Big Cat Kids Catfishing tournament this weekend
By Kirsten Ballard
Published in News on August 19, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Desmond Vaughn, 13, and his stepfather, Kwan Perkins, fish together at a catch and release pond in Mount Olive on Monday evening. His stepfather got Desmond interested in fishing and now he can't get enough. Desmond will be competing in The Big Cat Kids Catfishing Tournament this Saturday.
Desmond Vaughn is very patient.
He stands on a dock with two poles before him.
He's still too young for a fishing license, but he watches the lake with a practiced eye. The 13-year-old is silent as he waits for a sign that he has a bite.
He has been fishing since he was 6, starting with a small button pole. His stepdad, Kwan Perkins, started him fishing.
Now Desmond says he has 10 different type poles with the more advance spinning reels. He saltwater fishes during the summer and freshwater fishes year-round.
"He fell in love with it," Perkins said. "I think he loves it more than I do, I know he does. If he could fish all day everyday, he would."
This Saturday, Desmond will compete in the Parks and Recreation The Big Cat Kids Catfishing Tournament at Goldsboro Municipal Golf Course.
"I really don't practice," he said. "I just fish a lot."
He tries to get to a lake at least once a day. He is a shore-fisherman, though he says he would like to do more boat fishing, which would grant him access to deeper water and bigger fish.
He participated in the Parks and Recreation fishing camps this summer.
"We went to different locations, the first day we were catching bass all day and blue gill, the next day I caught some cat fish, it was a little bit of everything," he said. "The hardest fish to catch is carp, they're scared to bit the line. They're supposed to be bottom feeders."
The last time he participated in a fishing tournament, he had a broken arm from a football injury.
"I still got second place though," he said.
He says there aren't many tournaments for his age bracket.
"They're hard, a lot of kids don't know what they're doing and they scare the fish," he said.
But for Desmond, being a good fisherman only has one rule: "You just have to be patient. That's really it."
He frequents Robin Lake, Stevens Mill and Stoney Creek. Monday evening he was at a private pond near Southern Wayne Country Club.
The pond has catfish and blue gill. Last time he was at the location, he caught a 12-pound catfish.
Monday evening, he threw fish food off the dock to try to churn up bigger fish.
On one line, he had a wiggling earth worm. On the other, he had a three-day old hot-dog.
"I've had it outside for three days," he said. "Catfish seem to like hot-dogs for some reason."
Catfish are his favorite prey, but he knows tricks to catch any fish. Some fish prefer worms, others need to be taunted with fast moving lures.
When a small blue gill was hooked on his line, he whipped out multi-tool pliers from his camouflage cargo shorts. With a practiced twist, Desmond freed the fish from the hook and threw it back into the water. He laughingly admits it wasn't always so easy to unhook the fish.
"These fish have sharp things, and if they stick you, you bleed," he said.
At this pond, he releases everything he catches, but he enjoys a nice fish dinner occasionally.
He often fishes with Perkins.
His stepdad is always on the hunt for a new fishing hole for Desmond to test out.
"He's probably better than I am, he teaches me stuff," Perkins said.