"Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being…

Many tall fish tales are told about “the one that got away.” “Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught” is a jocular one-liner that has been cited in print since 1973. The quotation has been credited to Franklin P. Jones (1908-1980), an American humorist who contributed quips and quotes to many publications.

Answers.com
Franklin P. Jones (1908 - 1980) was a Philadelphia reporter, public relations executive and humorist. He wrote quips and quotes that entertained readers of major publications for years.

He was known nationally during the 1940s and 50s for his column “Put it this Way” in the Saturday Evening Post. “Put it this Way” set a record as the longest continuously published feature in the Saturday Evening Post.

He was an accomplished “paragrapher” - a writer who condenses humorous or thought provoking ideas into paragraph form. His quips and quotes were published (often anonymously) in numerous publications, including Reader’s Digest, the Wall Street Journal, Changing Times and Quote magazine.

Google News Archive
9 October 1973, Sarasota (FL) Herald-Tribune, Earli Wilson entertainment column, pg. 6-B, col. 7:
REMEMBERED QUOTE: “Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught.”—Franklin P. Jones, Quote.

Google News Archive
18 September 1978, Milwaukee (WI) Sentinel, Earl Wilson entertainment column, pt. 3, pg. 2, col. 3:
REMEMBERED QUOTE: “Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught.”—Franklin P. Jones.

Google Books
14,000 Quips and Quotes:
For Speakers, Writers, Editors, Preachers and Teachers
By E. C. McKenzie
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House
1990, ©1980
Pg. 181:
Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught.

Google Books
The Fishing Fanatic:
Quotes and Brags from Experts and Wags
Edited by Damian R. Rubino
Guilford, CT: Lyons Press
2007
Pg. 219:
Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught. -ANONYMOUS

Google Books
The Mammoth Book of One-Liners
By Geoff Tibballs
London: Constable & Robinson Ltd.
2012
Pg. ?:
Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught.

Twitter
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‏@IFLFishing
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1:20 PM - 23 Aug 2014