It had been two hours with no fish, and I was headed to my second spot of the day. I’d been looking forward to fishing in sunny Jupiter, Florida for months. Because my grandparents live there, I was able to stay at their place for a week and have two full days to fish before my cousin got there. 

The first morning, I woke up at five o'clock and rushed to my first fishing spot, the lagoon inside the inlet. I found I was missing my favorite lure even though I’d double-checked that it was in the tackle box the night before. I decided to not let it affect my day. I made a switch to the head of the inlet because there should be some life there as it serves as a great place for predatory fish to hide, and there was nothing at the first spot. When my mom dropped me off, I was hit with a cool breeze, with a salty scent in the air, and turquoise water rushing out of the inlet due to the lowering tide. I decided to cast and keep hoping for a fish. After some time, I switched lures and still got no bites. Even after fishing up and down the bank many times, I had not seen any sign of a fish. 

Soon, I took a break sitting down by the edge of the water, frustrated that I was not getting any luck, thinking to myself is there anything more that I could be doing? I decided to try again because another angler was there meaning that it must be a good spot. After a little more fishing, the tide began to rush out of the inlet at a very high rate, and while I was acknowledging this, a fish struck my lure and began to rush into the current. Taking action I began to fight the fish trying to reel it in, but it was a challenge because the fish used the current to its advantage. After a great struggle, I was able to get the fish closer, and I saw that it was a big snook, a prized game fish in Florida. As it got closer, I saw the line was frayed from the fish’s sandpaper-like teeth. Just as I saw this, the lure popped out of the fish's mouth. I sat down on the bank watching the trophy fish swim away gracefully. I was furious because it might have been my last chance to catch a fish today or even my whole trip at the rate it was going. 

I sat down, and I asked myself, “Why am I here?” I concluded I was there to not only catch a fish but to gaze at the blue water, beautiful birds floating in the air, and feel the heat bounce off the golden sand, and have a positive experience in nature even if the fish do not come. Seeing why I was really there changed my view of fishing and life, in general. I was focused on the prize, but in many things, the goal is to enjoy the things around you.