Big 'uns

  For those of you in other parts of the world, the term "Big 'un", is the slang term used in the southern part of the U.S. for "big one". Big 'un can be used to reference a fish or a deer or any harvest of an animal of trophy-sized proportions. It can also be used to describe the size of the mosquitoes here in Texas, or even the size of a glass of beer...but mostly it's used...at least in the circles that I run in, to describe a trophy-sized fish or animal. As a side note, it would be interesting to know where and when my local southern redneck brethren decided how and why it would be appropriate or even necessary to drop the "O" in the word "ONE", and shorten it to its current form. Anyhow, I digress...

  Like many of you, over the years I have had the privilege of laying eyes on some truly "big 'uns". On many occasions, the angler was lucky enough to bring one of these behemoths to hand, and in other cases, they were merely doing what they do in their natural habitat...swimming and eating, and eating some more. Some of the standouts would include a 150lb + Tarpon chasing my fly just outside of Marathon Key. Another would be the estimated 50" plus Redfish we watched rise out of nowhere and disappear just as quickly while eating lunch on the boat in Middle Ground, just north of the 9-mile hole. I have also watched my son Jackson boat several Largemouth Bass over 8lbs, which is a lifetime fish on any angler's resume.

  To this day I can still remember the first really big fish I ever saw. I was probably about 9 years old. My dad and I used to love to chase white bass on the Medina River during the spawning run every spring. And, while Medina Lake held the distinction of producing the State Record Largemouth Bass weighing in at over 13 pounds that was caught way back in 1943 by H.R. Magee, it certainly wouldn't have made anyone's top 10 big bass lakes in the 1980s. On this particular trip, my dad and I happened to strike up a conversation with a fellow angler who was also fishing for white bass just a few dozen yards upstream from us. Neither of us was having any success, so this gentleman decided to make the run back down to the mouth of the lake and fish for Largemouth. Being that he was a complete stranger, we didn't give it a second thought and wished him luck as he made the run back down to the main lake.

  Later that day, as we pulled our little Jon boat into the marina, it just so happened that this gentleman was loading his bass boat on the trailer at the ramp. He recognized us and waved us over to his boat. As he and my dad rekindled their earlier conversation, this gentleman told us that he ran back down to a stump field at the upper end of the lake to fish for largemouth. I will NEVER forget him telling the story of how on his first cast with a purple and yellow plastic worm, he felt that telltale THUMP, and set the hook into what would be a 9lb plus Largemouth Bass. He pulled that monster out of his livewell, and I seriously could not believe my eyes. Although 9 pound BASS are still considered a rare fish, in 1980 it was even more so, as these were not Florida strain Largemouth Bass, but rather the native strain that doesn't grow to near the size of the Florida strain. It was an incredible fish...in fact, it is STILL an incredible fish considering its aquatic provenance and genetics.  

  I will never forget the indelible mark that seeing that fish made on me. And still, to this day, when I am privileged enough to witness another exceptional species of any fresh or saltwater species, I always think about that first BIG 'UN pulled from the depths of Medina Lake.

Hope you all are having a great week!

Andy