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Mental Toughness
The greatest season I ever had in Ohio Muskie fishing was in 1984.
That year I took 4 Ohio Huskie Muskies and a total of 87 fish, with 83
of them being releases. My home lake at that time was Clear Fork
Reservoir at Lexington, Ohio. I still remember that season very vividly.
I owned my own business in Columbus and had some good people to run it
for me that Spring & Summer. I lived at Centerburg, Ohio, about 25 miles
due South of the lake. My locale as well as my employment arrangement
provided me with some vital ingredients of a great season.
As the season progressed, I was surprised to see my notoriety as a
Muskie Fisherman was getting around and I became very well known at
Clear Fork. Gary, the park ranger at that time, used to tell people the
marina pay phone was my office! I received a number of awards that
season as well as a feature three page article in the Mansfield News
Journal with numerous photos of myself and the DNR folks netting Spring
Muskies. I was heralded by some as a great Muskie Fisherman and envied &
despised by others. (It comes with the territory newcomers)
Many of my peers, especially those not from the local area, thought I
had acquired such great knowledge and expertise as a Muskie Fisherman.
To put it in plain English, they thought I was good! A funny thing
though, I knew what the truth was! You see the fact of the matter was
and still is, that Danny Wade is not some "Super Knowledgeable Muskie
Man". My secret wasn't that I was the best Muskie Fisherman on the lake!
My secret was I was the HARDEST FISHING Muskie Man on the lake. Now as
the years have passed and many more Muskies have come into my boat, of
course I have become more knowledgeable and skillful at catching Muskies.
You do anything long enough and you will naturally get better at it. But
fellow Muskie Hunters a lot can be said for pure old fashion
perseverance! I said all of the prior to get to this point.
"The successful Muskie Hunter MUST possess Mental Toughness!"
When it's cold, rainy, hot, less than perfect conditions, the
mentally toughened Muskie Hunter will maintain their perseverance. You
fish when you feel like it; you fish when you don't feel like it. You
keep fishing if you haven't had a hit in a week. Like that energizer
bunny, you just keep on going! Skill and knowledge are needed but if you
do not have the persistence and perseverance to match, you won't achieve
anything outstanding in this sport.
You see contrary to what some people thought I was not the best
Muskie Man on Clear Fork Lake! But what I was, was a man that when the
others were up at the marina sipping coffee to keep warm or back in
their campers out of the rain, or pulled up under the trees out of the
hot mid-day sun, Danny Wade was still pursuing his quarry! Starting to
get the picture?
To you newcomers to the sport: You can make up a lot of ground on
what you don't know by picking it up a notch in the persistence
department. You might as well know it from the start. Muskie Fishing is
work. Maybe not to the extent of Deer hunting, Grouse or Turkey hunting,
but I'm not talking so much about physical stamina, I'm talking to you
today about "MENTAL TOUGHNESS". A successful Muskie Man is someone that
does not become discouraged easily. When your mind says, "Oh they're not
going to hit today", your heart says, "Oh but there is a big one out
there with my name on it". In my opinion, anyone who thinks that mental
toughness is not part of the make up of the successful Muskie Hunter,
hasn't paid many dues in this sport!
Mental toughness is a quality that has to come from the inside out.
You can learn it and acquire it but not without some birthing pains. But
once you have it, you have something more valuable than any lure, tackle
or shiny boat. You will have acquired a secret to successful Muskie
fishing that many overlook if are not totally ignorant to it's
existence.
Along with your favorite baits, tackle and tactics this season, don't
forget to take along a heapin' dose of things like persistence,
perseverance, dedication, commitment, and endurance. Muskie Fishing is a
marathon race not a 100 meter dash. Settle in for the long haul. Throw
discouragement and discouraging people right out the proverbial window.
Go into this season with a new outlook, a new confidence, a new
intensity, and you will discover a NEW secret to successful Muskie
Fishing, Mental Toughness!
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