It took Riley Neal three and a half hours, a borrowed net, and a whole lot of grit to land the 51-pound king salmon he hooked near Angoon, Alaska on Thursday. But at only 15 years old, he’s too young to claim the local salmon derby prize.
Neal and his cousin were fishing from his uncle’s boat, first jigging for herring and then trolling, when he hooked a fish that started ripping off line.
“It probably ran five to six times. I only got it to the boat once, and it’d just take off, I’d get it a little closer, and I’d see it, and then it’d just take off again,” Neal told Alaska’s News Source. ″After about 20 minutes, I realized it was going to take a while to fight. About 40 minutes in, I finally saw it, and I saw it was a huge king salmon.”
Neal was finally able to get the monster in the boat with the help of his cousin and a nearby angler who had a larger net.
Proud dad Ryan Neal said his son “loves to be on the water.” When Riley called him after the catch, he could barely contain his excitement, telling his father, “Dad, I got the biggest king salmon in the world!” according to the outlet.
The young angler’s fish reportedly would have crushed the competition in the local salmon derby. The largest fish logged in the competition weighed just 36 pounds. However, entrants in the derby must be at least 16 years old. It’s not immediately clear which salmon derby he might’ve been referring to, though there are several salmon derbies held across the state each summer.
″If you can fight a king salmon, know how to bait it, know how to troll, there should be no age limit,” the teen’s father said, lamenting the age restriction.
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Neal already has plans to take his own boat and enter the derby next year, when he’s eligible to win prize money. He hopes to land an even heavier king for the competition. Neal said he intends to eat his impressive catch, and that he shared the head and belly with his grandfather.
“I do it for fun and food,” he said of fishing. “I will probably do it for the rest of my life.”
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