A 6.43-pound bass reeled in by Jack Short, 13, Washington, earned him $21,500 in the Big Bass Bash fishing tournament.
The tournament was held at Lake of the Ozarks in October.
Short, who entered the amateur fishing competition with his dad, David Short, beat out more than 2,200 anglers who had entered the contest, including his dad.
“I think he’s gotten used to me beating him by now,” he said.
Short caught his fish on the first day of the competition using a 9-inch long swimbait. He weighed it in and won the hourly prize for largest fish of $1,500. He remained in first place the entire day.
He remained in first place until the last two hours of the competition, when another angler brought in a fish weighing 6.57-pounds.
“The last couple of hours (of the competition) was nerve-racking,” he said, noting that first prize was $60,000.
The second-place prize was $20,000.
Short said when he reeled in the fish he fell back in his boat.
“I thought it was a dream,” he said. “Then my dad tackled me.”
Short said he plans to save the money for college and for a truck. Still a few years from driving, he has his eye on a new truck, he said.
The young angler said he will attend the University of Missouri-Columbia, because it has a college fishing team.
It’s not Short’s first fishing tournament win. He also won in the tournament’s youth group last year, as well as in other contests.
Short is the youngest top-three winner in the Big Bass Bash history of seven years, according to Charlie Terrell, Big Bass Bash director.
“It just goes to show it only takes one cast to win big in this tournament, regardless of age,” Terrell said.
Short is a seventh-grader at Washington Middle School. He is the son of David and Becky Short, Washington.
