Hey Hall of Fame family,
Hard work pays off. Cliche, right? But true. I’ve been in love with fishing since I could walk, and there are countless examples of when I persevered through hard circumstances on the water. I mean, simply look at our business, Hall of Fame Outdoor Company. Just over a year ago, this was just a dream that my brother, Paul, and I had together. Now, we have a website, a couple products, and over 2,200 Instagram followers. And we are growing. This wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work of Paul and I (especially Paul). Our end goal is to make this business our full time jobs, and we still have a long way to go before that happens. We will continue to trust the process, work hard, and grow. That’s just one business example, kinda sorta related to hard work and fishing.
Here’s a more traditional example of perseverance during fishing. As I write this, I am on a honeymoon with my beautiful wife, sitting poolside in a lounge chair on the top deck of a cruise liner, enjoying my 4th or 5th fruity cocktail of the day, and overlooking the beautiful blue Caribbean seas. Seems like real hard work, eh? We departed on our cruise from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and I got to spend a bit of time fishing there… Or trying to. Our first day in Ft. Lauderdale, there were violent winds, a strong riptide current, and waves just off the beach taller than me. And, being the fishing freak I am, I ventured out anyway. I can’t recount how many times I was knocked down by a wave, got salt water in my eyes and nose, or got pulled down the beach by the current. It’s safe to say I didn’t have any luck, and I was washed way down the beach without even realizing. The next day was more of the same. Bad winds, high waves, and strong ocean currents. So naturally, I went back out. And naturally, I had the same result as the day prior. No fish. There was one wave that knocked me down so hard, it felt like I had all the wind knocked right out of me. I didn’t give up, though. I kept fishing, and kept getting knocked down. I did not catch anything on our second day, either. On our third and final day in Florida, the waves, wind, and current were still all high and strong, but not as bad as the two prior days. We spent the day on the beach again, and I spent some time fishing, again. I had no luck all day, but it was a nice to be able to somewhat stand my ground in the surf, as the waves were a little smaller. As the day was winding down, and the sun was setting over the choppy Atlantic Ocean, I was finally rewarded by catching my first Jack Crevalle! It was small, and a juvenile fish. But man did it fight, and man it was fun! I never gave up, kept trying with my head up, and my hard work paid off.
Like I mentioned earlier, there are so many instances of perseverance paying off in my fishing career. Sometimes working hard means needing to adapt. A few years ago, my brother and I, along with a lifelong friend of ours, had a weekend trout fishing trip planned at a place we’d never fished before. We’d been eyeing this spring for a few years, and heard of the monsters caught there. We arrived after a 2.5 hour drive, and excitement ran high. We fished through the day, and it’s safe to say, we STUNK. Not one fish caught. After feeling defeated by nearly 8 hours of tough fishing, we decided to call an audible. We switched the plan, and drove nearly an hour to another trout stream for the late afternoon bite. We had lower expectations, as we had fished this stream before and knew the fish were smaller. We each tied on a different fly, and jumped in the water. I think we each had a limit within an hour. It is so crazy to me how one spot can fish so different from another. We ended up catching over 100 fish that weekend at different spots than we originally planned, and even did some golf course bass fishing along the way. We caught a ton of fish after such a slow start on our first day.
Hard work pays off. It sometimes seems so easy to just throw in the towel when things get hard. No matter what path you’re on in life, no matter your goals and desires, anything you put your mind to and have to work hard for is so rewarding. Mike Iaconelli, 2004 Bassmaster Classic Champion said it best, “Never give up!” At Hall of Fame Outdoor Company, our promise to you is that we will continually work hard and persevere to give you the essential apparel to “Love the Adventure!”
Tight lines,
Erik Hoffman, Hall of Fame Outdoor Co