The Cottage Chronicles: Episode 11 - 2024 Season Recap

Intro

Welcome back to The Cottage Chronicles. It's our first episode of 2025. Can you believe it? The past year has absolutely flown by, and the past couple of episodes have felt, admittedly, pretty rushed. I'm not quite ready to leave the previous year behind just yet.

I want to give 2024 a proper sendoff with some of my favorite moments and some of the funniest stuff that's stuck with me through the year. I'll cover my top catches, my funniest catches, my favorite lures, and a few of my favorite trips.

Top Catches

Starting off with the top catches, my number one is my first black crappie. This is a species that isn't rare by any means where I'm from. My dad's caught them. I've seen plenty of other people catch them when I've been out, but I've never targeted them, and until this year, I'd never landed one.

I was fishing from a boat launch I don't usually fish from this year, and I stumbled on this log pile that was loaded with crappie in the early part of the season. Something would peck at the bait, sort of like a bluegill does. But it hit so hard, and it just wouldn't commit. I could not hook it.

After going back and forth, casting over this area, probably three or four times, I hooked into something that put a bend in my rod. I knew it wasn't a pickerel. I knew it wasn't a bass. It felt a little too small, but it hit a lot differently than a bluegill. And I wound up catching a pretty good-sized black crappie, maybe the biggest one of the season and the first of many around that same area.

My number two favorite from last year is my PB yellow perch. This was a fish that I caught on my last day of paternity leave. There was a beautiful day in March. The temperature was really nice and warm. My wife and I got out to a boat launch and did a little bit of fishing there just from the shore.

I saw this older gentleman on the way in as I was walking from my truck to the boat ramp. I asked him if he was getting any bites, and he just casually said, "Only perch." So, my expectations were low. I figured that in the worst-case scenario, I'd have a nice warm day on the water. I'd get a little fishing time in and kind of break the cabin fever before going back into the office.

Little did I know that my chrome and blue Kastmaster would yield the biggest yellow perch that I've caught to date. It was the perfect way to cap off paternity leave, the perfect beginning to my fishing season, and it was my number two favorite catch of 2024.

Coming in at number three is one of the more boring catches of the year, but one that I was super stoked on because of the lure that I actually used to catch it. I live in an area that's stocked a couple of times a year with rainbow and brown trout, so catching a rainbow is kind of special,

You know, it's not a once-in-a-lifetime fish for somebody who's out there regularly. But all the same, it's a target species. It's sort of a trophy species. So I look forward to catching them. I knew they'd been stocked probably about a month before this encounter. And I was trying with every ounce of patience that I had,

I would have fish follow me right to the shore, about three feet out. And I don't know if I spooked them, if the lure spooked them, I just couldn't get the hang of it. I realized during the course of this that the pickerel were in the same area

So, I just kind of gave up on the idea of trout for a while. I went for pickerel. I put on my craw and tied on my Ned rig. I got halfway in the middle of the river between one bank and the other, and something smoked it. As I reeled it in, I had a nice, fat rainbow trout on the other end of my line.

I knew that Ned rigs could catch just about any freshwater fish. I didn't in a million years expect to catch a trout on a Ned rig.

Number four is a little bit more exciting surprise catch. And this was my first smallmouth. I talked about this on an earlier episode. It was actually the same weekend that my dad caught his first smallmouth in a separate location on a separate trip.

There's major sentimental value to that catch, but it's also a new species for me. One that I didn't even know was in this river at all. So I'm still stoked on it. Even if it was a tiny smallmouth, I hope it was the first of many to come.

Rounding out the list at number five should be no surprise to my regular listeners, and that is my personal best largemouth bass. This one was caught just a few minutes from home. I was in the kayak. I had a Ned Rig on. I thought I had snagged the tree.

When I went to retrieve my Ned head from the tree, up rose the biggest largemouth bass that I've ever caught. I was afraid to put the net on the head of the fish for fear that I would snap the line. I didn't know if I could get the net under it. The fish was longer than the net itself.

It was one of the most chaotic landings ever. I am so glad that I got that fish in the boat. I was literally shaking afterward. I'm still super proud of it, and it is, without a doubt, the top catch of the year.

