Lincoln Domino was 2 years old when his mom, Janee, and his dad, Jason, introduced him to fishing. A few weeks ago, now 6-year-old Lincoln, managed a feat not easily achieved by full-grown adults, when he single-handedly reeled in a 16-inch crappie.
When Lincoln was slowly reeling in the fish, he felt a hard yank.
“He immediately thought it was stuck on a log until his dad saw the line going out farther in the pond,” Janee said.
The crappie was putting up a strong fight, but his dad encouraged him to keep reeling the fish in and shouted, “Reel buddy!”
After about five minutes of hard work, Lincoln triumphantly got the fish to the bank without any help from his parents. “Everyone’s jaws dropped and Lincoln was over the moon excited,” Janee said.
When Lincoln realized how big the fish was his parents said he was grinning ear to ear and jumping up and down. “He just couldn’t believe what had just happened,” Janee said. And Lincoln’s first words when he saw the gigantic crappie on the bank were, “holy crap.”
Janee and Jason have always had a passion for fishing. They taught Lincoln how to fish by being hands on, helping him learn to cast, watch the bobber, how to pull back when the bobber went under, and how to successfully reel in a fish.
The family fishes almost every weekend at their family pond when the weather is good. Lincoln usually fishes for bass and he catches from one to five fish each time he’s at the pond. “I like to reel them in and then hold them,” Lincoln said. He believes it’s important to learn how to be a good fisherman in order to have fun in life.
Lincoln has also become a champion at the Smithville Kiwanis Fishing Derby, where he has claimed the first-place title each year since he was 2-years-old.
As he finishes his first year of school as a kindergartner at Siegrist Elementary School, he has not only achieved fantastic grades and made lots of friends, but he also won two leadership awards.
Lincoln likes learning math and playing with his friends at school. He also likes football, soccer, swimming, jumping on a trampoline, video games, shooting his BB gun and driving his 4-wheeler. He also hopes that someday he will catch an even bigger fish.
His parents are proud of Lincoln and how he stayed strongly focused in his latest fishing expedition. They admire his steadfast determination to reel the big fish to shore.
“Lincoln has always liked a challenge and normally, once he starts doing anything, he has to be the best at it,” Janee said. “He doesn’t stop until the job gets done.”