14 year old boy lands 41 inch Muskie!

Fourteen year old Kyle Lund of Wilton, Iowa was here with his parents Bart and Linda, as well as Kyle's 19-year old Brother Koby and Koby's girlfriend Kyla Stockwell. Kyle was part of the team that had the winning turtle in Tuesday night's Kids Turtle Races. After the races, Kyle was invited by another guest, Selmer Olson of Cologne, Minnesota, to join him and his son Wyatt on a late evening Walleye fishing trip. The rest is history.

Kyle was using 6-lb. monofilament fishing line, with no steel leader, as they worked the bottom of Lake Andrusia for evening Walleyes with floating night crawler harnesses. Around 8:30 PM....Kyle hooked something big. After five minutes of battling the fish, Kyle asked Selmer to "call my brother Koby" who was fishing in another boat nearby with his girlfriend Kyla. Selmer dialed Koby's number but he and Kyle both feared Koby might not answer, since Koby surely would not recognize the number on his caller ID. Koby answered. "I've got a huge fish on!! We need a bigger net!!" Kyle yelled at the phone while he continued to battle the monster while Selmer held up the phone. Just some 200 yards away, Koby headed that way in a hurry.

When he arrived, Koby climbed into Selmer's boat to help his kid brother land this big fish. Kyle kept the right amount of pressure on the fish, skillfully using his rod and reel and wore the lunker out so Selmer and Koby could net the fish, then drag it over the side, into the boat. Whew!! Exhausted, the young angler had his Muskie in his hands, ready for pictures. "My hands were shaking!" Kyle exclaimed. He later told me that the fish had a hook from his crawler harness in each corner of it's mouth. (Double hooked)

Pictures were taken by several of the people and the fish was measured and promptly released back into the evening water. It was now around 9 PM. Officially the fish measured 41 inches and the weight was estimated to be at least 20 pounds.

I love stories like this. And I love the excitement that comes with it. Selmer and Kyle just met three days earlier for the first time. And Kyle is such a fine young man that Selmer and his son Wyatt were pleased to have him join them in Selmer's boat. Cool Stuff. Thanks to everyone involved. Way to go Kyle!