Favorite Lures

My favorite lures will be no surprise as well. I mentioned some of these in my favorite catches, but here we go with the list.

At number one we have the Kastmaster. I especially love chrome and blue, particularly in the wintertime. It is the perfect mimic of a small bait fish. You can fish it slow and deep. You can fish it with just a simple straight retrieve. It is one of the most foolproof lures, and it will catch anywhere, anytime.

Number two is an equally versatile lure and that is the Blue Fox Vibrax. This is my favorite spinner. It is probably my favorite all around lure. These were the lures that got me back into fishing as an adult, and they continue to keep me hooked every time I go out.

Number three is not so much a lure but a technique, and that is the Ned Rig. This was my first season fishing them, and it will not be my last. I caught my PB bass on one. I caught almost every species in the river on a Ned rig this summer.

They are probably the easiest and most foolproof soft plastics out there, and they are the perfect river lure.

Number four and five are probably going to be surprises unless you've been with me on specific fishing trips. They're not new to me this year, but I've developed kind of a new affinity for them.

And at number four is the Beetle Spin. This is another one of those great all-around lures. They're really cheap. I think they're like two or three bucks a pop. And you absolutely can't go wrong having a couple of beetle spins in your tackle tray.

And number five is a teardrop spinner. A few episodes back, I talked about a micro-fishing trip. I went out with my friend Mike; nothing was biting. So I downsized and downsized until I landed on this size zero teardrop spinner.

A little plug here, I'm still working on developing my own spinner. If you follow me on Instagram and Facebook, you might have seen pictures of these a while back. I'm looking for something really lightweight that'll swim pretty shallow and avoid spooking fish like trout in the shallow streams in the Northeast. I haven't forgotten that project.

So, hopefully, I'll have something more to share on that in 2025.

Funniest Catches

Next up are my funniest catches of 2024, and the first one that sticks out in my mind is from one of my first kayak trips in this new boat launch this year.

The area is loaded with fish. It's where most of my fishing stories of this year came from, and on my first trip there, I was throwing a Ned Rig and I cast it directly into a tree.

I had been experimenting with longer casts from my kayak. I put my boat up against a tree to get into position, and I cast my lure right into the shadows of an overhanging tree on the opposite bank. What I didn't know was that I cast a little too high, and my line actually wound up going over a branch.

So, as soon as I noticed that, I paddled over, I went to untangle, and I felt this tension on my line. So I went as fast as I could. I untangled myself from the overhanging branch and pulled up a beautiful largemouth bass.

The second catch that still has me laughing is a pickerel on the famous cursed lure. If you were listening to my show back around September and October, you would have heard the story of this lure. It is a lure that I found on the bank when I was fishing.

Anytime that I snagged this lure, I could not lose it. I thought I'd lost it multiple times, but it just kept showing up. So I had this theory that to break the curse, to get rid of this weird lure, I had to catch a fish. And the fish, the first fish on the lure, I think, was actually a perch. But shortly after that, I caught a pickerel. And because I love fishing for chain pickerel, that's the funny one that sticks out in my mind.

The number three funniest catch was more of a catch that made me laugh at myself. This was a little more recent. It was on the tail end of my bass season. I had been fishing this log, I think, in early September. I dropped a good-sized bass, and I just couldn't let go. I kept thinking of this spot. I kept thinking of this bass.

It was a few weeks before I made it back to the same spot. First cast, nothing. No signs of life. The second cast, I turned to my left.

Just for kicks, I decided to throw my lure between the two halves of the log, and bam, there was a largemouth bass. Same size as last time. It was jumping. It was fighting.

It was absolutely poetic. It was one of the most satisfying moments, but I just had to laugh because I was about ready to pack it up and call it a day.

Number four is actually one of the fish that had me hooked on river fishing all summer long. I've passed by this pond for about 20 years that my parents have lived in this area, and I never thought twice about fishing there.

One day, I decided, okay, there's a boat launch there. I'm going to kayak it and I'm going to bring my rods along. There was this giant tree all the way at the back of the pond, and I decided that was the first spot that I wanted to fish. I tied on a spinner, and I cast around the tree, figuring maybe I would get a bluegill or maybe I would get some perch or other small fish.

