Best of the Year! 2025 Edition

[hooker-of-men]

I imagine we're close enough to dump em out. What was your best catch of the year? Let's see em!

(Repost of) My favorite trip of the year, pounding carp in west Texas

And a buzzer beater today that, while it won't floor people here, is my best Battenkill brown at ~16 in but was also way cool because it was caught slowly swinging in torrential rain and 25 mph wind fishing a bugger my daughter helped tie.

Show us your happiest fish moments!

 

[5footfenwick]

11-1/2lb , 31-1/2” Bowfin was my favorite of the year. The way they fight always makes me happy.

 

[wildtrout2]

Only my second wild trout with a double eye spot. And, one of it's red spots is a perfect heart shape. For whatever reason, it won't allow me to rotate this pic.

 

[Streammagic237]

Two of my very happy moments this year .
Texas looks spectacular. Btw !

 

[skiltonian]

Hoping for bigger things in 2026 🤪

 

[wildtrout2]

Hoping for bigger things in 2026 🤪
View attachment 1641247331

It may be small, but it's a pretty trout. I like the sparse spot pattern.

 

[5footfenwick]

Only my second wild trout with a double eye spot. And, one of it's red spots is a perfect heart shape. For whatever reason, it won't allow me to rotate this pic.

I remember you posting that fish. That thing is sweet.

 

[sarce]

21". MD small water. But, I've been there, done that on this stream. My favorite fish of 2025 were the cicada eaters in PA 😀 They topped out right at 20" for me.

 

[BrookieChaser]

 

[nd1001]

Best of the year for me was checking off these CO natives: Rio Grande and Greenback Cutthroats. Lucky my fishing buddy Andrew got some great pictures!

 

[hooker-of-men]

View attachment 1641247339

F.ck. Can I come?

 

[Crumbs31]

2025 treated me well. This cicada eater and lake run brown stood out.

 

[dudemanspecial]

View attachment 1641247344View attachment 1641247345
2025 treated me well. This cicada eater and NY tributary brown stood out.

Thats a pig!

 

[dc410]

2025 overall was a pretty tough year, but I did manage to stick a few berry eaters.

 

[McSneek]

West Branch. Believe this is my first 20/20. You’d think I’d be grinning ear to ear.

 

[Andrwhite610]

This year flew by for me. A fat 18” smallie and a big to me brownie both from the Schuylkill watershed. Goals for 26 are to fish for trout deeper into the spring before obsessing over smallies. Hopefully put a 15”+ wild brownie in the net. Thats not too much to ask at all.

 

[DaveKile]

My best in year is recognized by the days on the water and not the fish. I stayed on Penns Creek the month of May and struggled with the same high water that everyone had. The end of that month during the Green Drakes the water finally got low at 800 CFS. A great evening on Penns with @Coty and Steve was a lot of fun. The other experience that was pretty exciting was fishing cicadas with @dryflyguy the end of June. I learned a lot fishing everyday for a month and looking forward to this May and doing it again.

Coty and Steve

Nice brown during the Green Drake hatch

Bill fishing during the cicada

Nice heavy cicada brownie​

 

[Copper_John]

This was the first trout I caught this year and it ended up being the biggest. I caught this one on a PA limestoner by swinging a wooly bugger through a deep pool. She measured 20 inches - which is my personal best brown trout.

 

[Shawn_H]

A few highlights for me:

Early spring

PB wild brookie

Arkansas River

11 mile canyon

 

[sarce]

Best of the year for me was checking off these CO natives: Rio Grande and Greenback Cutthroats. Lucky my fishing buddy Andrew got some great pictures!

Awesome photos indeed. I got one of those GB's as well on a trip to CO in August - another highlight of the year. The scenery where you find them is unmatched!