Super User Koz Posted May 22, 2020 Super User Posted May 22, 2020 About 4 years ago when I was living in the SC Lowcountry we used to fish a private pond that the owners were gracious enough to let us fish. On one end there was a lot of tall, aquatic grass and on the other a small dock with a tall safety rail around the perimeter. This made is awkward to fish, but back then my son was only 10 years old and it was a nice added measure of safety. We caught a decent number of bass in there, but nothing over two pounds. One day we were out there fishing with a buddy of mine and his son with the kids fishing from the dock. Suddenly they yelled out in amazement. The water was clear in this pond and they spotted a big bass near the dock. A really big bass. A really, really big bass. They started tossing baits in its direction but it wouldn't bite at anything. On the way home the kids dubbed the fish Big Hank. We fished that lagoon again and again and occasionally we saw Big Hank just sitting there near the dock. Try as we might, he never hit at any bait we tempted him with. Then one day my son is fishing the dock while I'm fishing the bank nearby and he yells out, "Got one!" I look in his direction and I'm immediately taken aback and start running in his direction. At the time my son was fishing a 6 foot, medium-light Abu spinning rod. I was taken aback because when I looked over at him the rod was nearly doubled over. Whatever he had on the line was big. As I get to the dock the fish comes to the surface and does a roll back to the depths. It was a big bass. It was Big Hank. But now we have a problem. Not only does my son have the wrong rod for this situation, he's only about 4' 9" at the time and there's no way he's going to get that bass over the rail. Not only does the rail surround the dock but it also surrounds the walkway to the dock. Luckily, we brought a net. Unfortunately, the net was still in the car which was way over on the opposite side of the pond. I tell my son to try and keep tension on the line as I start running to go grab the net. I make it no more than 10 feet off the dock and Big Hank breaches, the line slacks, and he slips off the hooks. My son was crushed. The next day we went out and bought him a better rod. Fast forward four years and I'm living in the SC Upstate and I get a text message from my buddy who my son and I fished with at that pond years ago. He was fishing that same pond with his son and landed a big one. A really big one. I think that after all of these years someone finally caught Big Hank. Unfortunately, he did not have a scale with him and was so excited he did not grab some fishing line to measure the length and the girth for a weight estimate. Anyway, below is a photo of what might be Big Hank. Any weight estimates would be welcome. If it helps, the angler is about 5' 7" tall. 5 Quote
newriverfisherman1953 Posted May 22, 2020 Posted May 22, 2020 I’d just call him Big Hank and let the picture speak for itself. I love a good fishing story. Way to go. 1 Quote
Super User BrianMDTX Posted May 22, 2020 Super User Posted May 22, 2020 18 minutes ago, newriverfisherman1953 said: I’d just call him Big Hank and let the picture speak for itself. I love a good fishing story. Way to go. I agree. That’s a Big &@%# Hank almost anywhere! And...that was a good story! You had me hooked until the end! ? 1 Quote
skekoam Posted May 22, 2020 Posted May 22, 2020 I'd love to meet Hank one day. Congrats on that hog!!! 1 Quote
Guest Posted May 23, 2020 Posted May 23, 2020 Loved the story, awesome catch! your son will never forget the big one that got away and that’s a memory worth having! 1 Quote
Super User jbsoonerfan Posted May 23, 2020 Super User Posted May 23, 2020 Might just be Big Bertha, of it's a Hank, it sure is a big one. 1 Quote
Super User Koz Posted May 23, 2020 Author Super User Posted May 23, 2020 1 hour ago, jbsoonerfan said: Might just be Big Bertha, of it's a Hank, it sure is a big one. True story - when my son and his friend named him I mentioned to them that the females are the big bass but they didn't care, so Big Hank it was. 1 Quote
OCdockskipper Posted May 23, 2020 Posted May 23, 2020 The head size puts her solidly in the 8 lb class, depending on how thick and fat she was (or wasn't), she could range from 7 to 11 lbs. In my opinion... 1 Quote
Super User senile1 Posted May 23, 2020 Super User Posted May 23, 2020 4 hours ago, OCdockskipper said: The head size puts her solidly in the 8 lb class, depending on how thick and fat she was (or wasn't), she could range from 7 to 11 lbs. In my opinion... The head and mouth on that thing is huge! With some eggs in her, that would be a monstrous fish. Quote
Super User Sam Posted May 23, 2020 Super User Posted May 23, 2020 Great story, thanks for sharing. Hopefully your friend returned her back into the pond. Quote
Super User Koz Posted May 23, 2020 Author Super User Posted May 23, 2020 1 hour ago, Sam said: Great story, thanks for sharing. Hopefully your friend returned her back into the pond. He did. He was so concerned about getting her back in the water he didn't take time to cut some fishing line to measure the length and girth. 1 1 Quote
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