I figured if there was any chance that there was life here, that's where I'd find it. I went into the day thinking I wouldn't get a single bite, but I thought maybe I'll see something. I'll find some area that looks like it could hold fish. No sooner did I cast my spinner past that tree, then a pickerel came up and demolished it.

I'm not by any account a glass-half-full kind of guy. At best I'm a realist, at worst I'm a major pessimist. I went into this trip thinking that I wasn't going to get a single bite. And that pickerel totally changed the fate of that trip and the rest of the summer. I could not have planned it better if I tried.

And my number five funniest catch came in the middle of the summer on a day when I was out with my brother. We were paddling around this lake that's comprised of three smaller ponds that are all connected. We passed by this one cove that was loaded with lily pads and I took a pause to tie on a black spinner, which is a color that I really never fish.

I've been doing a lot of experimentation with lure color this year and on this day, I was interested in fishing dark colors and light colors, trying to see if there was much difference if I fished black or white lures.

So I tied on a black spinner. I threw it along the edge of the lily pads and absolutely got smoked by a largemouth bass. My brother was in the background. He was fishing in another area, a similar clump of pads, just getting tangled, having an absolute headache. He was ready to call it quits and move on. And I couldn't have laughed harder.

So Nick, when you see this, I'm sorry, dude. I know you were trying hard that day. You were having a great day fishing, but if you remember this bass, I hope this puts a smile on your face, because I'm still laughing.

Shoutouts

So before I move on to my last segment, I've got to thank everybody that's come out on trips with me this year. I'm not a guide. I'm not a professional angler. I'm not even a good angler, but I love to go fishing and I love to share the sport with my friends and family.

There were a few of you guys that showed up consistently in all kinds of weather at all kinds of spots at all different times throughout the season, and we surely didn't catch something on all of those trips. So thank you all.

Lauren, my wife, my dad, my brother Nick, my friend Mike, you guys have supported my business. You've supported my crazy trips. You've come out with me and sat there for hours when we were catching nothing. Thank you so much, guys. I hope you see this. I hope we get to go out again when the weather is better. I can't wait.

Let's get it in 2025!

Favorite Trips

And with that, let's talk about my favorite trips of the year. I did my top five episodes, my freshwater and saltwater episodes. I talked about trips that I want to take in the future. None of those really came to fruition this year, but I do have a few trips that really stood out.

And number one was a trip that was the purest nostalgia day ever. It was a day that I went out with no particular goal and decided to get a couple of packs of night crawlers and just fish worms under a bobber. Pure freshwater fishing in its simplest form, just the way that I did when I was a kid. And I absolutely crushed the pumpkin seeds and bluegills all morning long.

That same day, I had my trusty Ned rig with me. That's when I caught my PB Largemouth bass. I don't think there was a better day fishing this year, and it's something that I cannot wait to do when my son's a little bit older or when I'm introducing some buddies to fishing.

I really think that's the cure for fishing boredom. If somebody says fishing is a boring sport, take them out for sunfish and you'll totally change their mind. I'm absolutely convinced of that.

My number two favorite trip was early early in the season. It was cold out. Nobody was really eager to track out with me that day. There was a rainstorm coming in and I decided to put on my rain pants, put on my rain jacket and get in the kayak.

Just sitting there in the rain with nobody else on the lake peacefully. You know, there were times that I tucked under some overhanging trees and just watched the rain. There were times that I paddled out into the middle of the lake and got absolutely soaked. I'm talking wet right through the rain jacket, right through the Teflon pants, head-to-toe soaked.

But it was the most relaxing, peaceful solo fishing adventure of the season. I'm so glad I did it.

Number 3 is a recent trip that's near and dear to my heart, and that is the season closer on the boat with my dad. We had two boat trips this year. If you haven't listened already, go back a couple of episodes. I talk about the family boat.

We refurbished it and got it back out on the water this year for the first time in well over a decade. We took it out, I think, in October or November, when the water was the lowest that I have ever seen. And we went to one of my favorite bass spots. We were so scared of bottoming out. We were scared of the engine stalling.

