Nick Simonson
By Nick Simonson
It's a bit cliché, but the end of the year brings a great opportunity to set some new goals for the next set of seasons that anglers and hunters will experience. What follows are ten suggestions for new year's resolutions that are easy to undertake and will make for better experiences on the water and in the field.
10. Tie One On. Learning to make your own lures, craft your own jigs and tie flies yourself for upcoming fishing adventures is one part art, one part science, and one part time. Winter often provides the latter with cold dark nights, and anyone can learn to make their own offerings with a little online reading and inspection of what lives in their waters. Use the first quarter of the season to give lure making and fly tying a try for a more fulfilling 2024 by picking up a kit and the basic materials to give it a go.
9. Try Something New. You may be a devout firearms deer hunter, unable to be found from the start of November until Thanksgiving comes around, but have you ever thought of expanding your season with the bow? Now may be the time to look into an investment in archery and extending your time on stand from the humid nights in early September to the crisp frosty mornings in December. Consider buying a bow and adding to the fun of deer hunting for a full four months next year.
8. Better Your Best. Pick the largest fish of any species you've ever caught. In 2024, beat it! Do the research on the front end to find out when and where the biggest walleyes, pike, smallmouth bass or crappies can be caught in your area and set up plans with family or fishing buddies to post a better personal best in the coming year. It'll take some planning, perhaps some new lures, and as always, a little bit of luck to get it done, but a little resolution and some preparation goes a long way.
7. Shoot More. Better target shooters make better hunters, plain and simple. Maybe you've fallen out of practice, or your shot wasn't as sharp as it has been in prior seasons. Whatever your aim – archery, clay targets, longer distance rifle shots, or accuracy with a pistol – use the coming months and those more temperate days in summer to get some extra shooting in, so that when in the field next fall, you'll be all set to take your best shot when that big pheasant flushes or that monster buck comes into range.
6. Thank a Landowner. Once the hunting seasons end, there's a bit of a lull and dip in the action in the new year. Pick a January week and sit down at your desk each night, writing a hand-written thank-you note to each landowner that allowed you access to hunt or fish on their land. Add an anecdote about your experiences while there and share the memories made through the connection along with your gratitude.
5. Plan the Trip of Your Life. Have you ever wanted to fish for trout in a pristine stream? How about taking your first elk, or hooking into a marlin? With modern travel systems as expansive as they are, and plenty of ways to connect with guides or set up do-it-yourself excursions, any outdoors experience is at your fingertips with a little online research and some investment. If I've learned anything from 2023, you can't take it with you when you go, but you can cherish the memories made for a lifetime.
4. Put in the Work(out). While the trite New Year's resolution is to workout more, eat less and lose weight, the same is great for any hunter. Adding an exercise regimen to your new year will help you be stronger, more flexible and better able to endure the rigors of the outdoors, especially if you enjoy active hunting such as chasing upland birds or exploring challenging areas like the badlands for mule deer. Finding a workout routine that works for you can help you not only be healthier in 2024 but make you a better hunter as well. Check with your doctor and take the first steps to becoming a stronger version of yourself.
3. Get Cooking. If you had a successful autumn this year, your freezer is likely full for next year! Find new ways to utilize the wild game meat which serves as a reward for your hard work and check out new ways to cook it (beyond cream-of-whatever-in-a-crock-pot) and wow your friends with exciting dishes that range from sweet, to savory, to spicy. Take a class at a local community college, or work with a local wildlife group to put on a program to increase the flavor in all your wild game cooking activities.
2. Call for Conservation. Habitat is the primary factor which drives hunting success. Without untouched areas, preserved spaces, idled lands, and access to them, populations of game and non-game species alike dwindle and hunting becomes a rich person's pursuit. Make 2024 the year you decide to stand up for conservation, and in the process preserve our wild lands, increase water quality, bolster soil sequestration, and ultimately add birds to the air and big game to the landscapes which people can access through your support of local conservation groups, or by adding your boots or donation dollars to the on-the-ground efforts.
1. Take Someone New. Next year, make it a point to take one new person hunting, and think outside the box when selecting a mentee. Does your son or daughter have a friend in a non-hunting family? There's your target. Likely if you hunt or fish, your kids and grandkids do and getting them out there next year is table stakes. Work with them to find a friend that doesn't know much about the outdoors, but would like to give it a try and set up a time to take them. Set it up and add to the important ranks which will drive conservation, hunting and angling for years to come while passing along your tips and wisdom in the process next year.
Featured Image: Get 'Em Out There! As you resolve to become a better angler, hunter or shooter in 2024, remember to prioritize taking someone new with you for their sake as well as the future of hunting and fishing. (Simonson Image).
Simonson is the lead writer and editor of Dakota Edge Outdoors.
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