On the heels of yesterday’s wish for the family to reel in some catfish, today this wannabe bass fisherman is expanding on the multispecies theme. While I did manage to land four different species in 2017, three of them were unintentional, simply “accidents” while bass fishing. In contrast, for 2018 I’m looking to pursue some other species on purpose.

While Jayce has caught his own bass, I always dug this pic of him admiring Uncle Dave Breuer’s catch

Kids are the prime motivation for this wish list item and for the most part, up to now, I’ve held the roles of baiter, caster and unhooker during our outings. Everybody continues to get a little bigger, much more proficient in their fishing skills and gradually more comfortable handling the catch. Therefore, it’s time for Dad to pick up one of the spare poles we always pack for those just in case situations and make it my own.

Carly holds the family title as the “Redear Queen”

Helena and the ever popular and cooperative bluegill

Jayce and his 2017 family record green sunfish

I’m sure that many of us anglers cut our fishing teeth on the more cooperative panfish type species and my crew is no exception. And neither am I, as the roots of all the fishing stuff you read on here were planted with an ultralight pole, a handful or grubs and spinners or something hung from a float. I like to refer to the approach as “Beetle Spins and Bobbers” and I look forward to throwing in this change of pace in the coming year.

Me, Zac and Dad with a bounty of farm pond crappie and bluegill

For many years, Dad and I have gotten a kick out of what we unofficially call “The Species Title” during our outings. Perhaps for 2018 I can make it official as our crew is certainly up for a little competition pretty much all the time. Boy, the wheels are turning, going to have to recruit Julie to put such a concept into action. I can create a lot of words in a hurry when putting together a blog posting but when it comes to something tangible, I defer to the arts and craft oriented parent. We’ll see…Talk to you later. Troy