6-year-old from New Liskeard catches 55-centimetre bass
CBC
A father and son from New Liskeard, Ont., believe the smallmouth bass they caught last weekend is a record-breaking fish – though they aren't sure if they have enough documentation to be officially recognized in the International Game Fish Association record books.
The fish was 55.88 centimetres long and weighed 2.89 kilograms, dad Chuck Amyot said.
That's nearly half the height of the young fisher who caught the bass, Amyot's six-year-old son, Isaac, who is nearly 123 centimetres tall.
"I've always wondered what it would be like to beat my personal best," Amyot said.
"Bass fishing is a big deal in our family. We do a lot of fishing. And to have Isaac break my personal best was even more exciting than if I would've done it myself."
The catch was the highlight of an otherwise lacklustre fishing weekend, Amyot said.
The fishing on Saturday had been pretty slow and "a little boring, actually."
Sunday started out a little better but the fish had all been small.
Then, around 11 a.m., Isaac got a big bite on his line and spent 15 or 20 minutes reeling it in.
"I [did] it by myself," Isaac said.
The duo took a few photos and videos, then released the fish "so someone else can catch it and so it can live on to reproduce another day," Amyot said.
They didn't realize until afterwards that the fish was a record-breaker, and Amyot isn't sure if they have enough documentation to submit it for an official record.
"We know what we've got, and we've got records of it, and that's good enough for us," Amyot said.
Asked how he feels about his catch, Isaac replied, "Good!"