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The Year in Review 2005
by Mike Carey, January 01, 2006
Hello and welcome to the end of the year review. This year has been a truly exciting year at WashingtonLakes.com. This was the year the site moved from the old HTML format into the new asp.net format. That’s kind of like moving from a snoopy rod and reel to a lamiglas and shimano combo!
The behind the scenes story of this change actually began in 2004 when I was contacted by Aaron Borg who generously offered to bring the site into the modern age with a major coding upgrade. The process took over a year, Aaron and I working behind the scenes to produce what you now see. I can’t begin to estimate the number of hours we worked on this upgrade, but it was well worth it. The new website launch in spring of 2005 and has been a resounding success! Our total readership numbers again set new records, totaling 754,000 visits for the year.
Even more significant, this was the year reports took a big jump. For the past several years reports stayed in the 1100-1300 range. This year, however, we saw a big jump to 1765 total reports. I can’t help but believe the reason for this surge in reports is the new site dynamics. For the first time ever readers are able to submit pictures with their reports. I don’t keep records on picture stats, but I have never before seen so many pictures sent to the site. Second, I think that the ability for readers to search out their old reports is beginning to turn the site into the online fishing diary which I have always envisioned it to be. Now you can type in your name and pull up every report you ever sent in to the site. Some of those reports date back to 1996! How cool is it to look back ten years to read a report you may have sent in?
On the administrative side of things, this year I was able to approve and auto post your reports. This allowed me to spent less time cutting and pasting, and more time adding new content. The past few months have been taken up adding the remaining old, archived reports. But once that job is done I will be focusing my energies on adding more Featured Lakes, maps, and other goodies to the site. The goal as always is to make the most exhaustive, complete Washington lake and saltwater fishing site on the web. Actually, we already are, but I have no intention of resting when there are literally hundreds of lakes which haven’t been more fully researched and documented.
I’d like to take a moment to thank some of the individuals who have donated their time and efforts to our site. Aaron Borg first and foremost among the gang for all his efforts and hard work. Even with a full-time job, wife, and kids he still found time to overhaul WashingtonLakes.com. Thanks Aaron! You are the spark for the new site. I’d like to thank our Featured Writers, Dave Graybill, John Kruse, Uncle Wes, and Bruce Middleton. These individuals freely donate their talents to the site and provide us with new lakes to explore and methods to try. We are truly fortunate to have them on board. Bruce in particular has offered us a wealth of new bass information to "chew on". A personal, heartfelt thanks to Bob Johansen. Bob took me under his wing this year and taught me the essentials of bass fishing. I think I’ve finally got it! I know I have the bass bug and can hardly wait to get back out there this spring. In addition, Bob has contributed so much to this site. Just one look through the Featured Lakes section and you’ll see his excellent overviews and pictures. He is truly a Pacific NW expert and I am blessed to call him my friend.
Finally, what can I say about you, the readers of this site? I am so grateful to all of you who have submitted reports, pictures, and articles. Even if you just log on and read without sending in reports, you’re the reason there is a WashingtonLakes.com. Thank you one and all. Together we are building the number one database and source for information on Washington lake fishing!