Fishing Lunch Breaks

Where have these been all my life?  With a little one at home and life becoming busier and busier, time to fish was getting more and more difficult to find.  I am fortunate to have a decent fishing option within walking distance of work, but the spring rains had it a muddy mess from late February through most of May.  It has finally been getting clean, and coupled with some free lunch hours this week, I took advantage.  All week, I fished my 3wt Moonlit Shadowcast glass rod and packed light with two fly boxes in a little utility pack.  I am desperately trying to get better at not packing and carrying more than I need.  It's a process.  Since this flow is an Ohio River tributary, essentially anything that swims in the Ohio can show up here.  Expected species I run into a lot are all three species of black bass (largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted), crappies, white bass, and the occasional catfish.  Here's a series of photos of the week's lunchtime catches.

Today, I hot a location I usually avoid for a multitude of reasons.  It gets fished heavily, it's a difficult place to cast a fly rod, and there are so many snags it robs me of a lot of flies.  There are, however, a lot of fish there.  I made the decision to try it today, and I was rewarded handsomely for that decision!

Here's a fun little hack I thought of after my first lunch break fishing excursion this week.  Pick up a bottle of Fast Orange hand cleaner to keep at the office.  Fish slime and funk is difficult to get off of your hands.  This stuff works great, you don't have to have water to use it, it's cheap, and a little goes a long ways.  I picked up this bottle at WalMart for under $3, and it will last me quite some time.  You can find it there in the automotive department.

Taking advantage of a spare hour here and there may not seem like much, but it can add up and get you some extra time on the water that you otherwise would not be getting.  My advice is pack light and be ready to hit the ground running to take full advantage of a narrow window of time.  It's not the time to be adding new tippet, assembling gear, and deciding what to carry.  Have a plan and make it happen.