Guys will see a video like this and just say “hell yeah.”
That’s because catching a fish with a rod is cool, but ditching the pole and catching a fish with your bare hands is what scholars describe as “badass.”
Robert Earl Woodard, a man who has been catching fish by hand for basically his entire life, is getting some more time in the limelight thanks to a 2016 video that was reposted by country music star Brad Paisley.
The clip shows Woodard laying down on a dock just above the water, and using only his skills, hands, and a crank bait, he manages to pull in a whopper of a bass.
16 pound and 3 ounces to be exact, which at the time was pushing Alabama’s largemouth bass state record. However, in probably one of the dumbest rules known to mankind, fish caught by hand don’t count in the state record books. To be fair though, it seems like this private pond is home to some biggins, and only used for novelty hand fishing.
Woodard has a pretty cool YouTube channel where he documents some of his catches, and yeah, you can count me into the group of people that loves Woodard’s videos. Now that I’ve scrolled through his YouTube page, I think I just found out what plans I have for this upcoming weekend (have to fill the time anyways with football done for the season).
For now, I’ll just watch this clip that Brad Paisley shared of the passionate fisherman doing his thing, and I’ll direct you to it as well:
@bradpaisley Oh lookey there, he’s got a bite. #bradpaisley #countrymusic #fishing #bassfishing #imgonnamissher ♬ I’m Gonna Miss Her – Brad Paisley
And here’s the kicker, Woodard actually tried to catch the beast again in 2019 and nearly broke his hand.
Here’s the full video of his viral catch from 2016:
