Perseverance Is A Great Element Of Success

Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.

These words of wisdom by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow also apply to successful fishing..

Saturday evening was almost a bust in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge but perseverance won out in the end.

The air temperature this evening was in the low 80s and dropping as thunderstorm activity moved through the area.

 

As I entered the refuge at around 7:00 pm, I almost ran over a feisty gator that was crossing the road at my first stop.

The wind was beginning to pick up so I started fishing with a baby bass pattern Chug Bug at the third set of culverts.

There were still ladyfish in the area that smacked the Chug Bug with gusto, right up until the gator that crossed the road got interested in my bait and started to become a pest.

The wind was getting stronger and the temperature was dropping into the high 70s as I "jump fished" several likely looking areas from the unimproved road.

The young man I talked to who was using a "super sized" Chug Bug the last time I saw him stopped and asked me how I was doing as he was leaving the refuge.  I told him all I caught till then was a ladyfish at the culvert and that he was leaving just when he should be starting to fish.

Fishing in August almost mandates that you fish early and late if you plan on catching anything at all.  Anyway, he took my advice, turned around and started shadowing me as I was moving from spot to spot.

I personally hate it when fishing becomes a lot like work and the fishing this evening was just that.  The wind was making casting difficult and unless a fish blew up on a top water plug, you couldn't detect a strike.

I switched to several soft paddle tail baits and another pattern of Chug Bug as I "jump fished" the area and missed several small sea trout and a redfish before dusk.

It was getting darker and I was still fishless but I persevered.   As the young man decided to leave the area, he wished me good luck.

I decided to try some Pro Cure scent on my lures to up the ante.  The stuff is supposed to drive fish crazy.  Although I don't believe this for a second, the gooey stuff does seem to get the fish in the mood to strike and it keeps them holding on to the bait longer.

After the next couple of casts with a paddle tail bait gooed up with Pro Cure, I picked up the slot sea trout in the pic.

I released the fish and went back to the spot where I missed a redfish earlier.

The third cast hooked me up with this red.

It wasn't one of the largest redfish that I've caught in the area, but it sure did save the evening from being a bust.

I hate getting skunked!

The wind usually stops as the sun goes down but this evening it continued to blow as I left the area.

It occurred to me that perseverance is a great element of success, especially for fishermen.

I would not have caught any fish this evening had I left the refuge with everyone else.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

P.S.  I didn't get the young man's name but maybe I'll remember next time.