Introduction

In September 1990, I was driving home to Minnesota from Oregon after a combined fishing and business trip in which no fish had been caught and no business had been done. Covering 1,800 miles in 46 hours, I drove by rivers and lakes, with no time to stop and fish. I began to reflect on the many times I'd passed this way before, always promising myself that I'd return some day just to fish. By Montana, I was really upset because I knew I'd been fooling myself. I'd never make it back to fish these rivers. It had been just a fantasy.

By the time I got to North Dakota, I was feeling better. I had the idea to fish all 50 states, do a print representing each state and write a book about my experiences. It would be called “Fishing America-A Work of Art”.

Maybe a call to the "Guinness Book of World Records" would be in order. No question, this was a big-time idea, and I'd support the project by selling my art to museums and galleries along the way, between fishing experiences.

As soon as I got home, I called my artist-fisherman friend, James Holmes, in Kansas and told him the plan. He said he liked it, and then he asked, “You’ll need help, won’t you?”

"Holmes, we've had so many fishing trips planned that didn't materialize, I wouldn’t plan another with you unless you signed a contract.”

“So send one down, I’ll sign it.”

I called my attorney the next day and asked him to design a contract. When I picked it up, he said, "I want to sign the first one." That's when I realized I could fish with a different person in each state and everyone would sign a contract to fish with me.

I spent days in the library reading about fish and places to fish. I spent more time writing letters and balancing data to figure out what to fish for and where and when to do it. I spent a ton of money on my telephone bill--trying to locate fishing partners. Generally, my fishing partners were people who had the knowledge to fish for a targeted species. Some were chosen because they are interesting, others because they are my friends.

In selecting the targeted species, I took into consideration the state fish, the person available to fish with me, his or her particular fish interest and what fish were waiting to be caught.

Here’s an example of the fish finding process:

On November 2, 1990, I was sitting in front of Cyclops, my computer, trying to decide how Carp fit into the picture. The field had been narrowed to three states: Massachusetts, Missouri and Illinois. The phone rang, and I answered, “Fishing America-A Work of Art”.

“Is Larry Carp there?”

“You mean Larry Stark?”

“No, I mean Larry Carp.”

"You have the wrong number, but before you hang up, tell me, where would you fish for Carp, in Massachusetts, Missouri or Illinois?”

I would have had a quick solution to my problem if only she had answered my question before hanging up. I had to solve the problem some other way, so I called a friend in Massachusetts, who suggested we fish for Striped Bass there. The field was now narrowed down to two. I called a friend-of-a-brother-in-law-of-a-friend in Missouri, and he said I should fish for Small-mouth Bass in Missouri. He suggested a guy who fishes for Carp in Illinois and that’s how my problem was solved.

It might seem like an easy task to fish all 50 states. One scenario that was suggested to me was to leave Minnesota and fish every state going east to Maine, then work my way down to Florida and across to the West Coast. After flying from Los Angeles to Hawaii and back, I'd drive up the coast to Washington, fly round trip from Seattle to Alaska and then fish my way back to Minnesota. This would cover the 35 perimeter states, and after a rest of a day or two, a smaller loop would get the last 15 states.

Another method would be the same trip with more zigzags to get everything in one trip. Still another possibility would be to fish the western states on one trip and the eastern states on another.

It doesn’t work that way. All fish species are unique, with individual traits and habits. Some fish are easier to catch in the fall, some make better pickings in the spring and there are winter and summer fish, too. As an example, let's take New England. In Vermont, landlocked Salmon are best fished during the ice-out in late April or early May. In New Hampshire, Pickerel are fun to catch through the ice and the best time to ice fish is when there's ice. The Blueback Charr, a fish found only in Maine, has to be fished in late September because even though October is best, the season closes October 1. In Massachusetts, Striped Bass are best fished in early June, when they're running the rivers. So there you have it--four trips to New England to fish four states.

It's generally true the best fishing is in the spring and fall, and that's when I’ve done the most fishing.

A question I've heard a lot over the last few years is, "Is this fishing project art?" Art is defined by the artists who create it. Given a conventional definition of art, the people who work within a closed set of rules are more artisans than artists. Those who work outside this set are the best artists.

My attorney thinks it's a neat idea, but not art. He thinks art isn't defined by artists but by a combination of society and history. He says, “If society doesn't accept an idea as a work of art over a period of time, then it isn’t art.”

I say, “I've done it, called it art and will be dead long before the final verdict is in. If nothing else, I've kept society and history and myself from getting bored.”