Evan Morris went ice fishing in Michigan during his Christmas vacation and came back with a whopper of a fish tale.
Morris, an 11-year-old Boy Scout from Lebanon, caught a 7.8-pound northern pike Dec. 28 measuring 33.5 inches on Houghton Lake, Michigan's largest inland lake covering more than 22,000 acres.
Locals said it's the largest pike caught on the lake by an individual not yet in his teens. Dave Parker, who works at Lyman's on the Lake, a bait and tackle shop that serves Houghton Lake, said it's the biggest he has seen in 30 years.
It's a big thing for a kid that young to catch something like that," Parker said. "Most 11-year-olds don't want to go ice fishing, anyway. That's a good-sized pike for an adult, let alone a kid. That's a very nice fish anybody would be proud to catch."
Parker said there have been bigger pike pulled out of Houghton Lake by older anglers. And the fish is nowhere near the Michigan state record held by Larry Clough, who pulled a 39-pound northern pike from Dodge Lake in 1961.
But for a young novice like Morris, who is in the sixth grade at Lebanon Grade School, it's a record setter.
Read the complete story at bnd.com