I think it was Boys Life. The magazine that starting arriving once I joined cub scouts. Something in that magazine about fishing stuck in my head, and spread like a virus. A couple of small sunfish later, I was hooked and there was no going back. Soon I was constantly pestering my mother to take me to the local lake to flail my Zebco about and sling hapless earthworms to their watery demise. Considering I was the oldest of seven kids, it was quite nerve wracking for my mother to take 7 small kids to a lake, when 3 or 4 of us were always one step from the waters edge. I was soon saving up money for hooks, snap swivels and the next leap, artificial lures. For some reason I was particularly enamored of saltwater fishing, even though I lived 4 hours from the beach. I was probably the only twelve year old in my neighborhood with a 12 inch long fake eel with which to tempt the monster Rockfish I would hopefully encounter some day. I still think I have that eel, unused somewhere. In between biannual surf fishing expeditions I was fishing the local lakes and rivers whenever the chance arose and it has been that way ever since. My brothers and I even managed to turn our father into a late blooming fisherman and hunter along the way, to the point of buying a boat to fish from for a while.  

I have had the good fortune to catch everything between a six inch sunfish and a hundred pound plus sailfish, but over time my favorite quarry has become the mighty Smallmouth Bass, preferably in a river or stream. Don’t get me wrong, I will fish for anything, anywhere anytime, with snook being a new favorite of mine.

When I am not fishing I am likely hunting deer or birds. My Fish Fifty partner Mike, managed to get me hooked on photography as well, so I am always lugging a camera around as well. I will take this opportunity to share some of my better shots with you. And, for the record, what I post is what I shot. The pictures will not be altered in any way.

In what spare time I have left, my lovely (and extremely patient) wife and I have three very busy kids, (two boys and a girl), like to read, surf the web,” rail against liberalism (or “progressivism” for you less brave types) and enthusiastically participate in and promote political incorrectness, in addition to a plethora of other, lesser interests. Our Fish Fifty quest arose from a shared enjoyment of fishing and the desire to synergistically enjoy venues we might otherwise not have the chance to enjoy. I fish, therefore, I am !!

The challenge of fishing all fifty states is a quest we have endevoured to pursue together. We will fish and map our trips to document our experinces. But make no mistake, I have had the good fortune to visit quite a few states before now, as well as several locations outside the United States. There have been so many great fish and so many great experiences, that I cannot pass up the opportunity to map the states that I can cross off of my own list. As we get further along, I will post some of those photos as well.