More Camping This Year

We are over half way through January and I am still not planning on fishing the BFL next year.  I wish there were a club series around here, or water for that matter. 

The longer I go without fishing, the more I wonder if I can make it a year without fishing the BFL's.  Signing up for that has always given me the excuse that I have to go.  I am going to try to fish the first one at Grand Lake, but that may be it. 

We are really wanting to get out camping quite a bit this spring.  Having a tournament series along with family commitments, and friend commitments, and work around the house ties me up so that I cannot go camping.  Maybe, if I don't fish the tournaments it will free up a little time.

Once the baby gets here, I will have a little better idea of what to expect.  The 2 older boys are starting to get to where they can take care of themselves a little bit.

I was thinking about selling the boat this spring but don't think I will.  It would be a good year to do it.  I could sell it and watch for a newer bass boat for when I get back into tournament fishing. 

I'm hoping that Canton Lake will fill back up this spring.  It's now 9 to 10 foot low and would be impossible to put a boat in.  It may be a little safer as I heard that the islands are now sticking up out of the water so you know where they are at.  It's our one close lake at 1 1/2 hours away that I know I can catch fish at.  We can pull both the boat and the camper there.  A lot of the other lakes I would love to try are 2 to 2 1/2 hours away.  It would be quite a bit more costly to pull both the boat and the camper that far. 

This should be a good year for fishing and camping as the boys are at a perfect age to start learning some new things, like tubing, and maybe the older one can start tying on his own lures.  I'll at least put a snap swivel on for him so he can change them himself.

Maybe I will schedule camping trips like I have booked bass tournaments.  I can pick out weekends that I think will work and book a campground at some lake that weekend.  Then I can try out new lakes and be committed to go camping.  Then when somebody says, "Can you help me with this, this weekend?", I can say, "Sorry Charlie, I've already paid for a camping spot for this weekend."