Landing a big fish can sometimes wear a guy out, maybe even to the point where he needs to go home and take a nap after the fishing trip.
And sometimes when a gal is "rolling in" a lunker she needs a little help from her older sister to net the catch.
Those were just a couple of the situations that came up during the annual fishing derby sponsored by the Bella Vista Property Owners Association at Metfield Golf Course on Saturday, May 20.
"We do this event every year," said POA Lakes and Fisheries Superintendent Rick Echols. "It's kind of a partnership with Arkansas Game and Fish, and the Bella Vista Fly Tyers do a really good job of helping with it and promoting it. It's a way to promote fishing to youth, which is really important, because if we don't it's going to become another one of those traditional activities that just kind of go away."
The golf course's big pond on the east side of the clubhouse was stocked with channel catfish by the AGFC on Friday morning before the Saturday event.
The new fish were in the 1-pound range and were 12-14 inches long. The pond already contained some largemouth bass, bluegill and redear sunfish, and still had some catfish in it that were stocked prior to last year's event.
"Some of the kids were catching catfish over six pounds today," Echols said.
The kids had the choice of putting the fish they caught back in the pond or taking them home to eat.
Six-year-old Katherine Westover, the daughter of Bella Vista residents Ron and Rebecca Westover, wanted nothing to do with eating the fish.
"No, we don't like fish. I don't like any seafood," she declared.
While she laughed at the idea of taking the fish home and keeping it in her bathtub, she said she would probably give it to her grandfather and let him have it for supper.
She was also generous with a prize she won earlier in the derby.
"Even though I won the fishing pole I gave it to my dad for his birthday," she said.
Katherine needed help from her sister, Emma, 9, to land a big catfish she caught, one of about 10 they caught during the derby.
"I was rolling it in some and then it was like really hard to roll it in so Emma then rolled it in the rest of the way," Katherine said. Emma also netted the fish.
When asked if they liked fishing, Katherine said, "Emma's in love with it," adding, "It's good. We might come back here tonight."
Austin Davis, 11, whose Grandpa Bill, a Bella Vista resident, brought him to the derby, wore himself out landing a 5-pound, 4-ounce catfish.
When asked how it felt to reel in the whopper, the young angler said, "Like there was a 50-pound barbell on the end of the line while I was trying to reel it in. I'm just being honest. It wore me out."
He said the workout had earned him a nap when he got home -- but not before trying to catch another fish.
"Oh yeah, definitely. I'm definitely going home and taking a nap. After I get one more," he smiled.
Big smiles were easily caught during the derby, thanks in part to the help provided by the Fly Tyers Club.
"What we do is a big part of the fishing derby," said Fly Tyers Club President Kevin Huels. "We collected fishing reels and tackle boxes and we put some bobbers and hooks in the tackle boxes. We'd call out a number and let the kids come up and pick any rod and reel or tackle box."
The Fly Tyers also helped when a boy or girl showed up without fishing equipment.
"Some kids came and said, 'My brother doesn't have a rod,' and one of our guys said, 'I've got a couple in my car' and he let him use one," said Huels. "We want everybody to have a good time. It means a lot to us because it's like what we do with Cooper Elementary School. Some of these kids have never fished in their life, and when they hook a bluegill or sunfish they're so excited."
Bennett Horne/The Weekly Vista Austin Davis, 11, caught this 5-pound, 4-ounce catfish during the annual Bella Vista Property Owners Association Fishing Derby held at Metfield Golf Course on Saturday, May 20.