Announcing “The Countdown to 1000” – episode 1 “Badly Dressed in Dallas”

Dear friends, neighbors, relatives, fishing buddies, and Cousin Chuck,

 

My obsessive-compulsive quest to catch 1000 fish species is getting into its final phase. There are now 50 species to go and with the “backlog” of unidentified fish at a manageable 3, the goal is in sight, although finding 50 new ones is going to be some work because I have caught pretty much all the stupid ones. There is some added pressure because, if I can conclude this by September 1, the IGFA* will put an article on me in their 2010 record book.

 

And so I figured that to add some drama and structure to what will likely be a wild 4 months trying to finish this off – by sending out sort of a running countdown blog-type thing. And so, with each new species that goes on the list, I will send out a short update. Sadly enough, this is what passes for excitement in my life.

 

Now, even as I send this out, I am already behind in reporting.

 

I take you to Plano, Texas on April 7. (Business trip – no one goes there voluntarily.) In a small river spillway behind some sort of medical facility, likely someplace they treat the Cowboys fans for brain damage, I caught a small but lovely green sunfish.  After appropriate verification, it was added to the list as #951.  We (me and co-worker Scott Demai) also tried for some blue catfish the next day, but we were not successful. Luckily, we had our really cool Bass Pro Shops hats on.

 

There are 49 to go, and with trips to Singapore (see next email) completed and to Brazil coming up, I am hoping to make some major progress.

 

Cheers,

 

Steve

 

 

*International Game Fish Association – the governing body for fishing records.

 

 

                                                             The Green Sunfish

 

 

                                                   Do we look cool or what?