2014 fish of the year

[idahoron]

Great post. I look forward to it every year. It gives us something to look forward to. Ron
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[SF_Austin]

It's definitely not always the fish but the person behind it.

The first one is my boy Bridger. We went fishing on the south fork in some calm back water with my dad. I put on a bobber with a worm 2 feet under it on Bridger's little snoopy pole just to keep him busy. I would cast it out and he would reel it in while I took two casts. The idea that he would be busy and having fun while I would hook a fish and let him reel it in. He proved my wrong! Before I knew it he had hooked and was fighting his first fish by himself. I've never seen a boy so excited in my life. He's hooked and asks me all the time to go fishing. I'll have a fishing buddy for life.

The other is me and ddahl3 up on the north fork of the clearwater this summer. We had to fish our guts out for those two fish! It was a fun trip with funny stories and a great pic to remember it by.
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[muddyrudder]

I have enjoyed all the cool picts of nice fish. The best one for me this year was not the size of the fish, but that i got to take my two boys to a lake i have been fishing since i was small. This is my younger boy with one of the fish he caught. A bunch of our family made the trip in.

It was a memorable trip!
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[hooknhunter]

Been thinking about it long and hard, but this one just keeps coming to the top of my list. Like many of you, my fish of the year weren't caught by me.

My grand daughter caught this first one at lake lowell 100% by her self. The only thing I did was to net the fish. It was a priceless day and I love her pose in the picture. She is such a ham!

The second one gets an honorable mention just because.
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[idahoron]

Awesome catfish. Looks like she was ripe with eggs. Ron
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[hooknhunter]

[quote idahoron]Awesome catfish. Looks like she was ripe with eggs. Ron[/quote]

I would agree if catfish could be awesome.
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[idahoron]

One man's trash is another man's treasure. I personally think trout are a baitfish. A lot of people like them but I don't know why. []
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[hooknhunter]

As I'm sure you are full aware from the many sturgeon pictures you post, trout ARE bait fish. And good ones at that. Some times I eat the bait too. []
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[dtayboyz]

Amen
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[ChrisTheFish]

This past year I spent a lot of time and energy trying to dial in mousing. I even came up with a new mouse pattern and it turned out pretty effective. It's called the Artimouse. I did most mousing at night, but still managed to catch some with it during the day. This one was the most memorable by far.

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[windriver]

The Artimouse is the most innovative mouse pattern possibly ever. Well done on your research/development. You really should market it. You have inspired me. Next summer I will spend a lot of time learning to mouse. Last summer was the summer of streamers for me.

Windriver
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[chrome_junky]

That is one slobby gator mouthed brown. I've always wanted to try mousing on the snake. Lots of farm country. Which means rodents.
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[hooknhunter]

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[cpierce]

Lots of beautiful fish on this thread, and I really love the pictures of kids and grandkids with their fish, but, Chris, that is one of the most awesome fish I have seen caught this year in Idaho. Outstanding!!

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[SF_Austin]

Have been toying with the idea of getting back into fly fishing and tying after not fly fishing or tying for 10 years or so. Chris the fish has made my decision for me. In the market for a 9' 6 wt....
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[idahoron]

That is an outstanding fish. Great pictures.
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[chrome_junky]

I guess I got selfish with my own pics so I wanted to share this one with you. My wife and I made a day trip to riggins last year. My wife worked so hard for this fish. She had hooked multiple fish through out the day and couldn't turn a single one. This isn't an exaggeration with 10 minutes of legal fishing time left my wife made the cast and hooked up on this super nice male. She fought the thing for what seemed like forever but she got him turned and in the net. Glanced down at my watch with two minutes to spare my wife got to notch her tag that day and then gloat all the way home because it was bigger than any of the fish I had landed that day.
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[DocEsox]

Due to my decrepit shoulders falling apart I only got out fishing about 12 days this year....kill me if that happens again this year. Moved to Boise in June but still got a few good days fishing in Alaska. My PB ling cod......what a monster head on that thing. Also caught a PB and striking spawning color male southern dolly varden. In November went to central Texas and caught some very nice Guadalupe bass......the record is only 3 1/2 +. Terrific fighters and only found in central Texas.
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[ChrisTheFish]

Thanks Lucas! I look forward to seeing the fruits of your explorations. Mousing is a downright riot. And thanks to everyone else for the kind words. It is fun seeing all the great fish and experiences people had this past year. We are pretty fortunate with the breadth of resources available to us here in Idaho, not to mention the nearby resources in the surrounding states. So much good water and so little time to explore.
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[nijimasu]

I'm still heavily addicted to steel. This one caught on a trip with a friend of mine I don't get to see too often anymore. It was great to be able to make a trip with him again to the Clearwater drainage.



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