Gone Fishin!
If it’s the second Saturday in May, that’s where you’ll find me.
Take a Break
It’s important to take breaks. Not just breaks from work, but breaks from your normal behaviour. Doing things that are different from your routine, that put you out of your comfort zone, or simply change the pace of your daily life.
In my situation, I spend an inordinate amount of time looking at screens. Whether that’s with the home office set-up or relaxing after dinner with an hour or two of streaming services, I often end up spending more than eight hours a day (sometimes nearly sixteen!) looking at screens.
It’s vital to take breaks during the day to make sure you don’t end up with eye injuries from screen time (it’s a real thing…). It’s also important to change it up when you have the opportunity.
Changing it Up
That’s why the opening of the pike fishing season on our lake is so important to me.
Not only does it bring me away from the screens (well, for the most part, I use map apps or a fish finder, but I’m only looking at those when needed as references), but it’s a physical activity and mental challenge that is quite different from my daily routine.
This truly pulls me away from the day-to-day work of running KATA Accounting Solutions and lets my mind try to think like a fish.
Getting Prepared
Knowing that I’ll want to be able to get up and go on the second Saturday of May gives me motivation to get things ready ahead of time.
This includes the chilly prospect of getting the dock and the boat lift in the water, getting the boat outfitted and ready to go, inspecting everything to make sure it’s in safe, working order, and prepping all of the fishing gear for what I have planned for that first day of the season. Oh, and snacks, water, and sunscreen…
(For context, our boat is an old 16-foot tin boat with a little 9.9 HP on it, definitely not anything fancy. It gets stripped of all fittings and flipped upside down for the winter, so getting it back right-side up and onto the trailer is the first big physical challenge.)
In addition to these activities, my preparation includes thinking about how the spring thaw occurred, checking the weather, especially the wind, and coming up with a game plan about what I’ll do on that first day.
Depending on what I see when I’m doing this research, my plans may have to change, changing what I do to get prepared.
Fishing is always more fun with company, so part of that preparation also includes conferring with the people I’m taking out, and making sure they’re prepared for whatever comes once we’re out on the boat.
The Payoffs
There are a lot of big payoffs once you get out there on the water.
That wonderful feeling of skimming across the water with the wind in my hair. The smiles from others in the boat as we head to the first spot where we’ll get a line in the water. The calm and quiet as you get those first lines in and wait patiently while looking around and listening to the sounds of nature.
One of my favourite things about the spring fishing season is that there aren’t a lot of power boats out on the lake yet. It’s quiet, and life is blooming.
You’ll often get to see things that you wouldn’t have if you’d stayed home. This year, there wasn’t much. A set of paired-off swans and a blue heron.
And of course, we usually catch something.
The Memories
One thing I like to do, and am really looking forward to doing with my son, is creating memories and experiences that people will never forget.
This year, I took a friend and his 10-year-old son. The biggest thing the son had ever caught was a sunfish (a small panfish about the size of the palm of your hand). He was excited to get out there and go after something a lot bigger.
The morning fish was very slow, with the only catch being one small pike that I happened to hook. Unfortunately, it appeared to have some kind of skin condition, so we had to let it go.
In the afternoon, we decided to troll. This is when you drive the boat slowly around the lake, dragging lures behind. We trolled a big oval around the centre of the lake, stopping to check out a bay where pike are sometimes known to hang out. Things were looking glum.
As we came home, we passed by our place and I said, “Well, guys, I’m sorry, but it’s time to go in and cook dinner.” And wouldn’t you know it, right then, both father and son hooked into pike.
It was a bit interesting having two people trying to bring in fish while I kept the boat straight so the lines didn’t go into the motor. In the end, both got landed, and the son’s catch was the biggest fish of the day!
We ended up keeping the smaller one (we always only keep a little at first to make sure the meat is clean), and we got to enjoy fresh-caught pike with our burgers that night.
That’s a memory that they’ll always cherish.
What About You?
What do you do to truly change things up? What gets you motivated to put the work in ahead of time so you can execute without challenge when the day comes?
How is it drastically different from your normal day-to-day?
If you aren’t thinking about these things, perhaps you should. It’s truly rewarding to create such memories and experiences that are so different from your normal life.
Don’t worry, next week we’ll get back to accounting, bookkeeping, and tax-related topics.
Now go outside and enjoy the weather!