2025 Record Year On The Z-Man ToadZ

 

I caught 1,011 fish on a Z-Man Goat ToadZ in 2025, making it my most productive lure in a year, and it isn't even close. The previous best was 701 caught on T.H.E. Jig in 2021. My first fish caught on the ToadZ in 2025 was on May 13th. Here is the species breakdown:

New Fishing Goal For 2025 Added

 

Coming into October, I knew if the warm weather held, that I would have a great shot at hitting 1,000 fish caught on a Z-Man ToadZ. So I had hitting 1,000 as a goal in mind, but didn't add it to my 2025 Fishing Goals until now.  As of October 10th, I have caught 987 fish on this lure. That is made up of  649 bass, 333 pike, 4 bowfin, and 1 sunfish. I am over 1,000 if I were to count buzzbait fish. This year, the weeds on Platte/Sullivan set up perfectly for the ToadZ. And the fish just can't get enough of it.

Update 1/6/26:

Goal Achieved for 2025

A Few New Fishing Goals And I Dropped One

 Numbers 11, 12, and 13 under the Technique, Equipment, and Tackle Goals category and Number 8 in the Blogging category are all related. It started with the thought that I wanted to be more intentional with my tackle this year. I am a tackle junkie that has accumulated a lot of excellent equipment and lures over the years. My motto on fishing rods has been, "Since I've got them, I might as well bring them." However, I am not perfect, and certain rods that I had envisioned for one use or another fell out of favor for various reasons. I have done some reassessment of my rod situation and think I can do better with what I have. Thinking I can make better use of my vast lure collection is a no-brainer. A couple of years ago, when I had a goal of catching a bass on every type of frog I owned, reaching the goal really motivated me. I am hoping this goal will have an even more significant impact on my motivation. Last year, because the fishing was tough, my motivation to get out really flagged in the fall. I don't know what this year will bring, but I got caught in a rut of trying to repeat 2023 in 2024. I don't want a repeat of 2024 on Platte/Sullivan.

The fishing goal I dropped was about the number of fish that I wanted to catch on a Stanley Phantom.

BP's 2025 Fishing Goals

 

New Goals in Bold Italic Orange

Goals Accomplished in Bold or  ✅

Fishing Buddies List

1. Keep a list of everyone I fish with during 2025.

The List:

GOMH Crew:

Ashley Just: |

Casino Bro's: ||||

C.O. Drew: |||

Fletch & Co:||||

Fletcher W.: ||

John W:|||

Lantern Man:14 Times

Little Falls Guy: ||

LM's Son (Brett): |

Logan (Pierz): ||||

Matt W.: |||

Mille Lacs Old Guys: ||||

Morrill Pair: 28 Times

Panfish Guy: 11 Times

Pete: |

Peter W: 14 times

Peter's Boss (Tom):||

Rick Skiba: 12 Times

Skinny Chic's Crew: ||||

WAM Girls: 6 Times

Delroy: |

Trophy Crew:

Todd: 14 Times

Steve: 7 Times

Logan:||

Mal: |

Belle: |

Belle's Friend: |

Bass Snatchers: 

Benson: ||

Chuck S: |

Lois: |

Tuma: ||

Darren: ||

Eric: |

Dennis:||

Arnie: |

Herman:||

Bass Snatcher Goals: 

1.  Win my 2nd club tournament. 
2. Get "Wood" in at least one tournament. (1st-3rd Place Finish or Lunker or Co-Angler Challenge) 

3. Get "Lunker" in a tournament.   (Preferably one over 5-8 to win the revolving big bass pot.)
4. Finish in the Top 10 at the end of the year. 
5. Catch a limit at every tournament of the year.  (I've done this twice, but in 2012 I only fished 4 out of the 6 tournaments due to a bad back.)
6. Pre-fish with at least 3 boaters. 
7. List the Rods I'm bringing for each tournament before the tournament.
8.  Win the Co-Angler Challenge at least twice.
9. Make the Challenge Cup Team

10. Finish higher than Tuma in a Tournament (He is the only long-term Snatcher I have not beaten on tournament day. He beat me on the tie-breaker on Whitefish Chain his rookie year in the club. That is the closest I have gotten)
11. Give each boater I fish a lure from my collection.

