With the onset of snow showers and the mercury beginning to drop, the time is near to once again turn the page on a year of fishing. For myself, it was another season of never-ending casts, soaked nets and unforgettable joy, spent with friends, family and of course, plenty of fish. Definitely a season to be thankful for.

Reflection is good as Christmas approaches, but looking toward the new season with pen and paper should be a rite we all embrace. How about compiling a “bucket list” for 2011 – filled with your fishing goals, desires and untried wants – and make this year of angling your best, and most interesting yet. Here are a dozen ideas to get you started.

1. Embrace The Ice
Ice fishing is growing in leaps and bounds, with comfort, technology and unlimited know-how all at our fingertips. If you’re a fair-weather angler that shuns winter fishing, make this year your goal to take auger to ice. There’s never been a better time to embrace the lure of ice fishing, and the community spirit, bountiful fish and elongated line wetting will make you a convert in no time flat. Guaranteed.

2. Chase a Different Fish
Make it a goal this season to target a specie of fish you have never caught. It could be a crappie, sturgeon or even a muskie. Chasing the same few fish every year can become a bit repetitive, and most of us are guilty of it. Broadening your game fish horizons can be a tonne of fun and an exercise in knowledge, but most of all, an accomplishment. Here’s to catching my first laker and carp this coming season!

3. Learn to Fly
Fly fishing puts a completely new spin on angling, with an emphasis on graceful casts, reading water and entomology. But most importantly it is a hands-down fun way to fish. Beginner kits are economical and streams easy to access, making this sport a great one to tackle this year.

4. Share Your Passion
We all know why we love fishing so much, so lets share that passion with another. Make it your goal to introduce one new person to fishing this year. Whether it is a child, a parent or an elderly neighbour, passing on your knowledge and enthusiasm will help in getting a would-be angler hooked for life. The smile on their face will be thanks enough.

5. Take a Trip
Pack up your family, or your fishing mates, and head to one of the thousands of lodges that dot the Ontario wilderness. Choose a fly-in or a drive-to, but either way get ready for rejuvenation and relaxation, fantastic fishing and monumental memories. Take a peek at these fine lodges to whet your appetite: Ontario Fishing Vacations

6. Join a Club
Want to make new fishing friends, learn techniques and reap the abundant camaraderie? If the answer is yes, then a fishing club is right up your alley! Most towns have fishing clubs that are looking for new members, and the weekly or monthly meetings can be a treasure-trove of experience and fun.

7. Lend a Hand
We have all been witness to it – the garbage left behind by uncaring “anglers.” Not only does this trash pose an environmental concern, it is also unsightly and gives fishermen a bad name. Organize your own cleaning crew this season and spend the day beautifying our waterways. A few garbage bags and a couple of hours can have such a dramatic impact if we all pitch in.

8. Try a New Technique
Don’t know how to flip? Dropshot? Give yourself the opportunity to learn at least one new technique this year. Study, practice and succeed, and your time on the water will become more rewarding and productive.

9. Learn Your Electronics
Your electronics can offer you so much more than just the depth. Put in the time to increase your knowledge and understanding of your unit – and let it show you what it can really do. Believe me, the anglers that know the ins and outs of their electronics always catch more fish.

10. Hit a New Spot
An angler is a creature of habit, often trailering the boat to the same handful of lakes time and time again. Each year I make it a goal to fish three new bodies of water – this gives me added variety, allows me to figure out something new, and updates my ongoing list of lakes I know and have at my disposal. What will your three lakes be this season?

11. Share in a Shore Lunch
Fish are delicious. No doubt about that. But whom has yet to savour a mess of fish cooked over an open flame – out in amongst nature? Make it a goal to organize a shore lunch this year. With a little planning and a few items, this tasty treat on shore will become a favourite pastime. (Just make sure you catch the fish!)

12. Target a Trophy
Set a goal for yourself in terms of catching a trophy fish. It could be a 5lb largemouth, 10lb walleye or 50” muskie. Goals give us drive, and once you break your mark, simply set the goal higher.

* Justin Hoffman is a Field Editor for Ontario OUT OF DOORS magazine, freelance writer and outdoor photographer residing in Ottawa, Ontario. Check out his new Facebook page, “Justin Hoffman Outdoors,” for all things fishing and the outdoors.