Post by Eric on Jan 27, 2016 10:00:13 GMT -5
Interesting story I found, so I thought I'd share 
Angler meets goal of catching a fish in all 50 states
by Bill Cochran @ Special to the Roanoke Times
David Howard has been an avid fisherman most of his life, but for a long time never pursued his passion beyond the borders of his native Virginia.
That changed in the spring of 2007, while he was in Las Vegas for a bachelor party.
Anxious to do something outdoors other than hanging around a hotel pool, he hired a fishing guide, something he’d never done before.
“Even though I did not catch much of anything, I had such a great time fishing in a new place that I decided to make it my goal to fish every state,” said Howard, who lives in Arlington.
That’s how his “fishing the 50” (www.fishingthefifty.com) quest began. It took him eight years and 10 days to complete his goal, the final catch, a yellowfin tuna, landed last year off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
His most memorable catches:
A 49-pound lake trout in Wyoming, which was 1 pound shy of the state record.
A 170-pound alligator gar in Texas.
A 400-pound sturgeon in Oregon.
Howard didn’t take the easy road to success. He targeted trophy-sized fish and went after species not common in Virginia. He used light tackle and practiced catch-and-release. When he finished, he had caught more than 75 different species, including fish that were recognized trophies in 28 states.
Muskie was the species he decided to challenge in Virginia.
“Muskie fishing can be very slow and quite frustrating with good days sometimes defined as simply having one fish follow your lure to the boat one time,” he said.
He tried several times on his own without success. Then he hired Mike Coley, a New River muskie guide who made it look easy.
“Within an hour on our first day, I had landed my first fish, a beautiful 41-inch citation muskie. Less than 40 minutes after that, I had another citation. The next day I caught three more muskie, with the last being my personal best, a 44-inch, 25-pound trophy.”
That’s hardly typical for a species known as “the fish of 10,000 casts.” Howard credits his success to Coley, who guided for striped bass at Smith Mountain Lake and in Tennessee until 2010, when he bought a cabin minutes from the New River. He now guides for muskie and smallmouth bass under the banner of Savage Strike Guide Service (www.newrivermusky.com).
If you are wondering how Howard had the time and money to fish all 50 states, he had this to say:
“I’m a statistician, so I probably don’t get much more leave than the average desk jockey.”
He relied on careful planning, and tried to fish at least two states per trip. It didn’t hurt that his Northern Virginia home was within a day’s drive of 23 states, allowing him to fish an average of six states a year.
Kentucky proved to be his most difficult state.
“I got skunked there my first time,” he said. “My second trip was postponed because of a bad winter storm and my third trip was canceled by the guide.
“But the fourth time was the charm.”
He finally caught a 37-inch, 17.2-pound flathead catfish.
What’s next?
He may return to some states or buy a boat, but his main emphasis is on earning Level III Master Angler status under a program of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. It requires catching a citation-size fish in 15 different species.
“I’m at 13 right now.”
His 50-state quest hasn’t been just about fishing.
“I’ve gotten to see tourist attractions and baseball games across the country and have met countless wonderful and interesting people along the way.”
Angler meets goal of catching a fish in all 50 states
by Bill Cochran @ Special to the Roanoke Times
That changed in the spring of 2007, while he was in Las Vegas for a bachelor party.
Anxious to do something outdoors other than hanging around a hotel pool, he hired a fishing guide, something he’d never done before.
“Even though I did not catch much of anything, I had such a great time fishing in a new place that I decided to make it my goal to fish every state,” said Howard, who lives in Arlington.
That’s how his “fishing the 50” (www.fishingthefifty.com) quest began. It took him eight years and 10 days to complete his goal, the final catch, a yellowfin tuna, landed last year off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
His most memorable catches:
A 49-pound lake trout in Wyoming, which was 1 pound shy of the state record.
A 170-pound alligator gar in Texas.
A 400-pound sturgeon in Oregon.
Howard didn’t take the easy road to success. He targeted trophy-sized fish and went after species not common in Virginia. He used light tackle and practiced catch-and-release. When he finished, he had caught more than 75 different species, including fish that were recognized trophies in 28 states.
Muskie was the species he decided to challenge in Virginia.
“Muskie fishing can be very slow and quite frustrating with good days sometimes defined as simply having one fish follow your lure to the boat one time,” he said.
He tried several times on his own without success. Then he hired Mike Coley, a New River muskie guide who made it look easy.
“Within an hour on our first day, I had landed my first fish, a beautiful 41-inch citation muskie. Less than 40 minutes after that, I had another citation. The next day I caught three more muskie, with the last being my personal best, a 44-inch, 25-pound trophy.”
That’s hardly typical for a species known as “the fish of 10,000 casts.” Howard credits his success to Coley, who guided for striped bass at Smith Mountain Lake and in Tennessee until 2010, when he bought a cabin minutes from the New River. He now guides for muskie and smallmouth bass under the banner of Savage Strike Guide Service (www.newrivermusky.com).
If you are wondering how Howard had the time and money to fish all 50 states, he had this to say:
“I’m a statistician, so I probably don’t get much more leave than the average desk jockey.”
He relied on careful planning, and tried to fish at least two states per trip. It didn’t hurt that his Northern Virginia home was within a day’s drive of 23 states, allowing him to fish an average of six states a year.
Kentucky proved to be his most difficult state.
“I got skunked there my first time,” he said. “My second trip was postponed because of a bad winter storm and my third trip was canceled by the guide.
“But the fourth time was the charm.”
He finally caught a 37-inch, 17.2-pound flathead catfish.
What’s next?
He may return to some states or buy a boat, but his main emphasis is on earning Level III Master Angler status under a program of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. It requires catching a citation-size fish in 15 different species.
“I’m at 13 right now.”
His 50-state quest hasn’t been just about fishing.
“I’ve gotten to see tourist attractions and baseball games across the country and have met countless wonderful and interesting people along the way.”