12. Catch a 20+ Bag and make the Club's list of Top 25 Biggest Bags 

13. Set Personal Bests on each lake for Bag Size, Big Bass, and Place of Finish

14. Grade my performance in each tournament and do this for all my past Bass Snatcher tournament recaps.

Technique, Equipment, & Tackle Goals:
1. Win something in Fantasy Fishing or Facebook giveaways/contests. ✅
2. Officially Open the Tackle Warehouse.✅
3. Give away some of my tackle✅
4. Experiment with a Rocket Bobber and Wacky Rig
5. Catch bass cranking deep in Sullivan Lake

6. Sell some of my tackle

7. Find my Johnson's Silver Minnow Spoon's and catch 5 fish with them..✅

8. Catch 5 bass on a Jitterbug.

9. Catch 5 Fish on Powerbait Nessie

10.  Keep a Lures Lost List

11. Catch fish on at least 200 different lures..✅

12. Be More Intentional about tackle prep for fun fishing with the 200 lure  goal in mind.✅
13. Have rods along every trip rigged with the goal of catching fish on 200 lures in mind.✅

Lures Lost In 2024:

Evo Chatterbait: |

T.H.E. Jig: ||

BT Glow Demon: |

Frenzy Minnow: ||

Dead Stick Rogue: |

Rippin Rap: ||

Strike King Buzz: |

Texas Rig (Lead): ||||

Texas Rig (T): ||

Deps Buzzjet Jr.: |

Husky Jerk: |

Ish's Phat Frog: |

Hack Attack Jig: |||

Big Blade Chatterbait: ||

Turbo FattyZ: ||

Indians Blades: ||||

ToadZ: |||| |||| |||| |||| |||

VMC Utility Jig: |||| ||

Googan Filthy Frog: ||

LiveTarget Frog: |

LiveTarget Frog (Big): |

Free Rig: |

SK Pad Perch: |
SK Sexy Frog: |

Z-Man Leap Frog (sm): ||

All-Terrain Skipping Jig: |

Northland Cabbage Crusher: |||

Yo-Zuri Pencil 3DB Pencil: |

Ultimate Jerk Shad: |

OutKast Chicken Jig: |

Baitcaster Pic: |

Cordell Spot: |

XCaliber X50: |

Blogging:

1. Blog about it when I achieve a goal, most of the time
2. Record all fishing trips at Fish Swami
3. Fish at least 200 days and blog about them

4. Get unblogged trips from 2021,2022,2023,2024 at Fish Swami blogged at the Log Blog.

6. Be more intentional about taking Sunrise/Sunset pictures

7. Get Fish Swami "GOMH/Bullhead Updated/Fishing Buddies Updated" 
8. Blog about the Other Patterns Used at Fish Swami on every trip as a way of keeping the 200 Lure Goal top of mind.✅

9. Make more of my past Fish Swami entries public.✅

Fish Catching Goals:
1. Catch* 2,000 Fish (I caught 2,398 fish in 2024)✅
2. Have a 100-fish day.

3. Catch Devin's Birthday Bullhead On May 20th

4. Catch A Fish Every Month from April to December.

March✅

April✅

May✅

June✅

July✅

August✅

Septembert✅

October✅

November✅

December✅

Crappie:

1. Catch a new personal best.(14.75/1.80lb on 5/9/22, 14.75 on 4/20/24)
2. Catch* over 100 Crappies this year. (346Crappies, 245Silver Bullhead in 2024)✅

Dogfish:
1. Catch an MN State Record fish. (11-4  or over 31")
2. Catch a new personal best.

Pike:
1. Catch* over 700 this year. (Caught 507 in 2024)
2. Catch a 38" or over/personal best.

Bass: 
1. Catch a 21plus inch or 6lb Largemouth (6.5lbs/21" PB)
2. Catch a 21plus inch or 6lb Smallmouth (20.5" PB)
3. Catch* over 1,000 bass this year. (Caught 895 in 2024)
4. Catch* at least 10 smallies.  (Caught 9 in 2024)
5. Catch a 25lb 6 Fish Bag
6. Have a 50 bass day (48 bass on 5/23/24)

7. Catch over 500 bass on Frogs/Toadst✅
8. Catch 5 bass over  5lbs/20-inches (3 in 2024)

9. Catch 20 bass over 4lbs/18.75-inches (10 in 2024)
10. Get Steve and Todd at least one 4lber

Walleye:
1. Catch at least 50. (Caught 41 in 2024) 
2. Catch 30"/10lber or new personal best. (28.5 is PB)✅

* Catch is anything I deem it to be, including follows by pike or smallmouth (while pre-fishing), a pike missing my lure, fish viewed on the Aqua View, and fish that get off before I have them in hand that I can positively identify.  And fish caught by people I am guiding or boating during pre-fishing.