-
see if I can get any bass that may have gone out over there.
Get out there now.
Got him, got him.
Good fish here, real good fish.
A bass, gotta be a bass.
Whoa.
Look at that.
Big Rio.
Gentlemen,
we may possibly have something over two pounds.
- NARRATOR: Meet Chuck Dewey.
- Look at this.
- NARRATOR: Chuck likes to fish,
a lot.
But he doesn't go fishing for just any fish,
Chuck goes Fishing for Records.
- CHUCK: 1.45.
- JAMIE: Wow.
- CHUCK: 1.45.
If that fish was caught in October,
there's a good chance he'd go over two pounds.
Got a few of the records I've caught over the years.
- NARRATOR: A visit to Chuck's home just outside of
San Antonio, Texas is kind of like a visit to the
Chuck Dewey Fishing Hall of Fame.
Plaques, awards, certificates and fish mounts
are the decor of choice.
- This one here is the Warmouth for Live Oak City Lake
that was caught on July 13, 2012
and that is still the current record.
- NARRATOR: That record is just one of many that Chuck has
as part of the state's Angler Recognition Program.
Catch a big fish and you too could get your name
in the record books.
- RON SMITH: Everybody can get recognition through this program
in some way or another.
You can catch a water body record,
you can catch a state record,
you can catch a first fish.
You can get a record by weight
or you can get a record by length.
You can get a record for different tackles,
different types of fishing,
different methods of catches.
[fish splashing]
- CHUCK: Oh, that's a good bass.
- One of the cool things about it is,
whether somebody gets the record or doesn't get the record,
they're always excited about fishing.
- LEO: Oh, got a good one Chuck.
- CHUCK: Good fish, good fish!
People call it perch jerkin, brim fishing, whatever.
Oh yeah, big old red-ear.
Big old fat red-ear.
I would rather catch a 10-plus inch red-ear
than a 10-pound largemouth bass.
That's just me.
[Dragnet TV theme]
- NARRATOR: Chuck spent 37 years as a police officer
chasing bad guys.
- TV ANNOUNCER: The story you are about to see is true.
- CHUCK: Got him!
- NARRATOR: Now that he's retired,
he spends his days chasing big fish.
- These are all trophy fish here, every one of em.
- NARRATOR: It's early June and Chuck is fishing one of his
favorite spots,
the West Nueces River north of Brackettville.
- There it is.
Got him!
Oh yeah!
Oh, come on buddy.
There he is.
I love to bank fish.
I love to keep it simple.
Another big old female red ear.
I don't have to worry about cleaning a boat
or charging batteries or anything like that.
I Just throw my gear in and I'm gone.
Big old slabs.
Beautiful day for fishing.
- I like to catch bass, they're pretty good fighters.
- NARRATOR: Chuck's here with Leo and Yesenia Flores.
They all fish here on a regular basis,
and between the three of them,
they have 11 West Nueces River records.
- CHUCK: I met Leo and Yesenia off a fishing forum.
- LEO: Beautiful bass.
- CHUCK: We got to become pretty good friends.
Lo and behold, they like getting records also.
Yesenia's got the weight record.
That's more important than the record or even fishing,
is just the people you meet.
Get a quick picture of him holding his fish.
[camera clicks]
And that's going to be the catch-and-release, pending,
largemouth bass record, West Nueces River by Leo Flores.
- LEO: Pretty nice fish.
Thank you, Mr. Bass.
- Right here is where it happened.
- NARRATOR: The Angler Recognition Program
is not just for adults.
- GAVIN: Oh my god.
- NARRATOR: There is a separate division
just for Junior Anglers.
- GAVIN: It's about dang time!
- NARRATOR: Gavin Mikeska is one of those
Junior Angler record holders.
He's a member of the Wall High School fishing team
so he's out on the water a lot.
In the Spring of 2019,
Gavin was fishing the Oak Creek Reservoir
with his dad.
- We go around this one dock and see a huge bass.
I tossed one of my baits at it.
I scared it.
It went under the boat.
I was nervous I wasn't going to catch it.
I ended up catching it.
- I remember looking at the fish
and I'm thing to myself, man, she's huge.
She's big.
Gavin in the meantime, he was running around
hootin' and hollerin' and having just a ball.
- GAVIN: I about jumped in the water I was so happy.
- NARRATOR: What he caught was a 26 3/4 inch largemouth bass.
At 13.6 pounds, it set both the Junior Angler
and All Ages record for Oak Creek.
- GAVIN: One of the best moments of my life.
I'm just saying this now.
I think I'm going to be famous.
[paper rustling]
- Blue gill.
- NARRATOR: Ron Smith runs the Angler Recognition Program.
- RON: Nice one.
- NARRATOR: In a typical year,
he'll get about 1,500 applications for record fish.
That works out to about 125 each month,
or 29 applications every week.
- RON: Chuck Dewey's, it's a nice one.
Rio Grande Cichlid.
He sends me about four to five applications a month.
He's like a regular at a restaurant,
comes in almost every day.
[laughs]
A big fish award, and a water body record.
Once I get validation, I will print out the certificate
that has their name on it, a little gold star.
[stamper clicks]
And then we mail them out.
Last month I processed 240 certificates.
We do that right here.
This is pretty much the factory.
[laughs]
- Definitely, definitely over half a pound.
Since I hold the record, I'm not going to beat my own record
I don't think, so we'll throw it back.
[splash]
- CAMERAMAN: You're not selfish?
- No.
- RON: What we're really trying to do is to
stress the importance and the availability of angling.
Get more people out there, more friendly competition.
- CHUCK: Booyah!
Everybody likes to brag about their fish.
[laughs]
- And then you got the green sunfish.
Well, I don't know how many really, I currently have.
I know it's a lot.
It's in the 200-range for current records,
but I've got over 300 total records.
- NARRATOR: You remember the Rio Grande Cichlid
Chuck caught at the beginning of the story?
It did qualify for the West Nueces River weight record.
- Glad to get him back in the water.
I don't know he may never get caught again,
but who knows?
- NARRATOR: Just another day, another big fish for a guy
who has a record number of records.
- CHUCK: Got him.
The reason why I do this kind of fishing is plain and simple.
It's enjoyable.
Each time I go out, it's just the enjoyment of walking up
to that bank and seeing that nice still water in front of you
and wondering what's in it.
A record is just icing on the cake.
Oh, got him!
And if I don't catch a record, it doesn't mean anything at all.
I'll keep fishing.
[calm music]
- NARRATOR: To find out more about the
Angler Recognition Program,
go to tpwd.texas.gov/fishrecords
There you'll find links to current records,
official weigh stations,
and rules on how to weigh, measure,
and photograph your fish for submission.