Being Goal-Oriented in the Outdoors

At work, at home and in the outdoors, I’ve become more “goal-oriented” in the past few years. I’ve started using a daily planner, I make sticky-note lists that I tack to my phone and cross each item off on my daily and long-term goals once completed. Just like with my personal to-do list, there are things I’d like to accomplish, and things I continue to work toward season after season in both hunting and fishing. With 2010 slipping away and a new year of adventures just around the corner, I’ve come up with a number of items to focus on in the next four seasons that are more than just resolutions.

The first at hand is expanding my lure-making prowess. Last winter’s snows and inclement weather may have hindered a few weekend trips on the ice, but they helped me explore new avenues in tackle crafting. I fine-tuned my muskie spinner patterns, reconditioned a few old spinnerbaits and tied up hundreds of jigs in a variety of feather, hair and synthetic patterns. Some of my efforts went to the scrap pile to be rebuilt in this off-season and others went on to land fish consistently in trips for crappies, trout, bass and pike.

If the end of the old year is any indicator, the winter of 2011 will once again provide some quality time at the lure-making desk. In addition to the heavy metal and panfish tackle on tap, this year I plan on tying up some walleye spinners and smaller in-line spinners for trout and bass. I’ve got some tweaks in mind as well for muskie spinnerbaits and a combo lure that I’ve dubbed “Project L” that I hope will show those pressured predators something they haven’t seen and just maybe land me my first fifty-incher. Will it work? I won’t find out for another six months or so, but it’s my goal to put a few thousand casts in with my next experimental lure.

My late season shooting for upland game left a lot to be desired for next fall. With ruffed grouse on the downward slide in their cycle and a pheasant population facing a difficult start to the new year, I need to be prepared for the possibility that opportunities to take a bird next autumn may not be as frequent and will require better aim on my part to find success. Besides that, my dog has developed a visible disdain for chasing after roosters that don’t fall down occasionally and I owe it to him for the hard work he puts in.

Therefore, I have resolved to enter the field sharper behind the bead by spending more time alongside the trap thrower and making some extra visits to the skeet range in the coming months. The practice will make me more confident and it should keep my cursing and the number of strange looks I get from Gunnar to a minimum next autumn.

Another primary mission for 2011 is my continued pursuit of whitetail deer with the bow. Last season I watched a number of does and bucks pass within range of my stand, but didn’t draw back on a single one. Admittedly, I was being selective, and the fact that I didn’t take a deer didn’t bother me – in fact, last fall was my best deer hunting season ever! The adrenaline rush brought on by each animal, or just the thought that one was nearby still sends tremors through my body and I hope to recreate that in 2011.

To keep that continued level of excitement, I’m determined to do more preseason scouting, starting as early as March with some shed hunting trips in areas that I know hold good numbers of deer in hopes of finding a hot spot to place a stand or blind. Along with a small investment in a trail camera and some new stands to be hung in the summer months, I am prepared to put in even more time to fill a tag next year with a nice buck, or at least fill the freezer with a healthy amount of meat from a quality doe.

I’ve come to find, since I have taken on a more methodical approach to problem solving, that I can accomplish anything by following my resolutions up with the requisite effort. Too many people are too quick to say “I can’t” and write themselves off without even trying, and that is a defeat worse than any botched presentation, blowout loss, missed shot, or other form of failure.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one footstep, and the small actions you take today build toward a greater goal. Whether it’s personal improvement, professional advancement, or more enjoyment on the water or in the field, there is a way to get to where you want to be in 2011. Prioritize the areas you want to improve and check off the activities that will help you become better in the coming months in everything you do and you’ll find that there’s no goal that is out of reach in life or in our outdoors.