February Thinking: Planning a Year Well Fished

As January drifts towards its inevitable end, it always feels like a month best described as hibernation. The buzz of Christmas has faded, the days are still short and cold, and most of us are just finding our feet again after the festive chaos. It’s a necessary pause, I think — a time to reset, recharge, and quietly prepare for what’s ahead.

For me, though, February is where the real momentum starts.

February is the month I begin planning my fishing year.

There’s the practical stuff first, of course. A proper look through the kit. Making sure everything still does what it’s supposed to do. Bags emptied and repacked, zips checked, fly boxes reorganised (again). Waders get a particularly close inspection — because nothing ruins a good day quicker than discovering a leak halfway through a session. It’s not the most glamorous side of fishing, but it’s important. Being prepared removes friction, and less friction means more enjoyment when you’re finally back on the water.

But equipment is only part of it.

What I really enjoy about this time of year is planning where the season might take me.

A few years back, a friend and I made a conscious decision to prioritise short trips away. Nothing extravagant, nothing overly complicated — just carving out time to go and fish somewhere different. That year turned out to be one of the most memorable fishing seasons I’ve ever had.

One trip in particular stands out: a visit to the reservoirs in the Brecon Beacons. I’ll be honest — I went into it a little dubious. Reservoir fishing had never really grabbed me before, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. But the reality couldn’t have been further from my assumptions.

It was extraordinary.

The water was crystal clear, stretching out beneath towering hills lined with pine trees. The light, the space, the stillness — it felt less like Wales and more like we’d somehow wandered into Alaska, or deep into the Yukon. Vast, wild, and beautifully untouched. At times it genuinely felt like we were fishing on our own private planet, created solely for the purpose of casting a line.

That trip changed something for me.

It reminded me how easy it is to overlook what’s available closer to home, and how powerful even a short, well-planned getaway can be. You don’t always need a “trip of a lifetime” to create lifetime memories — sometimes you just need to commit to going.

That’s why I think planning matters so much.

Without intention, seasons have a habit of slipping by. Weeks turn into months, work gets busy, diaries fill up, and before you know it the season is closing and you’re left with the nagging feeling that you didn’t quite fish as much as you wanted to. That you didn’t spend enough time doing the thing you genuinely love.

February is the antidote to that feeling.

It’s the month for research. For conversations. For throwing ideas around with the people you fish with and seeing where diaries align. Whether it’s a weekend somewhere new, a return to a favourite water, or even the early stages of planning something bigger further down the line — this is when those ideas become real.

And even if some plans never quite come off, having them in place gives the year shape and intention. It gives you something to look forward to, something to work towards, and something that sits quietly in the back of your mind when life inevitably gets in the way.

When the season finally closes, I always want to feel like I’ve maximised my time on the water. That I’ve made the most of my passion, not just fitted it in around everything else. A little planning now makes a huge difference later.

So if January is the month of hibernation, February is the month of possibility.

And it all starts with asking a simple question:Where do I want my fishing to take me this year?