Things I've been able to do in captivity - Looking at the bright side

Hello Everyone,

I'm sure I'm not the only one itching to get outside and fish, crab, clam, and simply get out of the house.  I'm used to traveling a lot for work and spend lots of time on planes, so being home, and with work coming to a halt for now, is a bit strange to me.  Even when I am home, I'm always busy with projects, errands, and even fishing.

So, rather than watch everything on Netflix for a few weeks and becoming a couch potato, I decided to make a list of all of the things I've been wanting to do for a long time, but never had the time to spend on them.  It's actually been great for me, and by the time we come out of this pandemic, I will be free from having to do these projects and free to fish until my arms fall off.

I started off with the projects I wanted to do:
- Organized all of my fishing tackle.  Granted, I have way too much gear stored in multiple Tupperware totes, boxes, bags, etc., and it's "sort of organized", I ordered some new organizers from Harbor Freight, and counted, sorted, labeled and put everything into an organized fashion in these organizers and did away with the clutter.  Amazingly, I also found pieces of gear that I had thought I lost, and now have two of, due to not being able to find them.

- Serviced all of my reels, put new line on the reels that needed it
- Organized and sorted my camping gear, tested all of my lights, blew up my air mattresses to make sure they hold air, inspected my cooking gear
- Organized my tools in the drawers and on the peg board
- Organized spare parts, screws, nuts, bolts, etc., into a few of those same Harbor Freight organizers and got rid of the "junk, catch all" container on my workbench.
- Organized, cleaned out, and sorted everything in the attic.

- The Yard has never looked better - This has been my only escape outside.  Grass looks great, bushes are pruned, everything has been fed, weeds are gone.  I also organized all of the tools and chemicals in the shed.

- Moving to the inside of the house.  Every closet, cupboard, drawer, cabinet has been cleaned out, thinned out, organized, inventoried.  I even got behind the washer and dryer, vacuumed out the lint exhaust with a long shop vac hose, and changed out the furnace filters.

Onto the good things.  I love to cook, and do it almost every night, however, I've never been a baker, as I'm not used to measuring things when I cook, and don't use many recipes.  However, I am a big fan of ethnic breads and rustic breads. So over the past few weeks, I've learned, via YouTube, how to make Naan bread, pita bread, Lebanese Mountain flat bread, Rosemary focaccia, stuffed spinach Italian bread, and homemade pizza that could go head to head with any pizza place in Italy.  Who knew I could bake!

The best part of many of these things is that I've been able to spend time with the family, which is great, as the kids have both been off to college.  The family time has been great, and I'm hoping we will all look back on this, and learn from it, and possibly rethink some of the things we do in life, and what's really important.

Hopefully everyone else has found a bright side of being in captivity for a while and being able pause on life as we have known it for so long, and found some good things to be happy about in these tough times.

Looking forward to the future, and lots of fishing.

I am still able to go to work but when I'm off I'm doing a lot of the same as you.  I'm either in the garage or in the back yard.  My wife and daughter are both still able to work also so for us not much has changed except our days off are spent close to home now.

I love this post! I am working from home full time now so I will use that as my excuse for not being as insanely productive as you, but it's a great message and an inspiration.

I have been using the 90-120 minutes of commute time that I've got back now to work on several projects around the house, including some custom-made barn-door style doors for my office at home. I've also been able to enjoy some video editing time which has felt great. My list for this weekend includes organizing my fishing gear and more video editing.

Like you, I am excited to get stuff done now so that I can fish hard soon, and it's been a huge blessing to have more time with the kids and help them transition to distance learning. It's been quite an adjustment with all 4 of us doing work or school from home some days (Mrs. Redbeard is at home some days, at the hospital some days, so far). I feel really fortunate to be able to work from home. I have a good buddy who is a barber and his wife is a hair dresser. They have no income now. I have another buddy (who is on this site!) who owns a restaurant, and they're doing everything they can to keep money coming in.

Thank you for the positive post!

Been busy at the vice.

Been busy at the vice.

Man, if this goes on for a while I might have to take up fly tying. It's going to happen eventually either way. Great looking flies!

Been busy at the vice.

Man, if this goes on for a while I might have to take up fly tying. It's going to happen eventually either way. Great looking flies!

