Six-year-old
JACK
with a
Giant 40" Northern!

Six year-old Jack Still is originally from Stillwater, Minnesota. Two years ago his family moved to Hanover, Massachusetts, where Jack attends Cedar Elementary School. When Jack and his father William showed up at the launch, I knew I was going to be in for a treat. Jack is a very pleasant child and was just excited to go out in the boat. His eyes lit up as we left the launch and they stayed wide open until we left the lake. William was very excited too to fish and I could sense that he wanted Jack to have fun and to catch some fish.

The day started out slowly for us. We fished my usual spots but the fish were not exactly cooperating. Although Jack and his dad were not at all impatient, I was beginning to get anxious. I know from experience that when you have young children in the boat, you need action sooner than usual to keep them engaged. With this at the back of my mind, I switched from still-fishing to trolling sooner than I usually would. I explained to Jack how to hold his rod and reel while I ran the motor. Then we proceeded to troll down the break line. Jack was a great student and held the rod perfectly as I trolled.

As we neared the "hot spot" of the area I was watching Jack's rod like a hawk. I was anticipating a fish to hit it and I was making sure he was holding on tight. About half way down the good break line I saw Jack‚s rod and line go KA-BOOM! Something huge had blasted Jack‚s super shad rap. The fish hit so hard that I thought for a moment he had hooked a tree or something in the lake. Jack slowly reeled in and fought the fish like a champion angler (with the help of his father, of course) for several minutes before it came near the boat. It was a slow and difficult fight for a six year-old but, with a little help, he managed to get it to my net. All three of us were blown away at the sight of the fish. It was a whopping 40" northern -- almost as big as Jack! Another giant northern caught on a super shad rap in a metro lake.

Visit The Latest Notable Catch Archive