The new year is a welcome change as we look to a fresh start for a long run of days filled with promise and opportunity.

Hope, optimism and enthusiasm reign supreme on New Year’s Day. Everybody is jumping to get going — including the anglers and everyone else who reads this column.

But not so fast, people. Before we charge headlong into the unknown, let’s take a moment to reflect on 2022’s experiences, successes and, yes, flops. I’ll get the conversation started with a few of my own favorite and not-so-favorite experiences while fishing my way around Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.

My 2022 fishing season suffered through a forced hiatus starting June 20 when I underwent cardiac bypass and valve repair surgery. I went eight weeks during summer’s primetime without wetting a line. I endured those two long months by wishfully thinking about adventures yet to come.

Finally the day came when the cardiologist gave his OK to board a boat and cast for bass. Long-time fishing friend Steve Zarbaugh was my skipper for the first post-op fishing trip, and we enjoyed a banner day of hooking and landing big bucket-mouth bass.

It would be another month before I was permitted to launch and load the BassCat solo, so I was grateful that fishing buddies Tyler Woak, Ray Halter and Ted Suffolk joined me on the water. Each trip was memorable, especially in the context of my fishless July and August.

Before my surgery, I was able to enjoy some tournament excitement during the Muransky Companies Bass Classic, benefiting the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley.

As director of the event in addition to being an entrant, I’ve always split my concentration between administration and fishing. But teammate Ted Suffolk and I focused long enough on tournament day to nail down a money finish with nearly 18 pounds of Pine Lake bass plucked from the thick weed mats.

Due to my hiatus from the lakes, I only fished three tournaments during the 2022 season at Mohawk Valley Bass Club, but did score money finishes at Lake Milton in May and the Ohio River in September. Both featured smallmouth bass. I love smallies, which made those tournaments especially fun.

One of my best 2022 fishing trips was on the Ohio River on a day when the current was slack and the fish were scattered. I caught only three smallmouth bass that stretched past keeper size, but each of them was a much-appreciated payoff for extra effort, timely adjustments and plain old perseverance.

Another highlight was the opportunity to take young Frank Butto fishing for largemouth bass on Mosquito Lake. Frank is the grandson of my Boardman High School classmates Bill and Nancy Cipperley. He soaks up fishing trips like a sponge. Our outing produced only a couple of bass, but Frank fished hard until the very last cast.

My 2022 fishing schedule may have been abbreviated, but as in years past, it was packed with action and made for wonderful memories.

OK, enough with the past. Now we can move forward.

Happy New Year. I’ll see you on the lakes soon.

Jack Wollitz’s book, “The Common Angler,” seeks to answer the “why” behind our passion for fishing. He appreciates emails from readers. Send a note to jackbbaass@gmail.com.