Fish-less Weeks, Deer-less Days and Grit

As the main judge of the talent search program America’s Got Talent, Simon Cowell frequently states that a contestant is really good, that he or she has “it”. The “it” factor is often attributed as a cause for success. But what is “it”? I have heard it said that we cannot define “it”, but as the saying goes, even if you have never seen a rattlesnake, you will know one when you see it. “It” is undefinable, but still recognizable. Quite a mystery, eh? Well, I don’t pretend to know what “it” is , but I think I know what it requires. .”It” requires “grit”. Please bear with me while I explain.

I fish at a lake well known for its muskie fishing. I am fortunate to be mentored in the pursuit of muskies on this lake by a well known and highly successful muskie fisherman. In addition, there are several other excellent muskie fisherman in our campground. Well, long story short, the fishing for muskies has hit a frustrating low this fall. The catch after hundreds of hours of fishing by the best fisherman around, including the lake’s top guides, is demoralizing, frustrating, baffling, and unexplained. We have discussed many theories about what has caused this, but we really can only speculate. After all. this same lake was regularly producing multiple fish days in June and early July.

But after several fish-less weeks, I am starting to believe that their is no Sasquatch, there is no Lock Ness monster, and there are no muskies in this lake. It is easy to be disgusted and frustrated. I mean, really, after weeks of 8 hour+ days of constant effort and not even one fish, what do you do?

In my younger days, I would have been extremely frustrated and angry at this point. I would have cursed the hundreds (thousands?) of dollars of equipment that did not catch fish. I would have blamed the fish, the power boaters, the jet skiers, the sail boaters, the weather, the lake conditions, the sun, the clouds, the moon, global warming, the weeds, the lack of weeds, Mother Nature, fate, luck and the universe. It would not have taken much more for me to blame the dog and the Tooth Fairy. (I would have speculated that she took all the teeth from the fish and they had sore jaws). I would have pouted and threatened to take up trout fishing again. I may have just quit.

But I am a bit older now. Maybe a lot older. Okay, okay, I am in my seventh decade and yes I have a mentor, but that is a different blog. As I see it now, you only have a few choices when things get this tough. It does not matter if it is fishing, hunting, or just living, things will get tough at times, and then what do you do?

First, you do a reality check. As much as I like watching the World Fishing Network, we have to remember that they are selling the show, their brand, clothing, ..something. So we only see the the fun parts and the big fish at the end. But the reality is in what we do not see. The professionals can spend days being fish-less before they get that one good fish that turns into a whole show. It is the same thing on the hunting channels. Celebrity hunters have deer-less days, even weeks, but they just need to have a successful 2 minutes to make a show.

These are folks who make their living hunting and fishing and some of them are among the best that do it. So being fish-less or deer-less does not just happen to you. That is reality. Sometimes the critters have a winning streak. If you do not like that reality, try gambling instead and see if you win everyday doing that.

The reality check my help how we feel about things, but we still need to do something about this. There are several ill advised choices. You can quit and never know success. You can rant and act the fool that you are at that moment, probably embarrassing yourself, as I may have done. You can try to change the circumstances, but as in my example, sometimes we just are not in control. Or you might try these two solutions that are more reasonable, and they work together nicely.

First, just enjoy the opportunity. I have spent some beautiful, relaxing, and fishless days on the water, enjoying being outside and in the presence friends and family. Appreciate the fact that you can do this, that you have the time, means and health to be able to be fishless. If you can find a tranquility in this then, as my mentor would say, it is time to just grind it out.

By that he means to keep doing it. Make sure you are doing all the things that usually bring success. Try new things, things that may work that you don’t normally do. Check all the boxes, do not miss any details, or the obvious, but mostly, play Nike and just do it. Constantly, relentlessly, passionately, doggedly keep doing it. If you have fished 200 hours unsuccessfully, fish 200 more. Thrive on the challenge of figuring it out. That’s called grit.

As far as the fish drought goes, we are all convinced that the fish are going to start hitting, maybe suddenly and ferociously, maybe gradually and subtly. Who knows? But this truth is undeniable: if you are not fishing when it happens, then you still are not catching muskies. You may have missed it, and after all that unrewarded effort, well, your reward is more frustration. To do it until it happens and not give up is having grit. And I believe that behind every “it” that a talented person is said to have, is grit.

Success is usually the result of talent and grit. The world is full of talented people who lack grit and therefore waste their talent. Think about it. You know some one like this. Conversely, many of our most talented people are successful not because they have they greatest talent in the world, but because they have the grit to develop their talents into strengths. Call it passion, call it obsession, or just plain being stubborn, but their dogged pursuit of accomplishment is grit.

My son is a pretty good turkey and deer hunter. But he hunts year round. Weekends all winter will find him walking the public land in our area. He is on his knees, searching for deer hair in what he believes to be a bed for a giant buck. He is a good woodsman, but it has taken him hundreds of hours in the woods working at being a good woodsman to become as good as he is. Even more hours are spent reading, and learning. All summer he works on his equipment, making it quieter and safer. His young sons often accompany him on long hikes, and he is grinding out being a father as well as being a hunter. And he can find deer.

A friend of ours is a teacher and hunts turkeys regularly with my son. They will walk a mile into the woods before daybreak, hunt turkeys on the way back, and still be at work by 7:15. Sometimes every weekday. Then on Saturday they hunt all day and walk 3 to 10 miles looking for birds if necessary. My son practiced using a mouth call for turkeys for hundreds of hours, practicing an hour a day as he drove to and from work. These guys can talk turkey. They can find turkeys.

My mentor is a great muskie fisherman. But he is successful because he puts in hundreds of hours each year fishing for them, and works all winter at learning more and preparing his equipment. He has a network of the best muskie fishermen around and is constantly exchanging information with them. He maintains a strict fitness and nutrition program so he has the strength to do hundreds of hours of casting. And he can find muskies.

I think you get the idea. Their success is due in large part to grit.

Successful hunters know that it takes boots on the ground to grind it out. For the successful fisherman, it is time on the water. That is where grit starts. There are no shortcuts. There is no instant gratification . Grit involves perseverance for days, weeks, even years.

The mystery of “it” is solved, at least in large part, by grit. There are certainly other factors. A certain amount of ability helps. I love singing, but if I sang to a herd of cows, they would never come home. A great personality, a friendly smile, passion and compassion are examples of other things that probably go into “it”. But without grit, whatever else might be in “it”, does not matter. Without grit, there is no “it”.

Grit gets you through the hard times. It will get us through this muskie drought.

The point of this blog is not about having “it”. It is about having grit. If you put boots on the ground or time on the water and you do it constantly, relentlessly, passionately, and doggedly, you will be rewarded with success, even though it may be later rather than sooner. Not only will you be successful, but you will have the bonus of the pride that comes with knowing that your success was earned because you have grit.

Here is a final thought on grit. Grit is going to get us through this pandemic. We have to do what we know works, even at the sake of our wants and desires. We have to do it constantly, relentlessly, passionately, and doggedly until it is over. It is frustrating to live like this, but we cannot go back to the old normal until we grind this out. This is one of those successes that will come later, not sooner.

Thanks for stopping in and until the next time, boots on the ground!

(For more on this subject, watch the original movie True Grit, starring John Wayne. When Mattie (Kim Darby) proclaims that Rooster (Wayne) has true grit, you will understand the snake analogy. Am I revealing my age again?)

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