Guys' Night Out

Wake up, go to the gym, go to work, take the dog to the vet, take one kid to swim team, take the other to the doctor, eat dinner, mow the yard, send a few more work e-mails, fall into bed at night dead to the world, and get up the next day for a repeat of a similar itinerary.

Make no mistake about it, dear readers, we live in a fast-paced, modern world. Our schedules and daily responsibilities make it difficult to find time for our hobbies and challenging to find time to spend with our friends. So, for me I’ve found the perfect solution to both problems — “Guys Night Out.”

My angling buddy Andy and I were both owed some “Guy Time” this weekend, having recently babysat while our wives went out on the town, so we decided to go for an afternoon of float tube fishing at a local wildlife club where we’re both members.

We eased our float tubes into the edge of the pond to try our luck with the local population of large mouth bass and panfish. Just seconds after we began floating in the chilly water, the stresses of our two chaotic worlds started to fade from our minds without a second thought.

As we lazily kicked our diving fins, we headed toward our favorite spot in the pond, just taking our time, glad to not be in a rush for once.

When we reached our destination, we began casting large popping bugs that landed on the surface with a thud, sending ripples in all directions. A few erratic twitches brought the fly out of the strike zone for another cast.

Unfortunately, the bite on this particular afternoon was somewhat slow, so we opted to move on to another section of the pond that would hopefully provide better angling opportunities.

My second cast into this new water produced a subtle strike from a nice pound-and-a-half bass.

A cast or two later, Andy got a strike, set the hook, and reeled in one as well.

We fished on with glimmering hope, but only a handful of missed strikes and one nicer bass filled our activity log for the day.

Leisurely kicking back toward the boat ramp, we came to the conclusion that not only was a slow day of fishing just what we needed to truly relax, but we also decided that another similar “Guys Night Out” should occur the following week later in the evening when the fish might be a bit more active.

Add in another friend who had been asking us to take him float tube fishing and some hamburgers to throw on the pond-side grill, and we would certainly have a fun-filled evening of angling and camaraderie.

So the next time you’re trying to fit dinner with friends and a night of fishing into your busy schedule, just combine the two. Or better yet, put a monthly “Guys or Girls Night Out” on your calendar, and relax a bit with your favorite friends in the great outdoors.

And that’s my holler for this week!