Big Fish Bouillabaisse
Posted by Pete Robbins on Feb 7th 2021
I am a bass fisherman at heart, and it’s a huge part of my identify, but deep down I know that there’s no bass alive that’s going to pull me into the water. I caught a 12-pounder on my 42nd birthday, and I recognize that I’m unlikely to top that mark, so if that girl didn’t drag me in I’m pretty much safe.
That’s why I’ve been thrilled over the past few years to chase bigger quarry like halibut, sailfish and even blue cats. They’ll never replace bass, but they provide a different experience – even if we still have some leverage over them, it’s closer to a fair fight, a battle between creatures of equal strength. No, a 70-pound sailfish doesn’t weigh quite as much as me, but they’re far faster and far more elegant. An Alaskan halibut may not share that grace, but try to winch one up from 300 feet and you’ll get every bit of fun that you bargained for. That’s why I recommend that every bass angler “go heavy” at some point. It doesn’t have to be marlin or tuna or something distant and glamorous – big gar, carp and catfish are worthy adversaries. There’s nothing wrong with loving crappie or perch or creek chubs, but despite reassurances that size doesn’t matter, sometimes it does.
Next up for me: I want to catch something that weighs substantially more than I do. A big marlin is of course high on the list, but it could be a goliath grouper or a PEI bluefin. If I get dragged in, so be it.
