Jim Buck

Welcome to Beat This Fish, the number one fishing competition and social website on the net! The vision for this site came to Jim and me while we were fishing from my dock at Lake Gaston in North Carolina. As I recall that afternoon, the wives took the kids out on the boat, so we had a nice quiet afternoon to fish and enjoy a few refreshments on the dock. I just landed a nice, big old catfish which Jim wasn't terribly impressed with (mind you, he hadn't caught anything yet). Jim was suggesting to me that my fish wasn't really that big compared to the current lake record or the state record for that matter. That was bold talk for someone sitting there with an empty bucket. So, my reply was simply "oh yeah, well BEAT THIS FISH!" And there it was - the challenge was on, the gauntlet was thrown down, that's right, it's time to put up or shut up!

Regardless of what Jim says, I caught more fish than him that afternoon and drank more refreshments too. But the idea stuck - wouldn't it be great to have a fishing competition website you could go head-to-head with your friends? And just how big is your fish anyways? Wouldn't it be cool to have a website where you could tell if your fish was the biggest on that lake, in the state, or how about the biggest fish in the nation? And if it wasn't the biggest, it would still be neat to know if your fish was in the top 10% caught that month or year. These were some of the ideas that drove us to create this website.

Jim Gigrich

Well, I must say that Jim B. sometimes runs long and stretchy when it comes to fish tales. I do recall the time on the dock that I was catching all the fish on my rod. I would step off the dock and what do you know, Jim is reeling in another catfish from my rod and sometimes a mammoth one at that. He said he was just covering for me, did not want me to lose the fish. Obviously, it was because he was not catching diddley off his rod all day.

I have been fishing since I was a kid. I can vividly recall a trip to Minnesota where I was catching sun fish left and right off a row boat with my family all day long, it was amazing and so much fun. It brings back great memories. I also remember a time going fishing with my father after Muskie in Minnesota and not catching anything for two days. It was a very disappointing fishing trip. But hey, that is what fishing is all about. You have great days and you have bad days, it is all a lesson in life.

I grew up as an Air Force brat traveling all over from South Dakota, Germany, Montana, Texas, and Nebraska. We were not very well to do so we always went fishing and camping. I eventually left home and went off to college in New York where I meet Jim B. He is my classmate from college. After graduating from West Point in 1986 I served in the Army for 20 years. I currently live in Virginia with my wife and four boys and a yellow Lab. While in the Army, I learned how to fly fish and have had a passion for it ever since. But, overall, there is nothing like fishing with your buddies on a lake, pond, river, or stream. It may be casual, but it is always a competition on who can catch the biggest fish or most fish. Who has the best lure, best fly, or best bait or even the best fishing hole.

We hope you love this site as much as we do. Now you can compete against your best friends no matter where they live. It brings friends together....... 'BEAT This FISH'