To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before – Bass Fishing Edition

A Girl the Loved a Big Swimbait – photo by Dan O’Sullivan

by Dan O’Sullivan

In 1975, a pair of troubadours recorded one of the most popular love songs in the history of music.  Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias’ “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before,” became the anthem for those who have loved and lost, or in some cases, loved and left.

It struck me that the pursuit of our passion in bass fishing is much the same. We pursue our quarry with dedication, in search of the finest specimens, and seemingly when we’ve found those with the greenest lips and biggest dorsals, they may share fleeting moments of joy, or break our hearts in one moment altogether.

To those slack jawed, underslung beauties who have given us immediate heartbreak, or brief moments of ecstasy before leaving our lives to please another, I give you, “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before – Bass Fishing Edition,” In honor of Valentine’s Day (for bass anglers of course)!

To all the girls I’ve loved before
Who traveled in and out of my livewell lids
I’m glad they came along
I dedicate this song
To all the girls I’ve loved before

Big Largemouth that Loved a Jig – photo by Dan O’Sullivan

To all the girls I once held lipped
And may I say… I’ve held the best
For helping me to grow, I owe a lot, I know
To all the girls I’ve loved before

The winds of change are always blowing east
And every time I tried to stay on their pattern
The winds of change continued blowing
And they just carried me to weigh-in

To all the girls who shared my life
Who now are someone else’s prize
I’m glad they came along
I dedicate this song
To all the girls I’ve loved before

To all the girls who cared for me

The author with a Clear Lake Seven Pounder that Loved a big Lizard

Who filled my livewells with crawdad shells
They live within my heart
I’ll always be a part
Of all the girls I’ve loved before

The winds of change are always blowing east
And every time I tried to stay on their pattern
The winds of change continued blowing
And they just carried me to weigh-in

To all the girls we’ve loved before
Who traveled in and out of our livewell lids
We’re glad they came along
We dedicate this song
To all the girls we’ve loved before

The Author, Dan O’Sullivan with the real love of his Life – and his family

To all the girls we’ve loved before
Who swung over our gunnels, and broke apart our lines,
We’re glad they came along
We dedicate this time
To all the girls we’ve loved, before

Happy Anniversary and Valentine’s Day Mapo!  You mean more to me than a 10-pound-bass… Okay, maybe that should be more than a World Record Bass; but you know what I mean…