A Tall Tale

[Mobasser]

My dad and I used to watch the HEE HAW show on Saturday nights. The show first aired in 1969.                                                             One of the guys on that show was Alvin " Junior " Samples. He became well known on the show as the slow, overall clad guy who couldn't remember his lines, and couldn't read the cue cards.                                                   Junior had a sixth grade education, and came from a dirt poor background. In real life he made his living running moonshine, working at a sawmill, and as he said" poundin nails", as a carpenter.                                                 The story goes that a friend had a huge bass in the back of a pickup truck. Junior had his picture taken with this fish, and claimed the fish weighed 22lbs 9oz. He claimed he caught the fish on Georgia's Lake Lanier, using a large plastic lizard. This would have been a new world record bass.                              Junior claimed he ate this fish, but saved the head. A conservation officer from Atlanta came to interview him, and Junior showed him the fish head, but it was so decomposed, the officer couldn't be sure if it was a bass or not.                                                   The story got picked up by a local radio station, and Junior began getting invitations to entertain folks at local beer joints. At some point someone told him about a new show that was airing, and, they were looking for people to be in the show.                                                               They flew him out to California, and he stepped off the plane wearing his bib overalls and striped t shirt, with a spare set in a small cardboard suitcase.                                                        He was chosen to be in the show, and this made him wealthy. He bought a new house, a sharp car, and a new boat, even though he shunned nice clothes, preferring his bib overalls.                          In real life, Alvin" Junior" Samples was an avid bass fisherman. He fished many tournaments in his home state, and when he passed on in 1983, he had two huge rooms full of tackle. Several coolers full of plastic worms( Juniors favourite) as well as hundreds of hard baits, and too many rods and reels to count. His son told a reporter, that " my dad finally got to do what he loved, which was fishing".                                                       Throughout his life, Junior was known to tell tall tales, and elaborate on certain things.  They say he never actually denied catching a world record bass. But, this big fish story is what made Junior famous. If it had not been for this tall tale, the world would have never heard of Junior Samples. Without a doubt, one of the biggest fish lies ever told. RIP Hee Haw man. Big fish lie or not, you were a fisherman, and that's what matters the most...

[Bird]

Hee-Haw was watched by everyone in the home growing up. Mom had a crush on Roy Clark. Lol

[Mobasser]

2 minutes ago, Bird said:

Hee-Haw was watched by everyone in the home growing up. Mom had a crush on Roy Clark. Lol

My dad liked Roy also, and always watched for Chet Atkins, his favourite guitar player.

[T-Billy]

My wife and I still watch the reruns. Junior cracks me up.

[GaryH]

You had to love junior. Type of guy that just made everyone smile. Great write up ?

 

[throttleplate]

been watching it at dinner time, a couple days ago for guests they had on george jones and vince gill.

[GRiver]

Loved that show, my grandfather would laugh so hard at times watching Hee Haw, I thought he was going too pass out. 
never knew that about about Jr. Samples, thanks for sharing it. 

[Tennessee Boy]

Just call BR549 if you want all the details.  ?

[gunsinger]

One of my all time favorites.  Would love to find reruns of this show somewhere.

[Chris Catignani]

This is a story we like to tell other people we encounter on the river....

It goes like this..

Others: "How ya'll doing...catchin any thing?"

 

No...but you aint gonna believe what we just saw.

This squirrel came climbin down the end of that limb over there to get a nut.

And about that time... a huge bass jumped up and got that squirrel!!

<this is where people are amazed>

But that's not the crazy part....

A few minutes later that big bass came back up and put a nut back on the end of that limb.

 

 

 

[volzfan59]

15 hours ago, T-Billy said:

My wife and I still watch the reruns. Junior cracks me up.

We do too! 

[T-Billy]

 

 

[TnRiver46]

On 9/3/2021 at 9:11 AM, Chris Catignani said:

This is a story we like to tell other people we encounter on the river....

It goes like this..

Others: "How ya'll doing...catchin any thing?"

 

No...but you aint gonna believe what we just saw.

This squirrel came climbin down the end of that limb over there to get a nut.

And about that time... a huge bass jumped up and got that squirrel!!

<this is where people are amazed>

But that's not the crazy part....

A few minutes later that big bass came back up and put a nut back on the end of that limb.

 

 

 

My cousin tells that one all the time but it’s a muskie 

[basscrusher]

Roy Clark was a cousin of mine.  Guitar virtuoso...got to see him jam at some family reunions 

[N Florida Mike]

That’s really cool. He was so versatile and could pick anything and could sing too. And he was funny too, from acting like a woman to the funny songs and facial expressions.

We watched probably every episode of Hee Haw … that and the Duke boys…