Saturday surprise (smallmouth bass)

[fishingfirst]

This was over on the other board too, but thought you would like to see it here as well:


I took my son out for a little fishing escape on Saturday. We were on the Yamhill (just banking it) with the intention of lowering the local Pikeminnow population, throwing panther martin spinners.

Anyway, this what he ended up with, not too shappy for his first ever smalley. It tipped the scales at 4 1/2 lbs, but if you listen to him it will be over 7 by the end of today :laugh:I'm not sure where he's learning that from...must be mom!

We took a couple of quick pics with the camera phone and released her to go spawn. A couple of casts later he caught the male too.

I think the smile says it all. He's caught shad and sturgeon, but now he's hooked on small river fishing. Fishing is all he can think about now...yep, he's a future indebted boat owner! Although if he keeps this up he won't need a boat.

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/medium/Morgan_s_first_bass_2_.jpg

[Knot in leader]

That is a great fish and to learn to practice Catch and Release of a trophy is awesome. My hat is off to you both :bowdown:

[Super Fluke]

That is a good sized smally for his first one.

[ODSKid]

I see a future Bass Master in his eyes! Good Job!

[AlseaAssassin]

Sweet pic!! Prettiest bass I've seen in awhile.

[LiveToFish]

Great Story, Even Better Bass! Its Awesome That He Landed That Throwing Panther Martins With The Intent Of Catching Pikeminnows. What A Great Surprise!

[team doyle]

a smallie like that is any river angler's dream.
what an outstanding catch and release story.
wonderful job, big boy!

joe

[Dave Smith]

That picture is one of the best ever on here!

[bpm2000]

Nice Fish!

[Thecrease]

Great job and a very nice fish! He is hooked for life now.

[ExBassGuide]

Many people on this site have never got a smally that nice! Great job
Looks like he is hooked for life
Roger

[ChannelCats]

Nice fish! Great colors. Your son looks like he's ready to join our cult. :D

[fishingfirst]

That's for all of the great replies. I'm one of those on this site that have not caught a smallie that size, and he does remind me every now and then.

I can tell you I would rather see him catch all of them and me not get a bite, brings back memories of fishing with my dad. The smiles and excitement of watching your kids is all I need to keep coming back.

He goes fishing just about every day, there sure could be worse things a pre-teen could be doing, but he sure didn't find a cheap hobby!

Good luck and tight lines!

Scott

[Salty1]

FishingFirst,

2 things really stand out about what I just read. First, that is an AWESOME smallie for a first. Secondly, you're a great Dad for him, and regardless of what else you do land in your life, you've already gained trophy status.
:clap: WELL DONE!!!:clap:

[Hunt'nFish]

Now that is a real HAWG. Yep he's hooked for life.
Cool pic, he's gonna really appreciate you took that pic. Good work.
Hunt'nFish

[fishingfirst]

Here's the picture of the fish at arm's length, I actually took this one first, but after realizing how big it was I wanted one close to him, so we could see the real size. This pic makes it look really huge!

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/medium/Mogan_s_first_smalley.jpg