Growing up in Michigan, very near Lake Michigan, I fished almost every week from my pre-teen years to high school graduation. But, after going away to college, followed by the 'world of work', my fishing days were no longer. leading to an almost 30 year 'absence'. We moved to the California/Bay area almost 20 years ago and even though I did not have time to fish, I read the fishing report in the San Jose Mercury News almost every week.
After two very intense teleconferences on a Thursday in early April, I read the weekly fishing report and decided to drive out to Calero and Chesbro reservoirs (featured in that week's report) to take a break for a fairly stressful morning. The drive in the Santa Cruz mountains was so beautiful and the reservoirs looked so good, I decided that a re-prioritizing of time was in order so that I could start fishing again.
By the time I returned home from the drive, a couple of major crises had arisen with some clients and in a matter of minutes I was "heads down" again into 'fire fighting' mode with my fishing plans on hold. Two weeks later I was again reading the weekly fishing report and said, "the heck with this, I am going to start fishing again." That evening I went a local sport shop, purchased some fishing gear and fished Friday evening, Saturday morning/afternoon, and Sunday evening of that weekend.
Those first three fishing sessions had me fairly certain the 'thrill' was back, but next session, later that following week, ensured it. After fishing for a couple of hours, I had a fairly major 'hit' on a yellow/black marabou jig and caught my "one kilo" crappie in the attached picture :D . I call it my "one kilo" crappie because that is what it weighed (2.2 pounds) on a scale at Chesbro, even though the scale where the picture was taken (Coyote Discount Bait & Tackle) registered 2.01 pounds.
Since then I have been fishing at least once a week when I am not traveling. My business partner and some of my clients did not believe it until they saw pictures because I am the prototypical "workaholic". They are amazed that I have found the time to fish on a regular basis, but I am truly "hooked again" on fishing. The final proof was in May when I was away for a week on business and could not fish. Major withdrawal symptoms :( !
As a bonus, after searching online for information about fishing, I found "crappie.com". This site has been a great source of information, some entertainment, and a refreshing break from the fast paced world of technology. I look forward to reading the new posts almost every day and searching through older posts and the archives for absolutely invaluable information.
Regards,
Doc