World Record catch for DMCI student

A Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute student has a whopper of a fish tale after reeling in a record-setting channel catfish on the Red River.

Student Kyla Marquez is one of many students taking part in an enormously popular extracurricular program at DMCI: the McIntyre Anglers. Over the years, the program has exposed hundreds of DMCI students to the sport of fishing and Manitoba’s great outdoors.

Kyla was fishing with a group of her fellow McIntyre Anglers when she felt the jolt of 10.21 kilogram channel catfish on the end of her line. By the curve of her rod and the look on Kyla’s face, DMCI teacher/program founder Benjamin Paul and the other student anglers knew that Kyla had hooked the big one. 

“Lots of teenagers would have given up,” indicated Mr. Paul about the exhaustive battle with the record fish, “but Kyla is a Maroon, so she hung on… for dear life.” 

“The most exciting part about it was that it was my first time fishing,” Kyla said. “It was difficult…because it was my first time, I didn’t have my technique down. But Mr. Paul coached me and it helped a lot.”

After her initial shock, Kyla was in for a literal long haul; it took almost fifteen minutes to get the fish to shore.

“I said to myself ‘just keep going,’” Kyla said. “When the fish is pulling, you kind of just let it pull and wear itself out. When it gets tired and stops, that’s when you start reeling it in.”

Kyla and her fellow DMCI anglers were fishing with special catfish rigs and secret bait that were heavily weighted and featured a heavy-gauge fishing line.

“Before we went fishing, we went into the DMCI field and learned how to cast properly,” Kyla said. 

The hefty catfish was officially declared a Junior World Record by the International Game Fish Association, being the biggest channel catfish caught by a minor in the entire world—supplanting the previous record holder in California.

“I’m still in shock…it’s exciting,” Kyla said. 

The association has a rigorous verification process that must include photographic and video evidence, and measurement on an IGFA-reviewed and certified weigh scale. The school also had to submit the fishing line and the hook used to catch the fish.

“As part of the world-record stipulations, I can coach but I can’t touch the student’s fishing rod,” Mr. Paul said. “It’s very rigorous process and it has to be verified by multiple people…it’s a very special accomplishment for Kyla.”

Connecting to the great outdoors

Mr. Paul started the McIntyre Anglers program seven years ago; the teacher is an avid angler who currently ranks as one of the top 25 Master Anglers in Manitoba. 

Students take part in extracurricular fishing trips to local fishing spots. For most students, the program is their first encounter with the outdoor sport. In addition, they get to see Manitoba’s many waterfront sites. 

“When it comes to fishing, Manitoba is in prime real estate. It’s world-class,” noted Mr. Paul. 

Approximately 240 students from throughout the school have signed up to take part in fishing trips this season.

In order to accommodate the high student numbers, Mr. Paul is taking smaller student groups out fishing seven days a week—rain or shine.

“In order to accommodate all the students, we have a Monday group, a Tuesday group, etc. all the way to Sunday. We only fish on days that end with Y.” 

Community partnerships

The McIntyre Anglers rely on community partnerships to keep the program running on such a scale. 

“We have great community partnerships that make it feasible for us to involve this many students. Otherwise we’d have to run a much smaller program,” Mr. Paul said. “Canadian Tire Jumpstart has donated an increasing amount fishing rods to our program, Manitoba Fisheries have provided grants, and other community partners have donated equipment. Without all of them, we wouldn’t be able to take so many kids out fishing.”

“Canadian Tire Jumpstart has been a proud supporter of the McIntyre Anglers program as it offers kids of all abilities the opportunity to participate in this sport, and is about much more than getting active – sport teaches important life skills like courage, determination and confidence. Congratulations to all the participants and to Kyla whose courage, confidence and determination enabled her successful catch,” says Scott Fraser, President, Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities.

Kyla said she is happy to bring recognition to the McIntyre Anglers program and to the sport of fishing in general.

“I’d say fishing is quite underrated,” she said. “Kids our age don’t always think to go fishing, usually it’s more volleyball, basketball and all that stuff. So I’m very happy to bring recognition to it.” 

As for Mr. Paul, he was utterly impressed with Kyla’s angling prowess exhibited on her first-ever fishing trip.

“If there’s a Loch Ness monster hiding in these rivers somewhere,” he noted, “it better be careful when Kyla is around.”