What's your bucket list

[biggiesmalls]

What are the fishing trips that are on your bucket list? Whether you've done them or not, doesn't matter.
I made a thread a while back about this, and I couldn't find it but I do remember there was an obscene amount of trips on there - too many for anybody to do in a lifetime.
There are three, maybe four trips that I'd want to leave the country to do:

Surf fishing in Gabon for tarpon, cuberas, jacks, barracudas, and other species
Popping in Panama for yellowfins, cuberas, and roosters
A popper/stickbait trip either over the Great Barrier Reef or some unexplored reefs in Papua New Guinea (if I went with PNG I would take a few extra days to try for black bass and barramundi in the rivers)
Maybe a trip to Colombia for big peacock bass

Those would be my big-ticket items. Now, there are trips in the United States I wouldn't mind taking a 3-day weekend to do with some friends and family.
My mother's godfather lives in Long Island, and he's a big fisherman - we talk over text often about our catches. I'd love to go up with him and fish Long Island. I know there are big stripers up there, and the blues aren't always so small either - so I'd want to go for those a lot. We'd also go on a party boat though, which is what he likes to do - he fishes for seabass, porgy, and whatever else he can find. I would want to go for a mako shark as well, while I'm up this far.
I want to take two of my friends and make a road trip someday to Venice Louisiana (maybe the summer after our senior year) and spend a weekend catching redfish. Just a fun little outing, have some fun before we head off to college. Maybe we could shorten the trip and do it in Charleston, or head up to Pamlico - but wherever we go it'll be a fun few days of fishing.
My grandparents have a timeshare in Key West, so taking a few friends out there for 4 or 5 days would be a fun time. I don't know how much fishing would be done, but I'd want to focus on the reef fishing - yellowtail, muttons, mangroves, and cero mackerel on light tackle - plus the bigger guns for grouper, amberjack, almaco, big muttons, pompano, barracuda, and sharks. I also wouldn't mind slow-trolling some baits on big spinning tackle or light conventional to try and catch sails, blackfins, dolphin, wahoo, or kings.
After doing the Chesapeake striper trip with family this April, there's no way I'm not going again - that's a great time with a great group of guys that I'm more than happy to take an extra day off of school/work for.

Other than that, I want to someday move to the gulf side of Florida, probably around the Sarasota area. I've been here a few times the past few years and I'm falling in love with it more and more each time. So, if I ever make it down there permanently, I want to get my family and friends down and fish with them. Take them out for snook and jacks, or blacktips, or whatever's biting. Just have a good time with everyone down there.

So there's a few trips I want to do for me - but most of my trips are more focused now on spending time with friends and family, and taking advantage of the wonderful fisheries we have along the east coast.

I've got some hunting trips I want to do too, but those can come later
Drew

[Shark Hunter]

Drew,
For such a young man, You seem to have your priorities in order.
When I was your age, I was just wreck loose. Not really thinking about my future, but right then.
That all changed when I joined the Navy. Best thing I ever did.
Kept my nose clean and decided the Military life wasn't for me.
Came back home, Got a good job and met my Wife of 25 years now.
Same Job, Same Wife.
I want to retire and get a house in Milton.
That is the plan anyway.
I would be happy being that close to the gulf, but far enough away to relax a little too.

[biggiesmalls]

When it comes to hunting - I want to keep it simple. One rifle that I know better than the back of my hand, and a few trips in the states. I don't want to go on a safari in Africa, or Alaska, or hunt some animal I've never heard of in New Zealand, or spend $60 grand to hunt a sheep.

I want to focus my efforts on turkeys - hopefully I can bag a couple every season in Florida, or wherever I end up. I also want to hunt 1-2 new states every year for turkeys - in order to finish the U.S. Super Slam (bagging a turkey in every state except Alaska).
I figure along that journey, I will finish a Grand Slam and a Royal Slam (all five subspecies of wild turkey), and to finish the other slams (Canadian Slam and Mexican Slam) I'll have to travel a bit more. In Mexico I'll bag my Ocellated Turkey, which will finish the World Slam - every type of turkey found in the world.
I've got big goals with turkey hunting, but I think it's doable over a long time.

Aside from that, I want to bag a whitetail every year, either in Florida or in Maryland with my uncle who got me into hunting in the first place. Maybe someday I'll get him to go to Montana or Illinois and do a 2x1 whitetail hunt with me.
Aside from that, I want to do a spot-and-stalk hunt on my friend's land in Colorado for mule deer, and maybe elk too. If I could figure out the logistics for a horseback hunt, that would be even cooler.
Only other goal is a spot-and-stalk black bear hunt - Alaska seems to be a popular choice for this, expensive, but popular. I'd have to think hard about this one.

