The Price

The Price

  
  Are you going to fritter away the hours? Or are you going to fish each cast with a purpose? Do you stay mentally focused or are you thinking about any and everything but the task at hand?

 It's ok to kill time and hang with family and friends but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about doing this for a reason, a purpose and that purpose may impact more people than just you.What if this "fishing thing" is what saves you from yourself?  What if its the one thing in this life you actually feel like you're good at? Good enough that when you stick a good fish you know its not luck.

 What if? What if???!!!

 You actually get good enough to consistently put fish in the boat? Make something of yourself and make a mark in the industry? There's only one way to get there and that's to put in the time and energy to make it happen. So you wake up at ungodly hours, drive ridiculous miles and trade time with family and friends for time on the water. You spend free time that should probably be used for something else to tinker around with tackle, reading fishing articles and watching videos.

 Those are just some of the things that help make those dreams and wishes come true but nothing really happens until the rubber meets the road.

 To get good at this the single most important thing you can do is fish. You must, absolutely must, practice catching fish. There is nothing that builds more confidence and belief than the act of landing fish. The other thing that makes you good, not catching fish. It's in those moments that you need to think about what happened and if there was anything you could have done to change your outcome. Sometimes there maybe nothing you could have done differently, other times you've probably made a tactical or mechanical error. Figuring those things out and learning from them is what improves you as an angler.

 With that in mind. I have noticed that the single hardest thing for me to do especially when it's slow going is to stay focused. Three or four hours into a day of grinding big baits and the old mind starts to wander. That's the last thing you want because you normally only get a handful of bites as it is and nothing is more frustrating when you blow the one shot at a fish you get that day or even week. That's where a little positive self-talk and a picture in your mind's eye comes in.

 I remind myself out loud that I'm only there for the biggest fish in the place and I only need one bite to possibly make not only my day but maybe my year. Hero or Zero baby keep grinding. Who else is doing what you're right now? F'in' nobody! That's right. Let'em laugh then watch'em cry. Keep Grinding. You can do this. Keep Grinding. Keep Grinding. Keep Grinding.......