Sponsorship events

50 Trophy Waters in 50 States in 50 Days

A Father& Son’s Quest to Bring their Expedition to the World

The goal to “Fish 50 Trophy Waters in 50 States in 50 Days” was never meant as a vacation of a lifetime. Rather, it was a literal quest – to go beyond the normal limits, limits of a relationship - to build a bond between a father and son that would last a lifetime. I’ve tried to conjure up analogies to compare to our adventure and conclude that our trip was not a trip at all – it was an expedition. This dream had as much the same spirit as climbing the heights of Mount Everest; hiking the 2175 miles of the Appalachian Trail, or bicycling 3800 miles across America. It was a test of endurance, patience, and perseverance.

For 12 long months every detail of the expedition was meticulously

planned. No detail was too small as the journey would ultimately span 15,000 miles by land, 8500 miles by air, and 500 miles by water. There were no shortcuts, no shaving corners of States, no picking a body of water for convenience, and absolutely needing a Plan-B for everything. We could afford no mistakes. In the course of 50 consecutive days we would fish 50 of the best trophy fishing lakes, rivers, streams, and ocean waters that America had to offer – one per state. We would drive every mile ourselves, cook all of our own meals, and document every detail along the way - on our own.

So why would we attempt such a thing? In his book “Wild at Heart” John Eldredge writes "Deep in his heart, every man longs for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue.” What is your adventure? What battle do you long to fight?? Is there a passion, something deep in your soul, that longs to be stirred?

Most boys, when small – maybe five or six years old, when asked what they want to be when they grow up often say things like “I want to be a fireman, policeman, or soldier”.

That answer is the embodiment of John Eldredge’s quote. We, men mostly, all long for something significant in our lives – we long for an adventure to live, a battle to fight. The planning for our expedition began in late June of 2008 – 12 months before our departure. The first 3 months were spent researching the fishing waters of every state in the union. Every variable imaginable was assessed in picking each state’s representative fishing location. We interviewed hundreds of people, poured over countless books, magazines, and ultimately studied thousands of websites across the country. The next 3 months were used to plan the route, locate the right fishing guides, and research the kind of motor home we would ultimately need for the journey. The remaining months were all about the technology and equipment we would need.

		Our desire was to film, photo, and journal every detail along the way. Instead of bringing the technology of the 21st century to the expedition, we wanted to use this technology to bring the expedition to the world. YouTube, Facebook, Social Networks, Blogs, Satellite-Phones, GPS Tracking Devices, Rugged Laptops, Wireless Cameras, Internet Data Cards, Webpages, etc. were all critical. In the end we would involve seven cameras each day including two micro-wireless video cameras that attached via Velcro to our fishing vests; we would capture a gigabyte of footage each day; and ultimately enable the world to ride shotgun with us as we traveled our 50 day, 24,000 mile journey.

Each day in the 50 day journey involved the transfer of multiple gigabytes of videos and photos, creating a video montage of the day’s highlights, and uploading countless video segments, photos, and blog entries to multiple internet sites around the country including http://www.fish5050.com/ and http://www.espn.com/.


		At the heart of our expedition was a pair of GETAC ruggedized laptops – the B300 and M230 models. If you ever need a rugged laptop that can endure the harshest of uses, conditions, and environments – these systems are ideal. We experienced virtually every condition imaginable including extreme temperatures from freezing conditions in the high altitudes of the Rocky Mountains to blistering 120o Fahrenheit temperatures in the desert canyons of Arizona. Every day involved time on the water where mist, spray, and high humidity were the norm. The laptops were dropped on at least three occasions and were subjected to conditions that any normal laptop would never have survived.

The greatest feature of these systems is the daylight readable screens. How many times have you found yourself outside or in your car with a laptop only to find that you are fighting to read the screen? The daylight readable LCD screens are amazing. You can be sitting in direct sunlight and yet see everything on the screen in vivid color. In fact, at least 2 hours each day we spent documenting the day’s events from the passenger seat of our RV. The laptop’s light weight, small form factor, extended battery life, and daylight readable screen made this time enjoyable and productive. I’ve owned at least ten laptops over the last 20 years and can honestly say that these are incredible systems and would recommend them for anyone who is on the go.

Whether you are a casual traveler, person working in harsh weather or construction environments, or embarking on your own adventure of a lifetime – the Getac rugged laptops are second to none. In the end we landed 956 fish during our 50 day fishing odyssey, but it wasn’t the fish that made the trip so memorable. It was the people around the world that watched our daily adventure unfold each day. Two people left home on June 12th, 2009, but thousands crossed the finish line with us in spirit 50 days later on the shores of Hawaii.

What’s your adventure!