Some people call it a hobby, others describe these sort of things as an obsession. We like to call it a passion. As a group of kids growing up in the midwest, our influences toward the outdoors can go many directions. During winter, the outdoor shops are dominated by hunter orange and stories of monster whitetail. The warmer months transition into shiny bass boats racing across the numerous reservoirs in our home state vying for the population of largemouth. We chose a road less traveled; the pursuit of the river smallmouth bass. Each of us has our own reasons for ending up choosing this path, but we all have the same things in common. We live it. We breathe it. We absolutely cannot get enough. From the streams of central Indiana to the Northwoods of Wisconsin, the chase is a constant in all of our lives. Each of us spend countless hours looking for the one bite that could paste a permanent smile onto our faces. This is where Quest for 23 was born. While we all have multiple trophy smallmouth on our resume, none of us have approached the 23 inch mark. At one point we all had fish that "could've been the one" on the ends of our line, but this class of smallmouth has, thus far, evaded our grasp. This blog is a story of how a group of anglers will attempt to catch a true fish of a lifetime. Documenting our journey with all of the excitement, suspense, frustration, and disappointment that comes along with it. Maybe, just maybe, one of us will make it a reality. This is our Quest for 23.