Monday, September 28, 2009

The Little One

When it comes to the media (this blog included), it's apparent that the strongest love affair is with the big one. Who doesn't love to see an angler's catch when it's a monster? Most magazine covers portray once-in-a-lifetime catches of fish bigger than most of us will ever feel at the end of the line. The possibility of landing a big one keeps us all dreaming. But the reality is that the vast majority of the fish most of us catch are average or smaller. It made me think of the importance of the little one. Isn't it the little one that can make the difference between catching something and nothing on occasion? It's the little one that children most often catch and marvel at, inspiring future angling pursuits. Isn't it the little one that makes us laugh at its bravado, especially when it hits a fly as big as its head? It's the little one that often has the most perfect markings, face, fins and teeth. And it's the little one that must beat all the odds to become the big one. This post is a tribute to one of our most valuable fishing resources - The Little One.

Photos by Dave Buchholz and Marie Thornton

7 comments:

Marie said...

Love that little fish. So cool. Aaron is learning a lot about fish.
He learned how to identify a rock bass, large mouthed bass, pike, bullhead, carp and striped bass so far.

El Pescador said...

If Aaron keeps the line in the water by the camp he may eventually be able to identify a tiger musky too!

Marie said...

True! He's so funny, we've been learning about killer whales, sea snakes and such. He told a teacher at the preschool he saw a killer whale in Maine while he was swimming.

El Pescador said...

I wish my imagination was still that fertile. For kicks, tell Aaron that I caught a killer whale on my fly rod and let it go.

Phil said...

That first fish looks like the type I catch.
Keep it up!

Phil

El Pescador said...

Thanks for the comment Phil. You keep it up too!

BLUEANGLER said...

Well said!! El,

The little one is as valuable as the big one! It's a different feel.