The universal interest in world records
is nowhere more compelling than in the sports world. Fishermen,
both pros and weekend anglers dream of catching "the
big one" and BIG: The 50 Greatest World Record Catches
will more than satisfy the imagination and fuel the desire
to get back on the water through the off season.
Artist Flick Ford and International Game
Fish Association (IGFA) historian Mike Rivkin have combine
to tell the stories of the fifty most amazing record fish
catches from around the world, selected for their sheer
size, popularity, beauty, and classic record story. Through
species research and archival photography, renowned artist
Flick Ford reconstructs a portrait of each record catch
as it would have looked alive and emerging from the water.
The incredible stories range from Dr.
John Cook's legendary and still-standing 1916 brook trout
record to fifteen-year-old Sara Hayward of Texas whose
wahoo catch was an astonishing 30 lbs. bigger than the
previous record. World record catches are compelling,
often for the normalcy of the setting, a day like any
other day, the usual bait, the "just one more cast"
before the end of the day.
Early on, the race for world records was
more for glory, but science also gained from the study
of these "freaks of nature." Now the IGFA, the
acknowledged arbiter of world records on over 1000 fish,
is committed to the conservation of game fish and the
promotion of responsible, ethical angling practices. This
book salutes the sportsmanship of dedicated fishermen
everywhere, the history of angling, and the fine art that
keeps it alive.
