Perseverance – Are we out of our minds?
Perseverance (noun): steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.
Perseverance is something that is common in the muskie world. We spend countless hours searching for the next fish. More often than not, we come up “short”. We all say “that’s muskie fishing”. Why do we keep doing it? For me it is passion. Ever since I hooked my very first muskie, nearly 15 years ago, I have contracted that familiar flu-like feeling commonly referred to as, muskie fever.
I eat, sleep, breathe, dream muskies!!! Four generations of the Ramsell Clan have been pursuing these fish, with tremendous perseverance. When fishing is tough, we persevere! We keep at it knowing that these fish can be caught. It just takes time to put things together like patterns, what presentation of lure the fish want. All sorts of data can be compiled to increase your odds of success.
Lately, for myself anyway, fishing has been on the slow side. We are in the stage of not quite fall, but not summer. Some call it turnover. I call it hurry up mother nature I want to catch some fish! Rarely do I get discouraged in my efforts. I have my moments, but I remember the cardinal rule my grandfather, Larry Ramsell, taught me. That is, nothing but time on the water is going to catch the fish. So I muster what little sanity I have left and head out for a day on the lake. Often when we get that feeling that all hope is lost, is when the magic happens. That sudden stop of your lure and the head shake!
This is why we must persevere! Especially to the men, women, and children new to the sport. Don’t get discouraged and never give up! Become a sponge of sorts and absorb all of the knowledge you can. Soon I will be publishing some how-to video’s for beginners and “refreshers” for the rest of us. I will be covering things such as: how to read things on your depth finder. Seasonal patterns, lure presentations, and many more things. It is a work in progress and very time consuming, please be patient.
I hope that your fishing season is going well and that you aren’t finding things to be difficult enough that you have to persevere to get through it. Take some time to slow down and enjoy the beautiful surroundings!
If any of you are attending the 15th annual Larry Ramsell Muskie Outing on Lake Vermilion at the Vermilion Dam Lodge, I will see you there!
Keep that lure in the water!
-Muskie Kid
