Young Michigan Angler Catches Largest King Mackerel in Alabama History
Mike Bolton 04.02.12
If Andrew Quinn has to write a paper on what he did on his spring break he won’t have a problem finding a subject.
The second grader from Mason County Central Elementary School in Scottville, Mich. visited the white beaches of Orange Beach, Ala. for his spring break but it was his fishing trip that turned heads.
The 8 year-old caught the biggest king mackerel in Alabama state history on Wednesday. The record fish weighed 68 pounds, 3 ounces.
Quinn was fishing with his grandfather Ed Quinn, dad Dave Quinn and older brothers Josh, 15, Matt, 12, and Zach, 9.
The youngster wasn’t that impressed by his accomplishment and couldn’t wait to get back to the beach and the hotel pool for swimming, family members said.
The tussle with the record fish left Quinn a little worse for wear. He had bumps and bruises and blistered hands by the time the battle ended.
“It’s the biggest fish I ever seen and the biggest fish I ever caught,” he told the Mobile Register. “I thought it was going to pull me overboard.”
The family was fishing aboard the “Fish Trap” with Capt. Billy Neff. Neff said the family was fishing live pinfish at the Trysler Grounds, a popular natural-bottom spot about 20 miles out of Orange Beach.
“I still don’t think he has any idea about what he did. To him, it’s just a big fish,” Neff told the Mobile register. “He was acting like, ‘Don’t y’all do this all the time?'”
The family said they were on their first saltwater fishing trip. They typically fish from a pontoon boat for pike, bass and bream in some interior lakes close to their home which is located eight miles from Lake Michigan.
Mike Bolton, 56, served as the outdoors writer for the Birmingham News for 25 years until his retirement in 2009. He won the AP Sweepstakes Award for best sports story in Alabama on eight occasions and his stories on the Cahaba River were nominated for a Pulitizer Prize. He has also contributed to Sporting Classics, Bassmaster Magazine, Buckmasters Magazine and other national pubications.
