#2024 Year-End Fishing Trip: Epic Catches at the Black Pit (And a Broken Fish Guard + Dead Scale!)
Time flies, right? 2024’s wrapping up fast, and before we know it, we’ll be ringing in the new year with hot cocoa and maybe a few fishing lures as gifts. But for us die-hard anglers, the end of the year isn’t just about resolutions—it’s about one last epic fishing trip to cap off 12 months of casting lines, chasing bites, and sometimes going home empty-handed (we’ve all been there).
My fishing crew and I had been plotting this 2024 year-end fishing trip for weeks. We wanted something memorable—not just a quick morning session, but a full-day brawl with the fish at our local black pit (you know, those pay-to-fish spots where the water’s dark, the fish are fat, and the competition is real). So we locked in a Saturday in mid-December, packed our gear at 5 a.m., and hit the road before the sun even thought about peeking over the trees. Let’s dive into the chaos (and the wins) of our black pit fishing adventure that ended with us breaking a fish guard and killing a brand-new scale. Spoiler: it was worth every laugh (and every sore arm).
Setting the Stage: Our Plan for the 2024 Year-End Fishing Trip
First off, let’s talk about why we chose a black pit for our year-end fishing trip. Black pits are perfect for this kind of “all-in” day—they’re stocked with big fish (bass, catfish, even the occasional carp or trout), and the pressure is on to land as much as possible before the day ends. Our crew (me, Jake, and Mia—yes, Mia’s the only girl who can outfish all of us) decided to switch things up this time. Instead of sticking to our usual spot near the dock, we headed to the middle of the far bank—what we call the “dead zone” for most anglers. We wanted to test if a change of scenery would mean a change in luck.
Our Gear for the Black Pit Fishing Adventure
We didn’t skimp on gear—this was our 2024 year-end fishing trip, after all! Here’s what we brought:
- Rod 1: 5.4m Youyao Sanguo · Zhulu (a Chinese rod, but trust me—it’s a beast for big fish)
- Rod 2: 3.9m Buzhaji (great for quick casts near the shore)
- Line Setup: 1.5lb main line + 1.0lb leader + Size 6 gold hooks (we went for gold because we thought it might stand out in the dark black pit water)
- Bait: A “big mix” of store-bought dough bait, corn, and Jake’s secret family recipe (which he swears by, even though it smells like old bread and garlic)
We were feeling cocky. “We’re gonna land 2 fish today,” Jake joked as we set up. Mia rolled her eyes. “You said that last time and caught zero. Let’s just focus on not falling in the water.” (Spoiler 2: No one fell in. Progress!)
The Morning Slump: Why We Almost Packed Up Early
By 8 a.m., the sun was up, and we were… bored. Like, really bored. We cast, reeled, cast again—nothing. Not a single bite. No taps on the rod, no ripples in the water, not even a fish jumping to laugh at us. Jake started pacing. Mia checked her phone for fishing forums. I stared at the black water like it owed me money.
We ran through all the usual suspects:
- “Is the bait bad?” Jake asked, poking a blob of dough with his finger. (It still smelled like garlic, so probably not.)
- “Is the spot cursed?” Mia joked. (We’d seen three other anglers leave empty-handed, so maybe?)
- “Did we forget the magic?” I said, half-serious. (Okay, that was a stretch.)
Then Mia, who’s the resident “fishing nerd” (her words, not mine), said, “Wait—did you check the depth? Maybe your hooks are off the bottom.” Oh. Right. I’d been in a hurry that morning and skipped the most important step: finding the bottom (aka “setting the depth”). I’d probably set my hooks 6 inches off the bottom, which meant the fish—who love to hang out near the mud—weren’t even seeing the bait. Duh.
Fixing the Problem: Re-Tuning the Line and Finding the Bottom
So I did what any panicking angler does: I grabbed a new line set, tied on a new hook, and started re-finding the bottom. Here’s the quick step-by-step (for anyone who’s ever messed this up, like me):
- Cast your line all the way out.
- Slowly reel in until you feel the weight hit the bottom.
- Mark the line with a marker (or a piece of tape) at the rod tip.
- Adjust the bobber so it’s 6 inches above the mark (so the hooks are just off the bottom, not sitting in the mud).
