the wonder of youth
I f you ’ re a fan of bass fishing , you probably have memories of fish catches that predate memories of almost anything else . Each of those fish we fondly recollect grows in size and significance with each passing year . The bluegills and perch and crappie we caught and touched ( or refused to touch ) had to have been state records . The 12- inch largemouth that wasn ’ t big enough to net became 15 inches and 18 and 24 as our hippocampus gave ground to the powerful force known as nostalgia and allowed us to be absolutely convinced that once upon a time our first fish was bigger than we could stretch our arms .
Of course , these days , there ’ s photographic evidence of everything , thanks to the advent of smart phones . Still , our youngest generation should never be robbed of one of the oldest and most virtuous traditions of our sport : fish stories .
Hopefully Willow Miller , decades from now ( and in defiance of photographic evidence to the contrary ), will still recall a fish her dad , B . J ., caught that was bigger than her .
However she remembers the fish pictured here , there ’ s no denying the unbridled joy and excitement on her face . And while B . J . may have hoped for better than 7 pounds that day as he prepared to weigh in for the Toyota Series Championship at Pickwick Lake , he can always hang his hat on the fact that it only took one fish to make his 21-monthold daughter light up with excitement and create a memory she ’ ll never forget .
PHOTO BY ROB MATSUURA
DECEMBER-JANUARY 2022 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 81