I am crossing my fingers that our June Anglers Inn El Salto trip will go off as planned, but in case it does not I have already reserved dates for the June of 2021, and have also blocked out rooms for November 2020.

As I sit isolated at home in the midst of the COVID-19 epidemic, 2019 seems more than just a few months away – it seems like another lifetime. It was an epic year when I fished more than usual at home, and still managed three trips to Mexico, a trip to the Amazon, freshwater and saltwater adventures in Alaska, and long weekends at Grosse Savanne and Table Rock.

I’ve always loved going to the zoo. Every time I go I stare endlessly at the animals. What would it be like to get behind the glass? Behind the bars?

I’d fish in a sewer pipe or a garbage dump if it promised the chance of a trophy catch, but all other things being equal, fishing is better when you do it in beautiful places. In the past 12 months, I’ve fished in the crystal blue waters off of Guatemala and in the rock-strewn rapids of an Amazonian tributary, but by far the most scenic place I fished during that period (or any period, for that matter) was at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park, Alaska.

In the past five years I’ve fished with two guides who were assholes. With one, we caught trophy class fish, with the other we didn’t catch much at all. If you’re catching ‘em, a day with a jerk can be tolerated, but when you’re not it’s pure misery.

If you read the popular press, no doubt in recent years you’ve heard of the “gig economy.” Become an entrepreneur! Set your own hours! Explore your creative impulses! Work from anyplace you want! Sounds great, right? Well, sort of.

A lot of people ask me if I’m ever in the office. They see my social media feed – which, I’ll admit, distorts reality a bit because I never post from work – and think I’m always in exotic locations traveling to fish. I wish that was the case. I manage my vacation time very carefully. In fact, I’m quite stingy with it.

A lot of you have seen the incredible pictures that Bassmaster photographer James Overstreet takes every day. I’ve spent a lot of time in the boat with J.O., and the most amazing thing about his work is how nonchalant he seems en route to getting those world-class shots. He can be telling you a story about his grandfather, eating a pickled egg, adjusting his sunglasses and facing the wrong way, but when the action goes down he picks up his Canon, swivels around, and gets the killer shot.

Unless you are retired, or unemployed, or have a massive trust fund, then you probably have a finite amount of vacation time each year. Whether it’s two weeks, or three, or four, or more, it never seems to be enough to accomplish everything that would otherwise be possible.