Not really sure where to start…
Had lots of PB's in the boat this year along with a bunch of first muskies, first fifties, first chain fish, etc. One that really stands out, probably because it was the most pressure filled, was with a guy from Denmark we had one day to get a muskie off his bucket list – check. I honestly have no idea how many fish or how many hours and not sure it matters enough to me anymore… the only number I know is that I had 11 over 50 in my net this year. Had some great times fishing with Tyler, took him over to the Canadian side of St Clair this summer for the first time. Unfortunately not the best day for him but he netted a 53 for me that happened to be the 100th 50"+ I've caught – I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to net that fish. On a side note to that fish, I need to thank Scott Buczek for making me measure a fish the week before otherwise it would have been #99. The coolest fishing highlight was seeing Tyler open his letter from the DNR with his master angler patch (featuring a muskie) for a 48" inland lake muskie.

All that fishing stuff is OK but the biggest highlight was the muskie stocking this fall. Knowing for a while that the hatchery production wasn't going well in 2015 but have Wolf Lake still stock more than 27,000 fish was awesome! In years past a bad year would have meant a return of a couple thousand fish, so it's really a testament to what Matt Hughes has done at Wolf Lake.

It was a fun season for sure. Had a first muskie in the boat for a long time friend of mine, 3 new PBs, and 3 first tigers. Had a total of 61 muskies in the boat which is a new season best. Other fishing highlights had to include a decent Antrim chain fish, being a part of an 8 fish casting day, and personally catching 6 fish in a morning. I also had a really cool lake hopping adventure in the western UP which turned up multiple fish in multiple lakes, and never saw a single boat in 4 days. I barely fished this fall due to deer hunting and then an injury has kept me sidelined, hopefully more hours and more fish next year!

My list isn't all that long, but it was a fun year anyhow. My goals of catching a fish in every chain lake got a little closer. I got fish in 6-mile, wilson hanley, and intermediate. had one to the net on st clair [smilie=brickwall.gif] and confirmed that they do live in all the other lakes I fished… some day! I did fish LSC this year for the first time, and did catch a small fish there. I spent most of the year trying to get a couple friends on fish, and failed, but they came oh so close so many times, I think we are gonna get there soon. As more of a joking frustration I finally hit a fish on a pounder, and that same pounder proceeded to get shredded the rest of the year. I also hit double digits again this year, and for the limited time out that was a good deal. My highlight of the year though was getting Hudson his master angler patch, and starting the tradition with him of getting a patch every year of the species for that years patch… if that makes sense. Next year the patch is smallmouth, so elk lake (or skeg) smallies here we come!

"vano397" said:
Also, not sure how much MMA helped with the food for the earthen pond at the hatchery this year, but this extra pond, because of the advances that Matt has made, produced over 10,000 fish this year. That pretty much saved the harvest year! a few thousand dollars went a LONG way there!

All the food in the earthen ponds was provided by MMA!

The 2015 season was by far our best yet. After a slow start around home, Jason VK and I finished 3rd in the Indiana Musky Classic. From there we got it together and started hitting fish. We set out to really "learn" Lake Saint Clair, and spent as much time there as possible. We wrecked a boat in the process, which led to a larger boat and opening new areas of LSC for us (bittersweet actually). We still fished West Mich on a regular basis, and had fun doing so! We tallied 70 fish in the bag, 31 over 40", and 3 over 50". The highlight being a 53" x 24" beast caught in June, (I'd like to have seen her again in December). We set PB's 8 times, and shared the boat with great friends and family. We got fish from 7 different lakes, using several methods.
I'm looking forward to the 2016 season!

2015 was another fun season.
No giants in the net, but of the 11 fish to make it in the net of my boat this season the average size was 42".
Highlight of the season was no doubt the 7 days spent with Adam Minnick on the Upper French River, even though we only managed a couple in the net. I blew a couple chances at truly big fish that will continue to haunt me.

I improved my ability to night fish, and fish suckers which was a bonus. Also, got a good buddy his first 2 muskies which was a goal of mine as well!

For 2016 I need more time on the water. Fishing time was at a premium in 2015, and didn't even manage to make it over to LSC… that will change next season. The older I get I realize I need to work less, and fish more.

Good luck all in 2016!

"MattG_braith" said:
[quote="vano397"]Next year the patch is smallmouth, so elk lake (or skeg) smallies here we come!

Just throw some top water in the morning (or any muskie bait really) up in the stumps on Skeg or in the Elk River and you'll get your MA smallie and if you're lucky you might even run into a muskie.

Little claws are insanely effective in the stumps!)

2015 was by far my best year of muskie fishing yet. It was my first year catching double digit fish with a total of 18 fish over 30” hitting the net for me thanks in part to being able to spend quite a bit more time fishing than in years past as well as getting some help from others.
-Started the year off with a trip down to Kentucky to fish the PMTT at Cave Run with Chris. Although we did not catch any fish, it was a great experience and I definitely would like to fish the tourney again sometime, hopefully in this coming year. It was our first time fishing Cave Run and it just happened to be at a time where the reservoir was at a record high flood that I believe reached 34 feet above summer pool level. Fishing over a “weed bed” with weeds (trees) coming 30+ feet up on the graph and casting around tree tops was definitely a first for me and a pretty crazy experience. Hopefully if we fish it again this year, it will be in more normal conditions.
-Caught fish on 7 different bodies of water, 4 of which were firsts, including my first Munuscong fish as well as firsts on a couple Antrim chain lakes.
-Ended a depressing streak of 18 straight fish lost on Pounders which was a pretty big relief. I think variance should be in my favor now for the next several Pounder fish in the future.
-Fished several new waters and a few waters that I don’t get to fish often which was definitely a highlight to my year. Fished some new stretches of the Tahquamenon River, Black/Cheboygan Rivers, and Thornapple River and made it back to Craig Lake and Lake Michigamme for the first time in many years, which was where my sickness began. Felt good to get back to where it all started for me.
-Was able to witness 2 people get their first ever muskies which is always a thrill and one of them was a first on the figure 8. I also had the honor of netting some real nice fish for others this year, including a December giant for Chris’ new PB and first 50+ which was one of the most thrilling fish I have been a part of. The excitement during and after that fish is what makes the struggling times soooo worth it.
-One of the biggest highlights of my year though was finally getting a boat of my own. I bought Chris’ old boat from him sometime in the middle of the summer and that is probably the biggest reason for the increase in my fishing time and fish caught this year. I was able to spend considerably more time on my home lake Thornapple which put out a couple real nice fish for me this year and just being able to get out for a few hours at a time anytime I wanted was nice. Really looking forward to a full year of owning my own boat in 2016.

Still lookin for my first 50. Hopefully she comes in 2016.

2015 was almost the lost year for fishing and hunting for me, but well worth it as I reached a life-long dream of building on acreage well away from suburbia with my own fishing pond and hunting ground. Got in way over my head, went broke, wife had a pretty serious injury, couldn't sell my last house, couldn't finish my new house, screwed up most of the portions I did so I did them over and over…but most were great problems to have really, compared to many people I know. It's almost all done and I did get out for muskies late in the year, very glad to boat I like to say 22 of them after Nov 1, but misleading since only 10 of those were over 30 inches. I was still happy with that since I was about to have no muskies boated for the entire season, and the 10 is more than I've ever had after Nov 1 in a year, even when I got some suckers.

I enjoyed checking the reports of my fellow MMA faithful on the site regularly, and really appreciate the reports, how much I learn from others, and all MMA does for these great fish in our great state. In 2016 I hope to get out with those MMA guys I was fortunate to fish with in past years, I really missed that in 2015.