That's crazy talk.

My fly boxes are overflowing and I just finished building my first 5wt fly rod from scratch.  Going to see if it works tomorrow

You guys are making me want to dust off my fly tying vice and tie up some of my favorites.  At least all of my tying materials are sorted in the Tupperware now, so I know where everything is.

I may try my own spin on shrimp flies. Never been a fan of them for rockfish, as I'm always using some sort of swim bait, but I know lots of people do well with the shrimp flies.  I would think I could add a bit more flare than the traditional orange and red ones that lay dormant in my gear boxes.

What nasty things have you been doing with those poor, innocent flies!    I end my relationship with the flies I tie at the vise.

Been busy at the vice.

Don't mind me.  I'm just jealous because my entire fly-tying stash is currently in totes and laundry baskets so my Grandkid can come down to shelter-in-place in the guest house - and she wants my tying table for a computer workstation for pity's sake.

I'm not doing nothing different.  Every day is time off work when you retire...

I admittedly haven't done a ton in the fishing and tackle preparation front. Back in January I reorganized a ton of tackle and respooled a bunch of my reels so overall they're in pretty good shape. Sadly I wish I would have waited a bit longer and could've done that now. On the fishing front I haven't been out since BP (before pandemic) although I did finally "fish" in the small creek (if you want to call it that) in my backyard and managed to catch a few tiny bluegill on the ultralite which was pretty cool and made me happy for some time (it's the little things.)

Count me in the camp of millennials trying to make bread for the first time during the apocalypse. I have a sourdough starter going and managed to barter some rice and TP for yeast with the neighbors so now I have pizza dough coming together for dinner tonight. I realized how quickly I am burning through flour though and will need to replenish my supply soon. I will probably try and find a 25lb bag this time, why not go all in?

I've also heeded the advice I've read here multiple times (I think Bsteves is an apologist) about making my own tortillas, I bought a press about 6 months ago and hadn't used it up until a few weeks ago. Let me tell ya if you haven't already then on your next shopping trip try and snag some masa and go for it, you don't need the tortilla press (although it does make it easier for corn tortillas.)

I've been doing a ton more cooking as we haven't even ordered delivery or takeout since the 15th, I thought I would come to hate cooking EVERY night, but aside from the additional dishes it's been pretty great overall and I've tried some new dishes I wouldn't have probably done otherwise. 

Speaking of branching out in the cooking area...

I did a brisket in the smoker Wednesday and yesterday we made pickled onions and a Avocado Crema and we used some of the left over brisket and made Brisket Street Tacos.  OMG!  They were so good.   We also put a couple of frozen chicken breasts in the pressure cooker with some Fajita seasoning (the kids aren't big on brisket) for Chicken Street Tacos.

That sounds delicious Ray and Matt.  Since I started making my own pizza dough and pizza last summer, we haven't ordered or been out to a pizza place since.  If you don't have a pizza stone, order one on amazon.  If you can, get a thick one that can also go on the grill.  My BBQ can get way hotter than the oven, and a little smoke takes the pizza from good to great.

Why do I get the feeling we are going to start posting food creation pics instead of fishing pics?  I know I'm not the only one who takes pics of things I cook.

That sounds delicious Ray and Matt.  Since I started making my own pizza dough and pizza last summer, we haven't ordered or been out to a pizza place since.  If you don't have a pizza stone, order one on amazon.  If you can, get a thick one that can also go on the grill.  My BBQ can get way hotter than the oven, and a little smoke takes the pizza from good to great.

Why do I get the feeling we are going to start posting food creation pics instead of fishing pics?  I know I'm not the only one who takes pics of things I cook.

Good call on using the grill, my Weber gets ripping hot and I never thought of using it for pizza. I do indeed have a thick stone which makes for an infinitely better pizza. I have found that letting the stone heat up for at least a half an hour or so in the oven while preheating and hot also ensures you get the good crust on it too.

Ok Cosmo

I'm jealous, guys. My job is considered essential,  and suddenly we're clocking OT for no reason. 

Most of my neighborhood is working from home. Consequently,  they're putting a lot of time into their homes and lawns. Working 6 10's, I get one day a week to do the same. Sooo, if you come looking for me, just look for the shabbiest lawn on the block...