Do you remember your the first fish of your angling career?

Of course you do! It’s one of those moments that stick with you forever.

Here’s 5-year-old Livi with her first ever fish, caught in William Land Park’s pond in Sacramento, CA.

Stepdad Jeff handled the guiding (& handling) duties and says Livi hooked the ‘bow on a white crappie jig.

He also said that, since she caught the trout, they’ve been out nearly every weekend and Livi has added catfish and striped bass to resume.

Looks like we’ve got another fish junkie in the making…

Alaska’s Nushagak River plays host the the world’s largest king salmon run and it’s not uncommon to hook 30, 40 or even 50+ kings a day up there. The fish are incredibly prolific but they don’t get as big as they do in places like the Kenai. On the ‘Nush, a 40 pounder is a trophy…that’s why this 51 pounder, caught by a client of guide Mike Perusse (pictured) is such a big story.

Click here to read more…

Bust out the beer batter! Auckland University of Technology professor, Steve O’Shea says that this Colossal Squid (43 feet long and an estimated 990 pounds) would yield calamari rings the size of tractor tires. The beast was caught recently in Antarctica’s Ross Sea.

Read more at National Geographic

After an epic 35-minute battle that took him on a 500-yard hike down the Mad River, 17-year-old Roy Heape of Oroville, CA joined an elite club this week when he caught & released this 22-pound, 11-ounce wild buck steelie.

The big fish was going to be just a good fish tale for the kid because he didn’t have a camera with him at the time. Luckily, Jason Ford of Petaluma happened to be fishing nearby and snapped a couple photos of the youngster and his monster buck.

And by the way, the biggest steelhead of Heape’s career prior to this fish? How about 2 pounds!!

Maybe I’m a little jaded these days, but methinks Mr. Heape may want to retire now…it’s going to be tough to top that one!