For some of us, there is a magic moment; one that we will always remember.

For others, it is a moment matched only by the next such moment.

It is that first moment the water swirls beneath a top-water lure; no -- it's that split-second between the swirl and the set of the hook.

It's the nanno-second between the time you first feel the "tic-tic" of interest at the other end of your line -- where that purple plastic worm is rigged Texas-style -- and when you feel the largemouth trying to swim away with your hook firmly in his thick-upper lip.

It's that small slice of your life when you pitch a jig-n-craw toward the bank for the very first time and a lunker picks it up and runs with it; the moment when you realize the tug on your line isn't coming from a flooded weed bed or submerged log. It's that precise second - before you shout "Fish On!" -- when the thought first crosses your mind … "Hey … that's a fish!" It's the flash of time it takes for the brain's impulse to cause your hands and arms to rise up in a precise and forceful manner -- firmly setting the hook into the lip of your prey.

It's the feeling you get when you kiss that lunker on the nose and slide her back into the lake or pond after taking a snapshot to remember her by.

It's hearing the water break somewhere downstream and the feel of adrenalin as you realize it's going to be a great day. It's seeing the stream shimmer as a sturdy bronze back inhales the popper you've gently presented near the bank of your favorite deep hole in the bend of the river.

It may very well be a peaceful moment of solitude, just sitting on the lake listening to the birds and coyotes in chorus as the sun slowly brightens the eastern sky, or watching an eagle soar above the water as the day begins to warm.

For dads and moms, it might well be the first time you see the look on the face of your son or daughter as they land a big keeper after working hard to get it turned toward the bank or boat. It's knowing you have something in common with your offspring that will never be lost; something that will be remembered forever and always.

Yep. That's the moment.

And it's a magic one.