This was almost an article on how success isn’t determined by filling bag limits or trips to the taxidermist, but let’s face it. No matter how you determine success there will always be a certain sense of blessing and accomplishment when you tag that trophy or catch that “hawg”. If it wasn’t exhilerating we would probably just stay at home and watch tv or whatever else people do. So what do you do when you find a season ending without that exhilerating thrill of victory? You count your blessings, because successful or not I guarantee you were blessed.

When you’re done counting, look back over your season. What were your goals? What would have made your season a success? Did you prepare well? Did you scout hard? Did you look over your journal? You are keeping one of those, right? Did you put yourself in the right place? Did you pick the right days to be afield? How could you make better judgement calls in the future on when and when not to go? Did you change up your methods? You get the idea. If you want to improve on your skills you’ve got to ask yourself what you may be doing wrong.

The way you finish may very well determine the success of your next season. If you didn’t scout enough then hit the woods now while the sign is still fresh from this season. Maybe you got in a rut of bad fishing trips, but when you look back you find you were also in a rut with your methods. Examine yourself. It’ll do you good, and I think you’ll find this true in all of life and not just your hobbies.

Best of luck,
Drake