Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Fishing-Adventures-Destinations » Fishing on a Time Limit
Fishing on a Time Limit
By Jeff Wilton
In this hectic world that we live in, where every day is spent juggling work and family commitments… not to mention having to mow those dam lawns that won’t stop growing, free time to do what you want is very hard to come by. When you have a fishing addiction this can get rather frustrating. So, the reason behind this article is to share with you my recipe for maximising fishing opportunities.
To set the scene quickly, I manage a business working 5 days a week (on call 7 days a week), have a wife and 12-year-old daughter, 2 dogs, 1 cat and 2 lawns to mow… so normally I have lots on my plate. I’m sure that most of you will understand when I tell you that I MUST fish. I handle not fishing quite poorly and my friends and family can vouch for that. So read on if, like me, you are always pushed for time. I’ll share some secrets that I have developed over many years for sneaking fishing trips into any spare time that I manage to create.
24 Hours in a Day
A weird heading but an important one! I just need everyone to realise that there are plenty of hours in the day and you need to use them. Set the alarm nice and early, sneak out for a few hours fishing, before coming home for a quick shower and shooting off to work. Just imagine those positive vibes all day while you remember landing a few fish.
On the other hand, you can knock off work, do a few chores for the wife and head off for those magnificent evening hours, before heading home for a few hours sleep. Once you get this sorted it is possible to halve the amount of sleep you used to get… doubling you’re fishing time! 😉 At this point I probably should include a disclaimer that I’m not a doctor and little to no sleep may be unhealthy… but not fishing may be even more unhealthy – your choice.
Making a Plan
This is a tough one to do as life has a way of throwing things at you constantly, that seem to always correspond with any free time opportunity that you may have had. Fitting fishing trips into small windows of opportunity means that sometimes you just need to go. So, if the wind isn’t blowing in the right direction, there is some rain about, or the tide isn’t right… you go anyway! The benefit of this is that you will become a better angler out of it as it will force you to explore other areas, use different techniques and build your abilities and knowledge base.
What I do is sit down with a tide chart and several weather apps on my phone and check the forecast conditions for the week ahead. This means that I have a rough idea of the weather coming up and can narrow down or widen my potential plans. I live by my tide charts and on any given day can tell you what the tide is doing. With this knowledge you can now ‘pencil’ in a few plans around the free time that you may have ahead of you.
For me, this comes down to two types of plans, a quick plan or long plan. A quick plan will be using a few hours before or after work, while a long plan is where I have a full day or the most part of that day. The last part of ‘pencilling’ in plans is checking with the wife to see if any of these times clash with any other commitments (I forget things easily sometimes) and most importantly that she is happy with them – happy wife, happy life.
Have a plan ready to go anytime, so that if for some reason the boss says have the rest of the day off, and the wife gives you a leave pass, you’re gone!
Preparation
Be ready! I have three boats and I try my best to make sure they are all filled with fuel, ready to go anytime. This normally means that they will come for a drive into work for the day so that I can fill them up. I also use a dirt bike for some walking fishing, so having spare fuel in caddies is always handy. This means that if that opportunity presents itself, you’re not wasting valuable time getting fuel before you can go.
Fishing gear should be rigged up and ready to be packed into a car, boat, or bike, at all times. Simple things, like having fresh leaders all tied and ready, saves you time and means that you can make a few more casts. Having your gear ready, at all times, isn’t that hard, all it takes is a spare ten minutes one afternoon to gather any gear that you may need together and pack it onto the car, boat, or bag ready to go.
Done correctly, you are already packed and ready to hit the water as soon as that free time presents itself. One thing that I have found with these sort of fishing trips is that the small things are normally the ones forgotten… and these small things can be very important. For example, forgetting mosquito repellent can quickly ruin your trip, or scissors/knife/pliers to snip braid or leader so re-rigging becomes a hassle. These are the sort of items that are often overlooked and can stop a fishing trip before it has even begun.
When you become a master in preparation like myself, you will also have things like pre-made ice, drinks and food all sorted as well. This includes a deep freeze full of bags of ice or home-made ice, ready to be thrown straight into an icebox, along with water bottles already filled and pre-made food ready to go. This simply means more time fishing and less wasted time making food and drinks. When you think you are organised and prepared, ask yourself the question – “If I had five minutes to pack and be gone, could I do it?” If you answer no, then you still need to work on a few things.
Hopefully this article may motivate you to get prepared and think outside the square a little when it comes to free time. I will never forget a quote that I read in a fishing magazine many years ago that simply stated, ‘more fish are caught in the living room than in the water’. Plan, prep and get out there!
Fish on! Jeff