The Lake Champlain International Father’s Day Derby is a huge event in upstate Vermont near the Canadian border. The Carey family fishes it every year, and they always target freshwater drum (also known as sheepshead), which they believe is a way underrated sportfish.
Aboard the Carey family fishing boat that June weekend were Jason Carey, his son Grayson, daughter Ella, and Jason’s father-in-law Jeff Morse. The 25-foot aluminum boat was captained by Ryan Critchlow, who brought along his sons, Hayden and Wyatt.
“The three-day tournament runs through the night, and we stay up fishing for drum in the dark, because that’s often the best time for catching them,” Jason Carey tells Outdoor Life.
The anglers had 12 rods set out in all directions around the boat. They were soaking live crayfish on the bottom in 12 feet of water, and they were anchored near a river mouth in the central part of Lake Champlain.
“We’d been catching a lot of drum, but about 2 a.m. the rod that Grayson was using got hit, so he grabbed it and set the hook,” says Jason. “It was like him hitting a wall when he struck the fish because it didn’t move. Then it started swimming away, slow and steady and powerful, taking drag and pulling 55-pound braided line off the spool.”
The crew cleared all the other rods out of Grayson’s way as he fought what they knew was a huge drum. It took the 10-year-old angler at least five minutes to bring the fish close to the boat, where Jason netted it.
“I knew it was big enough for a state record when I picked it out of the net,” Jason recalls. “I put it on my Boga grip and that confirmed it. [Then] I looked at Grayson and said, ‘You just broke the state record, buddy.’”
The anglers put the drum in an aerated livewell and quickly ran it to the derby’s weigh station at Point Bay Marina. The fish officially weighed 28.5 pounds on certified scales, and it measured 37.5-inches long with a 29-inch girth. This was enough to beat the previous state record, caught in 2016, by three pounds.
Grayson’s record drum, which they released, also brought the family more than just bragging rights. The fish brought in more than $22,000 in prize money, and it helped them win first place in their devision.
“We were in a team kid’s category in the Derby … and there was a bonus because Grayson’s fish was a state record,” Jason says. “All told, we were awarded about $26,000 in prize winnings.”
Read Next: Iowa Fisherman Skips Super Bowl to Take Kids Fishing, Ends Up Catching a State-Record Crappie
Grayson tells Outdoor Life that his drum is the biggest fish he’s ever caught, and “it was tough reeling it in.” But he hopes to catch an even bigger on in the 2026 Father’s Day Derby, and he says drum are his favorite fish to land. His dad concurs.
“Drum are a blast to catch, and there are plenty of them in the right areas,” Jason says. “They’re big, strong, and they fight hard.”
Read the full article here
