The Editor’s Note: Hoping for the best in 2022

don’t know if I can muster any resolutions for the new year off

Ithe top of my head. Maybe it’s just because I, like most of you, am just trying to get through each new day with a shred of sanity left at the end. Because as the calendar turned over again on Dec. 31, I found myself living for the present rather than getting too worked up about the future.

As a passionate sports fan, I always love when an injury report designates a player’s status as “day to day.” Hell, we’re all just hoping to be healthy as each day goes by and the pandemic we all hoped was winding down is now ticking back up again.

But sometimes, we need to look ahead just enough to feel like things can get better in this wacky world we live in. Hopefully you’ll be inspired by some of our stories this month, such as our North Coast steelhead preview (page 21). The recent moist, wintry weather should replenish some of those rivers in dire need of water.

I’m hopeful the NorCal Guides and Sportsmen’s Association Mad River Steelhead Derby attracts plenty of participants (the event started on Dec. 18 and runs through Feb. 28). Club president James Stone has been a tireless supporter for the fishing community, and the $40 entry fee includes an annual membership in the NCGASA. I hope a lot of steelhead are caught and weighed in this month and next. That’s a New Year’s resolution I can get behind.

As long as I’m on a roll, I plan to get outside and play more often when the weather gets warmer, especially after our (hopefully) ongoing wet winter fills our reservoirs again following last year’s severe drought conditions.

I plan to take advantage of the fact that I’m vaccinated and boosted to travel some more this year too. But that’s for tomorrow. Let’s get through today first and see how it all unfolds. Happy New Year. -Chris Cocoles

The editor hopes 2022 brings a lot of joy for steelhead anglers and they catch plenty of fish from the Klamath River and other North Coast fisheries. (MATT BAUN/USFWS)

At Lake Isabella in the Kern River valley “The lake get’s smaller but the fish get bigger:”

Crappie are the order of the day shown by this recent catch in the trees at Lake Isabella.

Warm quiet days make for enjoyable fishing trips this fall in the High Sierras. Just a short drive from Bakersfield in the Central Valley.

All campgrounds around the lake and up the Kern River are open again after a recent fire threat. Contact the Kern River Valley Chamber for all the latest information. KernRiverValley.com