July – Had a great trip to the marsh on July 4th, dodging storms and catching specks and reds. Followed that up with a trip with my cousin and his father in law for some offshore specks where we landed some solid fish. At the end of the month Amanda and I played tourist in St. Francisville, I then made a trip back south for some oversize redfish.

August – Fished the marsh early in the month and landed a cajun slam on the fly. Then I finally made it back on the river in a kayak with Kevin Andry where I landed a really nice spotted bass. The end of August brought Hurricane Isaac and and extremely large amount of rainfall.

September – Got on the water, with a friend that built his own skiff, post-Isaac to see what was what and we found out the reds were hungry, and the bulls were on the move. The neighborhood pond was still fishing pretty well too, but the real focus of September was on Blake and I’s trip to Colorado. Fished Rocky Mountain National Park and surrounding areas for greenback cutties and brown trout, it was an amazing experience.

October – Still in awe from Colorado I started October off with a short wade trip. At the end of the month were two planned trips to the marsh. One was with a bunch of friends from Alabama, the other a tournament. The trip with the Bama guys went well, not as many fish as hoped, but still more than when they came down last year. The tournament was even better as I had the best day I’ve ever had kayak fishing and landed myself atop the leaderboard of the cajun slam category.

November – Had a few awesome trips to the marsh in November. I didn’t take a lot of pictures, but I did take a lot of video. I can’t remember a time when the redfishing was better than this past November. Amanda and I also took a trip to Georgia for Thanksgiving, had a great time with the family, but didn’t do a whole lot of fishing.

December – Early December brought a continuation of marsh fishing success. Unfortunately as the month progressed good weather windows became shorter and more limited. I spent that limited time fishing in the neighborhood. I was able to accomplish a goal I had set out for myself at the beginning of the year, 12 different species on the fly in 12 months.

It’s that time of year again; time to revisit the fishing trips of the year. 2011 was a tough year to follow, but I’ve got to admit 2012 was pretty awesome. From cutthroat to swordfish, I’d do it all over again if I could. Plans are already coming together that might have me pretty busy through Spring; fishing more new water, targeting all kinds of new fish. I’m definitely looking forward to what’s in store for 2013. So, here’s to the new year and all the exciting possibilities that come with it. First a look at 2012, click on any picture below to read the accompanying report.

January – I didn’t do a whole lot of fishing in January, we moved into our new house that month. The fishing I did do was in the neighborhood pond where I caught a few nice bass and my first catfish on the fly.

February – I went public with this blog back in February and finally got back on the water in the kayak for Mardi Gras. Had a pretty good trip, catching redfish, sheepshead, and black drum.

March – The bass fishing in the neighborhood really heated up in March, started catching more bluegill as well. Spent my birthday over at Hodges Gardens and made the first wade trip of the year for spotted bass. Squeezed in a day of fishing while on a work trip to OBX and some marsh fishing in preparation for Paddlepalooza, which was March 31st. March was a very busy month.

April – April Fool’s Day was a great day for reds and drum, but the highlight of the month was the swordfishing trip I went on over Easter break, it was pretty wild. Finished out April with an IFA tournament and JazzFest  down in New Orleans.

May – May was a pretty diverse month, starting with a trip to the marsh with Pops, the reds weren’t so cooperative but the drum were. Next up were the cats in the neighborhood pond. Then I made a couple of wade trips for spotted bass and hit a private farm pond with a neighbor. Finished the month in North Georgia on Memorial Day weekend wearing out the wild trout on dries.

June – Fished a good bit locally in June, sticking to the neighborhood and local ditches looking for roughfish. Made a wade trip later in the month and found the longear in full spawning regalia.