Happy New Year!

With 2014 drawing to a close its time to celebrate! Its also a time to learn from your experiences and make 2015 the best bass fishing year of your life! Taking the time to review what went right, what went wrong, and how you can improve is what separates good anglers from GREAT anglers.

For us, 2014 was a year of growth. We grew in numbers (Tim joined the team), we grew in size  (youtube hit 2 million views and nearly 10,000 subscribers! Thank you!) and the site has seen unprecedented support. We appreciate each and every one of you and hope that you've been able to learn something along the way that helped you grow in your fishing.

For fun we put together this compilation of some of our greatest moments from 2014. We hope you enjoy the video!

As 2015 approaches we know the importance of learning from the past and setting goals toward the future. All successful people have clear, concise goals that help them reach their target. In order to kick this year off right, Tim and I are laying out our goals for 2015. We encourage you to do the same! Whether your goal is to catch your first bass, catch a world record, or just have fun, we challenge you to leave a comment with your goals for 2015. Here are ours...

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Tim: 

• Help at least 3 friends break their "personal best" while fishing together
• Catch (another) 13+ lb largemouth
• Break a bass fishing world record

Matt:

• Help a minimum of 1 client catch a 10+ lb largemouth
• Catch a world record of any species (but I'd prefer an 11 lb Spotted Bass)
• Catch a 15 lb largemouth in Clearlake

Tactical:

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• Continue providing the best content we can, every Wednesday
• Reach 20,000 Youtube Subscribers
• Reach 15,000 Instagram Followers
• Meet more of you in person!
• Listen to at least 100 success stories from awesome anglers that have caught a new personal best and are inspired to share the experience with us (tacticalbassin@gmail.com)

We look forward to hearing your goals and growing together in 2015. See you next year!

New Year, New Goals

Well, its New Years Eve. 2011 is in the rear view mirror and 2012 is barreling toward us. Soon we’ll be fishing the spawn, chasing the summer topwater fish, and targeting fish around schools of bait in the fall. So, what is going to make 2012 different than 2011? What are YOU going to do to improve your odds of a successful fishing season? One of the keys to my success each year is consistant goal setting. Once the goals are laid out I know exactly what I am striving for and can eliminate a lot of “busy” fishing that isn’t goal oriented. Without goals I tend to get side tracked and waste a great deal of my time.

Let’s review last year’s goals and see how I did:

1) Catch a new personal best spotted bass. Its currently 5.0 so I should be able to top that no problem. The trouble is, I want a 6.5 lber. Wish me luck!

2) I’d love another personal best smallmouth. I’m currently in the 6 lb range and I would love a 7 lber, but I will honestly put this one on the back burner if I haven’t caught the spotted bass.

3) I’d like another largemouth over 15 lbs. Its been a very long time, I’ve hooked a few and completely butchered those battles. Its time I get one to the boat and fill some of the “weight range gap” between my biggest and 2nd biggest.

4) Catch a double-digit bass from at least one lake where I have not caught one before. (I’ll have to drive farther but I’ve got a few options in mind.)

5) Help at least one friend catch their first double-digit bass.

Now that you know exactly what my goals were its time for me to face the music. I didn’t have as successful a year as I would have liked. Yes, I caught some double-digit bass ( I got number 50 as a matter of fact) but not from a new lake. I did hook another 15+ lber but I waved goodbye after she buried herself in a weed bed. As I mentioned I might I let the smallmouth goal slip in order to continue pursuing the spotted bass goal. Now, that is the one place that I shined. This was the year of the spotted bass. I started the year with a personal best of 5.0 lbs and I broke it 7 times. I ended the year with a personal best 6.1 (and caught a 6.0 earlier in the same day.) Lastly, I helped two people catch double-digit bass and that was probably my favorite part of the whole year.

Now that you know how I stacked up against my goals you should feel more comfortable discussing yours. I’d love for all the members of the Tactical Bassin community to list your goals for 2012 in a comment at the bottom of this post.

Here is what I am shooting for in 2012:

1) After 3 years its time to stop putting it off and pull my guides license. Email me… we’ll go fishing.

2) Assist 5 anglers in catching their personal best, and have at least one of those be a 10+ lber.

3) Catch a 6.5 lb Spotted bass or larger (7 lbs would be good too)

4) Catch a 10 lber from a new body of water.

What are your goals and why? Whatever they may be, if you apply yourself and keep your eye on the prize you can accomplish them. It doesn’t matter if its a 20 lb largemouth in San Diego or a 3 lb largemouth in Wisconsin. Set your sites and do what it takes to meet your goals. Good luck in 2012!!!!

Now that you know exactly what my goals were its time for me to face the music. I didn't have as successful a year as I would have liked. Yes, I caught some double-digit bass ( I got number 50 as a matter of fact) but not from a new lake. I did hook another 15+ lber but I waved goodbye after she buried herself in a weed bed. As I mentioned I might I let the smallmouth goal slip in order to continue pursuing the spotted bass goal. Now, that is the one place that I shined. This was the year of the spotted bass. I started the year with a personal best of 5.0 lbs and I broke it 7 times. I ended the year with a personal best 6.1 (and caught a 6.0 earlier in the same day.) Lastly, I helped two people catch double-digit bass and that was probably my favorite part of the whole year.

Now that you know how I stacked up against my goals you should feel more comfortable discussing yours. I'd love for all the members of the Tactical Bassin community to list your goals for 2012 in a comment at the bottom of this post.

Here is what I am shooting for in 2012:

1) After 3 years its time to stop putting it off and pull my guides license. Email me... we'll go fishing.

2) Assist 5 anglers in catching their personal best, and have at least one of those be a 10+ lber.

3) Catch a 6.5 lb Spotted bass or larger (7 lbs would be good too)

4) Catch a 10 lber from a new body of water.

What are your goals and why? Whatever they may be, if you apply yourself and keep your eye on the prize you can accomplish them. It doesn't matter if its a 20 lb largemouth in San Diego or a 3 lb largemouth in Wisconsin. Set your sites and do what it takes to meet your goals. Good luck in 2012!!!!]]>