Hayden and his Dad Paul were guests of mine down on the Mississippi. Hayden was an extra special kid. Hayden is only eight, but he knows what he wants in life already. He wants to catch big fish. I could not believe how easy it was to fish with this 8-year old kid. He was incredibly patient, respectful, and completely delighted just to be out in the boat. His passion about fishing reminded me of myself at his age. I really took a liking to this kid.

The giant white bass that Hayden is holding here was caught on a number eight bass colored deep diving shad rap. He caught this fish in front of a feeder creek that runs into the river. He fought the fish as well as anyone. I would estimate this fish being 2lbs because of how thick it was. This was Hayden’s biggest fish to date (although we are out to change that on November 1st when he comes back for round two on the Mississippi). Although it was a fairly tough fishing day overall, we had a great time catching sunrays on an almost 80 degree mid-October afternoon.