Fishing’s got me hook, line, and sinker.

I reached back and threw the baited hook into the distance like a Nolan Ryan fastball. The fishing line fell in the Destin, FL pond with the slightest “plop”.

Circles fanned out lazily from the bobber.

The wind whipped up tiny waves, and we waited. We perked our ears to get a clue of what’s next, yet the underwater world offers no such assistance.

I nervously was flying blind. It had been 25+ years since my last fishing expedition.

Would the wait for action be hours, minutes, or somewhere between? Would the fish swim over and take out a bite? Or would they ignore our ploys at gamesmanship? And what would I do if we actually caught something?

Excitedly, the bites came furiously on this mild, sunny Wednesday afternoon. It was an ‘all you can eat worm buffet’ and we couldn’t stock the place fast enough.

The ‘bobber’ kept doing its disappearing act while our children and I pulled, lunged, grabbed the ‘catch’ from the water.

Bass, bluegill, sunfish keep plopping on shore – fins flapping, gills expanding, eyeballs at alert. One ‘big fella’ snapped my line, pulling the bobber and hook with him for the ride. I’d love another shot at that guy.

Despite my trepidation over fishing with the family, all worries, stresses, urges, anxieties sank to the bottom like the worm on a fish hook.

Do yourself a favor: Take some time and get away from it all. In our ever-connected society, it’s very easy to think that always-on means you are never ‘off’. Being never ‘off’ means you’ll be on the fast track to burn out. And you, your team, business, friends, family, customers won’t want that to happen.

Fact: It won’t be two decades until my next fishing expedition. I am thinking of picking up some new family fishing poles this week.

If the fish are biting, I’ll be ready.

Until next time,

Dan Naden