So my hunting goals aren't really that interesting - a lot of turkeys, a few whitetails, Colorado, and a bear. I'm a lot more of a fisherman than a hunter, though.

Drew

[biggiesmalls]

Drew,
For such a young man, You seem to have your priorities in order.
When I was your age, I was just wreck loose. Not really thinking about my future, but right then.
That all changed when I joined the Navy. Best thing I ever did.
Kept my nose clean and decided the Military life wasn't for me.
Came back home, Got a good job and met my Wife of 25 years now.
Same Job, Same Wife.
I want to retire and get a house in Milton.
That is the plan anyway.
I would be happy being that close to the gulf, but far enough away to relax a little too.

I try to keep things in order, it keeps my brain more relaxed.
Thanks Daron, means a lot coming from you especially.
My grandfather served in the Navy when he was out of college - decided it wasn't for him either.
I'm not sure I could do it, but I damn well appreciate the men and women that do.
I plan on getting an MBA and a civil engineering degree from Georgia Tech and getting out to start a construction company.
If I'm lucky, I can base it around Sarasota.
It looks like I can get in and out in 5 years. I have credits from AP classes, and I'll have a few classes at UNCW next year which should transfer over.
We'll see though. You can only plan so far into the future.
Drew

[Gfish]

A bucket list is a good idea when you're still working. I could start saving now and be ready maybe when I retire. Tropical saltwater: heard some good stuff bout Christmas Island. Cold freshwater: Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia has some good salmonid fishin goin on.

[Steve-O]

Bucket list?  My Avatar was the only one I could think of.  River Monster Alligator Gar.  Got 'er done in 2011.

Repeating Bucket List Trip - Go to Alaska every year - 19th consecutive year next month, 21st trip....I cheated and went twice in 2011 and 2016

Regular list?  Keep on fishing!

[David Hall]

HMMMMM  seems like im still spending so much time working that bucket lists just get pushed out of my little pea sized brain.  I usually just do away with the bucket and get right after the list.  my only one I had a few years ago was to fish mexico for big tuna.  Alan took care if that one for me in 2015. 
im gonna have to come up with something besides getting a new roof on my house and new landscaping!  that's a weak bucket list, it would make the wife happy though.

[George6308]

I guess my list would be to have a clear day fishing in Wildwood/Stone Harbor back bay in a Garvey. Of course with my grandkids.

[biggiesmalls]

George, this is what I have moved more towards - less focus on the actual fish, more focus on the people there with me.

Of course - I'll need a good GT trip every year after I graduate, though
And the napoleon wrasse is at the top of my list. It is the holy grail of fish in my eyes.


Drew

[biggiesmalls]

Lifelong dream would be to someday move to Aitutaki, in the Cook Islands. Live a simple life, just live off of savings and fish all day, sleep all night.
That would be the dream
But family in the United States would make that dream difficult to do.

Drew

[RowdyW]

fish all day, sleep all night.
That would be the dream


Drew

That would probably get pretty boring after a couple of months. Just ask a castaway.          Rudy

[conchydong]

My dream list would be to fish Ascenion Island, do a Elk hunt in Wyoming or another good location and catch a Barn door (or even a closet door) in Alaska or Norway.
Reality says maybe another couple more Long Range trips out of San Diego before the Mexican Government stops them or makes them cost prohibitive. I have caught most species that I have wanted to, including Swordfish, Atlantic and Pacific Blue Marlin, White and Striped Marlin and too many Sailfish to count. I have never caught a Bluefin Tuna, a Bigeye Tuna or a Spearfish though. Some of those may be possible if I don't croak too early.

Good thread.

Scott

[FatTuna]

I've really been craving a trip to southeast Asia. Maybe do the hosteling thing for a few months and then find a cheap place on the coast to shack up and fish hard. I'm thinking the winter of 2020.

I've always really wanted to fish the Amazon river.

A giant Wells catfish is on the list.

I'd love to get up to Norway and get into some Atlantic halibut. I'm partly fascinated with their fishery because it's how things used to be here before the long liners destroyed that fishery.

I did a trip to Australia back in 2008 but I was more invested into surfing and camping. I hardly did any fishing while I was there. I want to go back one day.

My number one fantasy is to get a sailboat and live off it for a while. Do a trans-Atlantic trip and drag a lure the whole way there.

[54bullseye]

Spending a few days fishing for Halibuttttttttt with Gary the BUTT MAN up in Alaska !!    John Taylor

[boon]

Three Kings for Yellowtail Kingfish, Wanganella Banks for Striped Marlin. And probably Cape Verde for Blue Marlin.

I have unfinished business in Rarotonga with a Black Marlin.

EDIT: I also want to catch a marlin, any marlin but probably a Striped one, with my father from his 16ft trailerboat.