Little boy gets just reward at favorite fishing hole [September 03, 2011]  Gage Daniels, 8, of Lincoln, has spent most of the summer for four years with his grandparents -- Jim and Cheryl Daniels, of Middletown -- at Hickory Lane Campground, near Atlanta. He learned to bait his own hook and take care of his own fishing line -- so well, in fact, that now he is helping other kids learn to do the same.

A few weeks ago he and his grandfather were fishing when he got a surprise that rewarded him for the lessons he's learned along the banks of the fishing ponds.

While fishing with Jim, Gage caught a 1 1/2-pound catfish and put it on the stringer. He wanted to show Cheryl and went to the stringer to pull it out of the water. His efforts to lift the little fish did not work.

"Pull it out," Jim laughed. "It isn't that big a fish."

"It won't come up," Gage complained. At that point, everyone noticed that the fish coming to the surface was much larger than a 1 1/2-pounder. A very large catfish head was rising out of the water.

"Pull it in, pull it in," Jim called out, as he moved closer to help Gage pull the stringer to a safe spot.

They weighed the big catfish and discovered that he was a 23-pound whopper. He had tried to take the smaller catch and wouldn't let go to save himself.

So Gage got a bonus on his stringer that day, and his picture to prove this fish story isn't a tall tale. Now when he is fixing popcorn or helping Cheryl wait on customers in the office, he has something to start a conversation.

[By MARLA BLAIR]