2018 Year in review

Instead of trying to finish the year off with a trip to the river, I’m stuck at home watching water pour out of the sky. Cant fish? Next best thing is reflecting on all the fishing I did this past year. 2018 was a very busy for me personally, but I was able to get on the water consistently and do what I love to do. The year started off with a bang in the Spring with excellent fishing and yielded 3-20” smallmouth. Followed up Spring with a fantastic adventure on the Menominee River, with many fish caught and life-long memories made. Summertime was highlighted by a trip out to the mighty Susquehanna River to hang with the Wilderness Systems team. The Susky was somewhere I had wanted to go for a looong time. I capped off the year teaming up with a new fishing buddy to fish the Riverbassin National Championship in the Ozarks. I didn’t do near as much fishing in the fall, which hurt my overall numbers for the year, but I got pretty dang close to 1k smallmouth this season. Below is a few of the highlights from 2018:

  • Caught a total of 991 river smallmouth

  • Caught smallmouth in Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Missouri

  • Crossed 3 more rivers off the Ol’ bucket list; Meramac, Menominee, and Susquehanna

  • Caught fish in every month of year besides January and November

  • Largest Smallmouth: 20 inches (3X)

  • Best individual number day: 55 smallmouth

  • Bait of the Year: Accent Mark Dove River Special Night Thumper (Orange and Black, 1/2 oz)

  • Favorite rod: St. Croix Avid-X 7’ MLF Spinning (fluke rod)

  • Favorite reel: Shimano Curado 200K

  • Favorite Kayak: Wilderness Systems Atak 120 Desert Camo

  • Favorite Kayak accessory: Wilderness Systems Custom Dry Bag (https://www.wildernesssystems.com/us/products/custom-dry-bag)

  • Finished 3rd in annual White River IKA tournament with 54.25”

  • Finished 16th (8th team) in Riverbassin National Championship with 47.25”

  • Finished 4th in Riverbassin Regional Central Mid-west tournament with 58.25”

  • Finished 3rd in SIYAK April Bass Assault with 93.5” (all smallmouth)

  • Joined Wilderness Systems Fishing Team

Same thing that I did on last years “Year in review”, I want to take the time to acknowledge the people who I shared the water with this year in no particular order:

My girls: June, Hattie (my 2 daughters), and Katie (my wife) - Most of the time they are at home while I’m on the water, but we had a few really fun trips this season. Junie’s missed monster, getting bit by a water snake, The rainstorm trip, and Hattie’s first smallmouth are just a few of the memories that we made this past summer.

Derek Burton: Although we grew up in the same town, we didn’t really know each other until 2018. Man, this guy is ate up for smallmouth fishing. We had some really cool trips this year, and I found out he is a heck of a fisherman. We even traveled together all the way down to Missouri to fish the riverbassin championship. Derek is a super cool dude, and will be “officiallly” joining the Quest team in 2019! Check out his videos on his “Hoosier State Fishing” Youtube page https://www.youtube.com/user/dburton416

The Wilderness Crew: Juan, Troy, Chase, Barry, Adam, Tom. I wrote a 2-part series on that trip to the Susky, but I’ll say it again: those guys are badasses. Can’t wait to get on the water with them next year.

Chris LeMessurier: Unfortunately we didn’t get to fish together last year, but I’m sure we will in 2019. This guy was responsible for bringing me onto the Wilderness team, and we got to spend a weekend together working Canoecopia for Confluence. Chris is a great guy to hang with and is the founder of Kayak Fish the Great Lakes which puts on an annual chairty Kayak tournament. He is very passionate about the Kayak community and is one of the guys who fished out of a kayak before it was a “thing”. Im still not sure if he can fish though….haha.

Chris Vaughan: Can’t put up a list of fishing buddies without giving Chris a shout-out. He’s my staple “first right of refusal” when planning a trip, and a hell of a fisherman. We didn’t get out as much as usual this year due to busy schedules, but I’m sure that will change in 2019. Regardless we still made a ton of great memories.

Daddio: He taught me how to fish, and he can still put ‘em in the boat with the young guns. We had a few trips that were awesome. One particular spring float and camp yielded 3-20 inch smallmouth. It was crazy. My Dad is a true legend.

Danny Chrenko: I didn’t get out a ton with my little brother this year, but it was tough as he joined the Indianapolis Fire Department this year. We did have a great spring wade, that yielded a couple monsters and a huge 19”er for him. That 24-on, 48-off schedule should fair well for more time on the water together in 2019.

Aidan Darlington: Aidan is a kayak fishing stud and has dominated the kayak tournament scene locally. We got out together for a spring trip, and he put on a clinic with the Ned Rig. Hope we can get out again next season!

Dave White: Dave is a guy I have known for a long time, but we never had the chance to get out on the river together. He literally eats, sleeps, and breathes bass fishing. His first foray into kayak fishing was a little on the frustrating side, but I hope he’ll give it another shot next season!

Aaron Loomis: Old Loomdog goes with us on the annual Memorial day trip. Guy isn’t a “hardcore”, but he can sling rod on the river like a vet. His one weakness is whitewater, where he tends to freeze up mid-river like a deer in headlights in need of rescue. Hey, we found the cooler though!

Jeremiah Vaughan: I only got out on the memorial day trip with Miah this year, but it was a good one. Miah mostly uses the long rod, and the dude is an animal on the fly.

All the Riverbassin folks: I’m sure I’ll miss a few here, but I got the chance to meet Ryan Walker, Drew Gregory, Tim Perkins, Lance Cooley, Clayton Haske, Jeremy Crowe, Shannon Williams, Ken Morris, Jason Yiznitsky, Josh Beebe, and Dustin Hoy. It was super cool to hang with a group of people who have a love of Riverbassin like I do.

The rivers around here haven’t frozen up quite yet, so I think I’ll be able to sneak out a little while longer before winter closes in. My desire to catch a 23” river smallmouth is as alive as ever, and I can’t wait for spring time when the fish come to life. If you find yourslef out on the river, keep an eye out for the guy with Quest for 23 stickers all over his boat, and a smallmouth in his hand…..and stay away from my spot ;)

2018 in pictures:

Josh Chrenko