But we finally made it to the far end of the lake. We found this shallow cove, and my dad was all about throwing these little minnows on jig heads. I was still totally fixated on Ned rigs. We parked the boat and we just cast around into the remaining stem plants for a while. Dad caught a couple of bass, and then we started cruising around the docks on the edges of the pond. We parked by one, I caught a couple more bass, and then we just drifted for a while. We saw bass rising all around us. It was just the most killer fishing day. We didn't get a ton of bass. I think I got two and he got three.

It was such a sweet trip.

My dad's mostly a saltwater fisherman these days. So it's not often that we get to catch bass together anymore, but that is the fishing that we grew up with. He grew up a bass fisherman, and he taught that to me at the cottage years ago. So, for us to take the family boat from the cottage, go out together, and catch bass together was absolutely one of the top trips of the year and I will cherish that one forever.

I can't wait to get back out on the boat in the springtime, and I just know we're gonna catch so many fish this year.

Number four is another family trip and that is the trip where I fell in love with the beetle spin. I'd been fishing spinners all day. I don't know, I don't remember why anymore. I wasn't really feeling the Ned rig.

As I'm thinking about it, Nick and I were having a competition and we said whoever was catching the most fish that day was going to pick the beer that we drank that night. So he started the day with a pickerel, and then the game was on.

I really couldn't believe it because normally Nick fishes differently than I do. He doesn't necessarily go all in when it comes to catching bass and pickerel up in the shallows and up in the sketchy stuff.

So I got sick of this cove. And we moved way upstream, an area that I don't normally fish. As I got closer and closer to the bend,, I saw this big log jam and decided if I was going to snag or lose my last spinner. This was the spot.

I took a long cast. I paused, I let the lure descend a little bit, and a largemouth bass came out and smoked it. It was the biggest fish of the day, without question. It helped put some points on the board in our little competition.

I carried on with the Beetle Spin and started casting further and further into the shallows, again letting it drop for one second, two seconds, and then pickerel were coming out and inhaling it. Cast after cast, we were getting these little pickerel way up into the just couple of inches of water. There was hardly even enough time for the beetle spin to start descending before they'd bite it.

It was a day of fishing unlike anything else. We didn't catch a ton of other bass that I remember, and we didn't catch a ton of other panfish or other species, but the pickerel bite was on fire. As soon as the water gets warm enough where the pickerel are sitting in those spots, you can rest assured I'm fishing beetle spins again.

We had an awesome time. Truthfully, I couldn't tell you what beer we had that night, but it was so much fun, and I can't wait to have another day like that when the weather warms up again

Number five goes along with one of my favorite catches, and that is the trip when I caught the smallmouth.

I got out to the water late that day. I had to try a few different boat launches because the parking lots were all filled up. So, I settled on my third choice spot. I finally got the kayak in the water, and I paddled around, catching a bunch of bluegill. Eventually, I made it to a shallow area where I was able to site fish some largemouth bass, and after that, I just paddled as far downstream as I could get.

A power boat absolutely blasted past me. So I gave way to him. I went into a cove, and I started casting toward this standing dead tree. I caught a couple of good-sized perch around the tree and then came back out into the main part of the river and cast to the opposite bank along the edge of this bed of reeds.

As I reeled past the reeds, something small came up. It hit like a truck, and it just took off with my spinner. When I brought it to the boat, I saw the green and bronze on the side and knew that I had landed my first smallmouth bass.

Outtro

That's going to do it for this episode. I've been locked up inside for the past couple of weeks. I don't have any new fishing stories to share. I just wanted to get something out there. Check in, say hey, and wish everybody a Happy New Year.

If you liked the episode, check me out on Instagram, Bluesky, and Facebook at New Dawn Tackle Co.

Keep an eye on the blog for more target species teardowns, tips and tutorials, and updates on the business.

If you need any fishing gear, check me out at newdawntackleco.shop

If you like the show you can subscribe on YouTube or Spotify. Leave me a comment and let me know what you'd like to see in future episodes. 'til next time, tight lines and happy fishing.