Big Boy

ARTICLE BY DAN CHASON

Of all the people I’ve met in my 59 years there is one man who made a lasting impression on me years ago that has carried through for over 35 years. At the time, he was a top 150 angler on the Bassmaster Trail and dominated many tournament circuits both here and across the country. I was just starting my career in fishing.

I personally met Dana Walker for the first time at a Red Man tournament event on Sam Rayburn. I had heard his name but only knew he was from Ruston. He was personable but in that tournament environment, we were competitors so there was not a lot of talk about fishing. Dana did well on the Red Man Trail in those years and was formidable especially on Sam Rayburn where he could mimic patterns that he learned on his favorite lake: Caney Lake in Chatham, LA.

I remember when Caney first opened and sure enough, Dana was there. We caught a lot of fish but nothing that compared to the 10 plus pounders I saw he caught that day, only to be released after photos. He was a force on that lake for many years. But the one thing that Dana was most noted for was not his fishing. Dana was a registered nurse and sadly that is where our paths crossed when we were not in a boat.

I had some health problems and at age 29 was suffering with a condition where I was facing my Maker. I had a sack that had built up around my pericardium and I was literally switching from panic attacks to the most horrific chest pains you can imagine. I went to St. Francis Medical Center ER and to my surprise was greeted by Dana. From that moment on, my perception of Dana Walker changed. To hear his calm voice and reassuring demeanor was a comfort. That is when he pinned my nickname“Big Boy.” Dana sat with me in that emergency room for over 30 hours, off the clock for most of it. When the panic subsided and the crisis left is the only time Dana would leave. And that was only with my insistence. From that day forward, Dana and I were very close friends. We didn’t get to see each other as much as we liked as not long after Dana moved to Arkansas. Now that my friend is another story.

Dana found a place on the Little Red River and soon fell in love with the cold waters, rainbow trout and the abundance of game found there. He bought a farm and was soon sending pictures of turkeys, deer and other game harvested. To say Dana Walker was a predator is an understatement. I have never in my life seen a man with more drive and more gumption than he had. He would leave his house at 3 a.m. to drive down to Caney to fish, leave there at dark and drive to Galveston to tuna and snapper fish with his brother, Johnny. He was a tenacious angler and hunter. He wasn’t just determined, he was gifted. He knew critters and he knew where to be and when to have success.

This year was our year. Dana and I had began to work on a lot at Caney so we could have a headquarters there for fishing. In Dana’s words, “So us old dudes could come down here and show the young bucks how to catch big fish.” We had made our plans and I was coming to his place in April of this year for an annual turkey hunt. Dana called me and we talked for about an hour as he told me of his plans to start in Mississippi on opening day, go back to Arkansas, make the loop up to Michigan, North and South Dakota, then Missouri and end up in Texas so he could catch the birds “when they right.”

During that call we talked about how he had suffered a stroke over a year ago and how his health was good. The thing that sticks in my mind is when he talked about how he actually died when he had his stroke. “Big boy… I went to heaven. And man I can say this, it was beautiful and I can’t wait to go back.”

Sadly, I got the phone call all of us dread. Dana had died at the turkey camp in Mississippi, prepping for his week-long hunt there. I was and still am devastated. This kind, gentle man who accepted me as his friend will be one voice I will miss greatly. He was there to comfort me when my brother died last August. He was there through the highs and lows of my fishing career and now those phone calls are gone. I will never enjoy the front of a bass boat with him again or sit in the turkey woods and watch his face light up at the distant thunder of a gobbling turkey. No more cell pictures of him playing with a rattlesnake for fun and no more mammoth trout being caught off his dock while he rolled in laughter. They say only the good die young. Dana lived a fruitful life. He touched a lot of people. He touched me in ways no other person could as he could meet me on my level on common ground. He was much more talented, much more gifted but he treated me as an equal. In fact, he treated everyone that way. His soft demeanor and caring spirit are something I hope to capture and improve on how I treat others. Endeavor to share my gifts like he did and remember that life is short as are goals. And I say it again as I have said many times before: love them while you have them.

Rest in Peace Dana J. Walker. And to tell you exactly what you always told me as you exited our phone calls: “I love you, brother.”