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One of the largest crocodiles I have ever seen, and certainly the largest one I have been this close to, in Nicaragua

As long as I can remember, I have loved to catch fish.

Growing up, no one in my family liked to fish but for reasons I can't explain I have always loved it. The first time I went fishing I was four years old. My dad took me to a kids tilapia fishing tournament in Hawaii where we lived. My dad knew nothing about fishing and I don't remember even seeing a fish, let alone catching one. On my first cast I hooked my dad's shirt and that was pretty much it. However, from that point on I couldn't get enough of fishing. I subscribed to Field and Stream magazine when I was nine. I used to save up my allowance to buy lures and then I would just look at them and imagine the fish I would someday catch with them. Once in a while I was able to talk my friends into trying to catch bullheads and perch from the local dock in Washington state where we moved when I was 8. Unfortunately they usually preferred to ride bikes or play baseball. That's pretty much how it went for my whole childhood, and I didn't get to go fishing much until college.

In college I got a car and using my newfound mobility and independence I was able to fish about three to four times a week. Many times I would get up at 5am, fish at a local lake until 8am, and then go back for a 9am class. If fishing was good and I didn't have too much school work I would sometimes go back in the afternoon. Money was tight back then and I would sometimes park a long way from the lake and walk in to save the $1 parking fee. I figured if I saved that dollar on parking I could buy one more lure or some more line or whatever. Since I didn't know anyone who fished, I pretty much had to teach myself both by going a lot and also by looking up advice on the newly-created Internet. I found a lot of that advice very helpful and that was what eventually inspired me to create this website. I fished nearly every body of water within a couple hours drive of my college. In most of these places fishing was allowed, but in some of them it wasn't so I launched a few "ninja" missions and got chased out a couple of times by various types of security guards. That's about as wild as I got in my youth.

After college I took jobs that involved travel, so I would often tack on some fishing at the tail end of a work trip. I also took a number of fishing-only trips all over the world. I have lived in a number of places including Canada, Hawaii, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Washington State, Costa Rica, and Venezuela. I have also traveled a lot for work and take as many fishing trips as I can. As a result, I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to fish a number of great spots in 25 US states and many foreign countries (listed below). Almost as much as the fishing, I enjoy being immersed in new parts of God's creation. As I get the chance to fish more spots I will keep expanding this website.

I enjoy all types of fishing - lure, fly, and bait. I fish lures about 80% of the time, and fish fly 10% and bait fish 10%. Usually my default is to fish with lures, and if it gets too easy I switch to fly and if it gets too hard I switch to bait. I just like to catch fish.

If you have a tip or photo to share please shoot me an email through the contact form below.

Tight Lines,
Dan

List of Countries Fished So Far

Argentina
Australia
Belize
Bolivia
Botswana
Brazil
Canada
Colombia
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Madagascar
Marshall Islands
Mexico
Mongolia
Namibia
Netherlands Antilles (Bonaire, Curacao, and Aruba)
New Caledonia
Nicaragua
Oman
Panama
Peru
Paraguay
Singapore
Tanzania
Trinidad
United States
Venezuela
Zambia

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You can go to Half Past First Cast, an excellent fishing site, to see an interview with me: https://www.halfpastfirstcast.com/blog-people/dan-smith-how-to-catch-any-fish