Smalley wants to fish even more in 2020

No secret that very few New Year’s resolutions are kept.

I recently read a story where a “life coach” says one reason is that people make resolutions that are too broad. Good resolutions need to be realistic and focused.

Every year I hear people tell me, “I haven’t fished in two years. I need to go fishing.”

“I will go fishing” is a bad resolution because it is too broad.

So is “buy a fishing license”, because it doesn’t necessarily lead to actual time on the water.

A more specific promise to yourself, like, “I will troll for cutts in Hungry Horse Reservoir”, “fly fish in the Spotted Bear River”, or “jig for whitefish in Flathead Lake”.

After a bucket-list trip to Mexico last year, my list for 2020 may seem bland to some anglers, aggressive to others. Depends on your energies and experience.

Here’s the list of resolutions I intend to fulfill in 2020. These items are in addition to the usual entries on my fishing calendar:

- Buy a Blackfeet Indian Reservation annual fishing license and go enough times to beat the daily fees.

- Fish the Missouri River at least three times.

- Do a multi-day walleye fishing trip to either Fort Peck or Nelson Reservoir.

- Night fish for kokanee salmon at Ashley Lake.

- Return to my roots and fish the Red Cedar and Mississippi Rivers in Iowa.

Now, it’s your turn. Good Luck!

Jerry Smalley’s Fishful Thinking column appears weekly in the Hungry Horse News.