Ten minutes later, I was set. Jake and Mia were still messing with their gear, so I cast first. And… tap tap tap. A bite! I waited (Mia’s rule: “Never jerk the rod on the first tap—wait for the pull”). Then YANK—the rod bent so far back I thought it was gonna snap. “GUYS! I GOT ONE!” I yelled. Jake dropped his rod, Mia grabbed her camera, and I fought the fish for 5 minutes. (Okay, 5 minutes sounds long, but it was a big one!) When I reeled it in, it was a 2-inch bass—fat, shiny, and mad as hell. “THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!” Jake screamed. Finally, the day was turning around.
The Afternoon Comeback: Non-Stop Bites (And a 3-Pound Grass Carp!)
Once I fixed my line, the floodgates opened. Mia landed a 18-inch catfish 10 minutes later. Jake reeled in a 20-inch carp. By 2 p.m., we’d landed 12 fish total. Then, around 4 p.m., the bites stopped again. Ugh—fish have the worst timing. “Maybe they’re moving to deeper water,” Mia said. “Try big run leader?” (Run leader is when you set the line so the bobber is loose—great for slow bites.)
I swapped my 5.4m rod to a run leader setup. I cast it out, and within 2 minutes, the bobber shot under the water. I reeled, and this fish was strong. It pulled my rod so far back I had to lean against a tree to keep it from breaking. “WHOA—THIS IS A MONSTER!” I yelled. Jake grabbed the net (we brought a big one, thank god) and waited. After 10 minutes of tug-of-war, I reeled it in: a 3-pound grass carp! It was huge—bigger than my hand! We all cheered so loud, a group of teens fishing nearby looked over and waved. “Nice catch!” one yelled. We waved back, grinning like idiots.
The Chaos at the End: Broken Fish Guard + Dead Scale
Now, here’s the part that’s gonna make you laugh (or cringe, if you’re a gear head). I’d planned to just take photos of each fish and release them—no fish guard, no counting, just fun. But Jake looked at me and said, “Hey—what if we try to fill two buckets? Just for bragging rights?” Mia laughed. “You’re on. But if we break something, you’re buying the new gear.”
So we grabbed two 5-gallon buckets (the kind you get from the hardware store) and started dumping fish in. By 6 p.m., the sun was setting, and we had… wait, let’s count: 1 bass, 3 catfish, 5 carp, 2 grass carp, and 1 tiny bluegill (we almost forgot about that little guy). That’s 12 fish! And they filled both buckets to the top. “NO WAY!” Jake yelled. “WE DID IT!”
But here’s the problem: the buckets were heavy. Like, really heavy. Jake and I tried to carry one bucket together, and… CRACK. The handle broke. Fish started flopping out. Mia grabbed a net to catch them, but one carp jumped right over her head and landed in the grass. “WHAT DO WE DO?!” I yelled. We herded the fish back into the bucket (minus the grass carp, which we let go—we felt bad), and then decided to weigh the whole thing. I’d just bought a new digital scale (cost me $30—ouch) for Christmas, so I hooked it to the bucket handle. I lifted… and the scale went blank. Dead. No light, no numbers, nothing. “OH COME ON!” I yelled. Jake and Mia were laughing so hard they were crying. “You killed your new scale!” Mia cackled. “That’s what you get for being greedy!”
We finally gave up on weighing. We dumped the fish back in the black pit (we’re not monsters—we release almost everything), packed up our broken gear, and headed to the nearest diner for burgers and fries. The waitress looked at our muddy boots and laughed. “Fishing trip?” she asked. “Yep,” I said, grinning. “And we broke a bucket handle and killed a scale. But we caught a 3-pound carp, so it’s a win.”
Why This 2024 Year-End Fishing Trip Was the Best One Yet
Looking back, this black pit fishing adventure wasn’t just about the catches (though the 3-pound carp was chef’s kiss). It was about the chaos: the morning slump, the broken gear, the laughs when the scale died. It was about hanging out with my best friends, even when we’re covered in mud and smell like garlic bait. It was about proving that sometimes, the best fishing trips aren’t the ones where you land 5 fish—they’re the ones where you mess up, laugh, and make memories that’ll last until next year’s year-end trip.
So if you’re planning a year-end fishing trip this year (or next), don’t stress about landing every fish. Don’t stress about breaking gear (okay, maybe stress a little about the $30 scale). Just focus on having fun with the people you love. And if you’re fishing a black pit? Double-check your depth. Trust me. You’ll thank me later.
Oh, and one last thing: if you ever break a bucket handle and kill a scale, just order a burger. It fixes everything. 😉
