently passed 15-year-old German Shepherd filled my days. And, for the first time in a long time, my rod and vise became an afterthought.
Recently, however, a sense of normalcy seems to be returning. And, as I prepare to refocus on my angling efforts (and this blog) in the year to come, I thought it appropriate to look back on a few of the highlights from the year that was.
#5 – The one day Suncatch
In a year where my travel was limited, I often found myself focusing on angling opportunities near to home. Limited to a few hours at best, these trips were generally spur of the moment and focused on the diverse warmwater species found throughout the bayous and urban waterways of south Louisiana.
While this occasionally meant to mornings chasing bass, carp, gar, and other sizable species, it more often equated to brief sessions chasing the various sunfish species that grace our local waters.
A growing focus of many local fly anglers courtesy of the Gulf Coast Council of FFI’s Suncatch Challenge, they’ve remained a focal point of my local angling these past three years. With eight species readily attainable in and around Baton Rouge, I had often considered attempting to complete the first tier of the Suncatch Challenge in a single day.
When an opportunity finally presented itself in April of this year, I texted a group of friends to “call my shot,” tossed my 1-wt in the truck, and headed out the door.
Approximately five hours later, I had completed the challenge!
#4 -The Gulf Coast Classic
After a successful inaugural event in 2023, The Classic returned to Gulf Shores in May of 2024. A fairly significant undertaking for those of us on the GCC FFI board, it has become a labor of love and one that we are all quite proud of.
With an emphasis on fly fishing education and conservation, the 2024 event saw an expanded Fly Tyers Row, a Conservation Spotlight featuring ASGA’s Tony Friedrich and casting instruction for all skill levels provided by FFI CCIs and MCIs.
Our Mixed Bag Tournament also returned for a second year with a sister/brother tandem topping the medal stand, and our showing of the Fly Fishing Film Tour proved quite the hit with stars of two of the films joining us for the showing.
Be sure to check out more highlights in the image gallery below courtesy of Brian Roberts.
#3 – Maedbh’s 1st Carp
While my 2024 has felt overwhelming, Maedbh’s has been far more chaotic. While we’ve long discussed owning a clinic, the opportunity came sooner than expected, and, for her, that meant an overnight transition from practicing DVM to Owner, Medical Director, and Hospital Manager.
As you might expect, life was put on hold in the wake of this unexpected change. Travel plans (Hawaii & Idaho) were scrapped, her photography took a back seat, and any dreams I may have had of her joining me on the water all but disappeared.
Easter Sunday proved the rare exception, however. Both off work, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and headed to New Orleans for lunch. Ready early, I asked if she would mind if I scouted carp on the way into town. No small ask given how precious her free time was, I was excited when she agreed and tossed a pair of rods into the back of the truck.
Stopping along a stretch of canal in Metairie where I had found large fish a few weeks prior, I rigged up a pair of rods and began talking her through the process of carp on the fly. Her interest waning and frustration understandably building after about 30 minutes of missed hook sets and refusals, I left her to focus on a stretch of water near the car while I did one last pass further down the canal.
I had only made it about 30 feet when she shouted for the net.
Snapping a few photos, we sent the carp on its way and washed up before heading for lunch.
#2 – A Weekend in South Florida
It should come as no surprise that I found myself returning to south Florida in late March 2024 following a pair of successful trips to the region the year prior. It was a first trip to the region for my buddy, Simon, and, after some discussion, we decided to focus our efforts on the exotics found along the Tamiami Trail and canal systems that transected Miami-Dade county.
Focusing as much on the experience as the species, we made a point of eating well along the way. Lunch at Joanie’s along the Trail, plenty of Cuban food at every opportunity and even a few beers at Tripping Animals (my favorites south FL brewery) all highlighted the trip.
Plenty of fish were caught as well including my lifer Jaguar Guapote courtesy of my good friend (and this blog’s first subscriber), Jim. It was our first time fishing together after years of corresponding online. It was long overdue and definitely a highlight of the trip!
#5 – The Dirty Carp
I’ve been lucky enough to spend quite a bit of time on the water these past few years fishing with my cousin, Jake. With the exception of 2020 where COVID limited us to a few days, we’ve spent at least a week fishing together each of the past five years. We’ve chased trout in Colorado, Striper in New England and Tarpon in the Keys. We’ve gone without sleep, forgotten to pack food more than once, and, as often than not, we’ve come home sun burnt, bug bitten or half-frozen. These trips are always a highlight of the fishing year, and, while work and life limited us to a single trip in 2024, it was a good one.
While we had no plans on the books when I was first invited to participate in The Dirty Carp in January of this year, it is safe to say I knew who my tournament partner would be. A team event, the tournament would challenge teams of two anglers to compile the longest three carp “stringer” during a single day of fishing New Orleans urban canals. With the initial tournament limited to a max 25 teams, I was excited to have been offered a slot and texted Jake immediately.
Admittedly no where near as picturesque as a trip to the Rockies of Florida Keys, it was an opportunity to fish together and Jake, thankfully, jumped at that opportunity.
Arriving late the Thursday prior to the tournament, we spent Friday scouting the canals. Settling on a plan over pizza and beer that evening, we rigged our rods and prepared for an early start. If things went according to plan, we’d be covering a lot of ground Saturday as we moved from canal to canal in search of big fish.
As it turned out, however, we struct sewer salmon gold at our first stop and never really moved. Starting off strong with a solid carp on Jake’s first cast, we had a 74″, three fish “stringer” on the board before 9AM and a slight lead over the second place team..
Eventually falling behind by 0.5″, we began to cover ground in search of larger fish. After spooking a few, I finally managed a take and, after a prolonged fight on my 6wt, brought 30+” carp to net. That fish extended our lead to 4+” and proved large enough to keep us in the top spot for the rest of the day.
While we added a few days of fishing near Pensacola in the days that followed the tournament, that long weekend proved the culmination of our fishing adventures in 2024. While it certainly wasn’t as much as I would have liked, it was a blast winning another tournament together. I only hope we can repeat that feat in 2025.
With that, I think it’s time to call 2024 a wrap. I want to thank you all for following along this past year (the site surpassed 50k views!) and promise I’ll do my best to get back to providing consistent tying content in the coming months.
Until then, a belated Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and fish filled 2025 to all of you!
Chris
That’s an awesome photo gallery!
Thanks, Darrell!
Apologies for the wonky formatting on the email. I wanted to be sure to share all of Brian’s images, but definitely did not intend for the entirety of the post to be included in the notification. I’ll have to figure out what changed in the settings.
Also, you should consider joining us at the Classic in 2025. It’s turning into quite a fly tyers gathering with many of last year’s featured tyers recruiting their friends for 2025. We’d love to have you join in on the fun.
Happy new year to you, my friend. I enjoyed our sunfish trip we made earlier this year. I hope to get a chance to chase some carp in 2025
Happy New Year, Doc! That wet wading trip was an absolute blast and a nice break from the summer heat.
And, we’ll definitely find time for that carp trip coming up.
Happy New Year!