My goal is to catch 100 different fish species. This post marks the beginning of that journey.

I decided to start close to home, at the most familiar body of water I know: Willow Creek Reservoir here in Rochester, Minnesota. Although I haven’t fished much for quite a while, I have fond memories of bringing my daughter and son here when they were about 10 and 8 years old. On those trips we caught tons of panfish, and it seemed like the perfect place to begin.

It was a pleasant spring day—ideal weather to kick off this adventure. My fishing knowledge is pretty superficial, so I kept things simple, fishing with a bobber and worm, along with a spinner lure. My very first fish, caught on a small red worm, was a Bluegill sunfish—an encouraging start.

After that, the bites slowed down. A more experienced fisherman suggested switching to a lure if I wanted to catch crappie. I took his advice, and it paid off. Before long, I had caught several Black Crappie, officially launching my quest for 100 species.