It’s a Grind
I do a bit of surf casting for Striped Bass off the beaches of the NJ coast. I have had a bit of success on LBI, from Barnegat Light to Holgate. I’ve been known to suit up in full waders navigating the sand at Island Beach State Park near the NJ Governors Mansion, learned to steer clear of the resident fox. Sometimes I give Monmouth County the old college try. Deal, Asbury Park, and even Sea Bright are fishable. One thing for sure is as we enter October, the fishing is expected to heat up, at least that is what I tell myself as I go out there night after night and return to the car often empty-handed.
I embrace the challenges of landing a large beautiful bass with just a simple piece of wood nd a hook standing on a bumpy wet large boulder, in the dark. It’s called “plugging”. Actually, the simplicity and difficulty is what draws me to the craft.
If you fish long enough you’ll run into other anglers, many with sarcastic perspectives. It’s common to hear one-liners like, “It’s rolling out there” referring to the wind blowing hard making for a logical excuse why you haven’t caught anything. Or I hear, “You Can’t Beat the Weather”, cause the fishing sucked. And my personal favorite, “It’s a Grind”.
“It’s a Grind, is used by anglers to describe a fishing situation that is tough or hard. Angler’s use this when they are having trouble catching fish and could possibly not be catching anything at all or maybe a couple here and there.” @ANGLRlabs
When I fish, I can go hours, nights, weeks without catching. In the grand scheme of things, the Atlantic Ocean is a huge body of water, the probabilities of landing a trophy striped bass off the beach are low. I am totally appreciative of what I actually do catch. I look at the big picture. It’s that perspective that keeps me in the game long enough to put in the time, and eventually “hook the lip”.
Similarly, each month we pay our living expenses, insurance premiums, pay down debts, and save what we can. We look for opportunity, investment in property, equities, bonds, and alternatives. We try and figure ways to increase our income, lower expenses, be efficient, and optimize! We do this yearly, quarterly, monthly and daily. it’s tough, we work hard at it, “It’s a Grind”.
Sometimes you may feel like you’re moving in slow motion, at a standstill, or even digressing. Unexpected expenses can trip you up. Health problems can debilitate. Job loss can set you back. Personal and family issues can drastically alter one’s financial situation. My best advice is to step back for a second look at the big picture. Maybe find an old mortgage statement and see how much you have paid down. Look at all old tax returns. Review your budget. Focus on a positive outcome and run with it. In somehow, someway you have made progress. Learn from your failures. Never give up hope, never give up your dreams.
When I’m on the beach in the middle of the night 20 degrees Fahrenheit with the wind whipping, reeling and reeling and failing, I can’t help but think how amazing it is to pull a large bass out of the water with just a hook and a pole. Despite all our failures, uncomfortableness, and obstacles as long as we have breath, we have life. It’s still possible, It can happen and the only way we can make the dream a reality is to keep fishing, you got to put the time in. Why? Because “It’s a Grind”.