You don't need a boat...or even a pole!

[nuts]

Youngsters land a lunker

Hudson Star-Observer - 08/29/2007

Four youngsters landed a 40-inch northern pike, using nothing but a hook and line attached to a stick, while fishing beneath the dike road bridge Monday afternoon.

Eight-year-old Anthony Valencia, right, is holding the knobby stick that he had in his hands when the lunker took the angle-worm-baited hook.

The youngsters said the pike put up quite a struggle, lasting several minutes. “We couldn’t believe there was this huge fish in this little lake. We thought there were only little fish here,” said Elizabeth Valencia, 11, who is holding the northern.

The kids didn’t have a net, so 12-year-old Rasean Burnett, second from right, grabbed the fish by the tail after the group had pulled it close to shore.

Seven-year-old Jacob Valencia, left, also was there for the excitement.

A park visitor witnessed the remarkable catch and used his cell phone to call for the Star-Observer to come and take a picture.

[Grant Pearson]

that's awesome!!!! just goes to show that you don't have to spend thousands of dollars to catch big fish!!

[EatSleepFish]

Wow! suprised the stick didn't break, the line didn't snap and the kid was actually able to land that beast.

[marine_man]

Here's the picture... great story!

marine_man

[Kyle Sandberg]

I like how the kid on the right is holding onto the tail like it's a trophy picture. Great story.

[efgh]

They are one happy group of kids, I would like to hear the stories they will tell later in life. The fish always gets bigger and the fight longer.

[Questor]

The stick has a G. Loomis logo on it.

[Kyle Sandberg]

Some company will make a patent for that style rod.

[TRZ]

Don't mean to sound bad but that fish looks like it was dead a long time and washed up on shore, but funny story if it is true.

[ocf1]

That thing must have been dead or sick by those colors.

[Nutty Fisherman]

It could be the water color. The fish seem to take on the color of the water they are in.

[EatSleepFish]

By the looks of it, it seems that the fish was dead for quite a while. I've caught northerns out of dark, clear, moderately clear and every water color in between, but none of the northerns I have caughten were grey? Plus if you look at the eye it looks to be a little decomposed. I'm not saying they found it dead on shore but it could be a possibility.

[Kyle Sandberg]

If it were dead for a while, it would be stiff. The kids hands are being formed around by the belly. That fish is still alive. I have caught northerns that were pretty light in color.

[Chris Haley]

I'm sure it was dead for a while! They would have pulled it up on shore and had to sit and wait for the photographer from the paper to show up. How long do you think that would have taken? Leave the kids alone!!

[Hammer Handle]

I can't see a girl (or any kid) holding a rotted fish either. I am sure it was freshly killed (after they caught it, it sat out). I am sure the kids grabbed, clubbed, and drug the fish all over too. I know I would!

[calli4120]

I agree that there is no way a kid would hold a rotting fish.

They said it came from a very small body of water so it is possible that the food source could have been low making the fish look sick. Also the heat and lack of rain we've had could have really messed with the water he was in making him look sickly.

[EatSleepFish]

yep, i guess you guys are right, we'll leave it at that.

[DuluthMedic]

Those 4 kids gotta be on cloud 9. Good for them. Its a big fish dead or alive, caught, our found dead, who cares they're happy. 4 new fisherman for life. I'm guessin they didn't have a nice live well to put the fish in. People will always find something negative to say about everything.

My 2 cents

[Down Deep]

The photo was probably taken with a digital camera. The auto focus and color balance in the camera more than likely blanaced out the white of the fish's color in contrast to the white water backgound giving the fish its color.

[Hydra Sport]

Hey guys, it says a park visitor witnessed the catch and called the paper with his cell phone so the paper could come and take the picture. The fish doesn't look like a million bucks like we'er used to seeing but it was witnessed.

[EatSleepFish]

No, I did not mean to imply anything negative about the kids catch, I was just saying that maybe these kids wanted a little fame by publicizing a huge, dead fish. I guess that wasn't the case. I agree, a girl would probably not be holding a decomposing fish. But after considering the abuse that fish probably went through from the celebration of the kids and them trying to kill it, maybe it ended up looking that way after the news got there in who knows what amount of time. I was just trying to point out that the only northern that I've seen look like that one was dead for quite a while. (week or longer). Maybe some lakes produce ridiculousy long and skinny pike. Maybe thats why it bit on a angle worm!!! Please no more comments about me, keep the compliments going for the kids.