LITTLE GIRL'S RECORD-SETTING DAY ON THE LAKE RAINBOW TROUT CAUGHT BY PALMDALE RESIDENT.Byline: Rich Hammond Rich Hammond Los Angeles Daily News sports writer. Instrumental in bringing the Los Angeles Kings hockey organization closer to the fans. He is the atypical "what a guy" to Kings fans everywhere. Rich Hammond on himself. Staff Writer Nicole Smith had only been on a boat a couple of times before in her 11 years, so when she saw her fishing rod being tugged on Lake Palmdale, she grabbed it, not quite knowing what she was getting herself into. Smith, of Palmdale, pulled in a seven-pound, eight-ounce rainbow trout rainbow trout Species (Oncorhynchus mykiss) of fish in the salmon family (Salmonidae) noted for spectacular leaps and hard fighting when hooked. It has been introduced from western North America to many other countries. at Lake Palmdale on February 4, and thanks to some quick thinking from a friend's father, she ended up with a junior world record. Smith's catch is recognized by the International Game Fish Association as the largest rainbow trout caught by a girl aged 11 to 16. The previous record was four pounds, four ounces, held by Mary Connell. ``I was pretty excited,'' Smith said. ``We had a couple lines out and I saw that one was getting pulled, so I grabbed it and just tried to pull it in.'' Smith was out on the boat with her friend, 10-year-old Jamie Harpster, and Jamie's father, James, for an afternoon of trolling (1) Surfing, or browsing, the Web. (2) Posting derogatory messages about sensitive subjects on newsgroups and chat rooms to bait users into responding. (3) Hanging around in a chat room without saying anything, like a "peeping tom." . The trio was about ready to head home when one of the rods bent sharply. The group was using No. 7 rainbow Repalla lures, Shakespeare rods, Shimano 2000 reels and eight-pound test Berkeley Trilene. ``Nicole grabbed that one and she just fought the thing,'' James Harpster said. ``It was a real struggle for her to fight that fish, she fought for about five or six minutes before she got it in the boat. ``The only thing I did is hold her up, so she didn't fall out of the boat. I'd been through this before, so I wanted to make sure I let her do it herself and didn't interfere with her at all.'' In February of 1999, Jamie Harpster caught a nine-pound, 15-ounce rainbow trout, but because her father was unaware of the IGFA's junior program at the time, Jamie's catch is not recognized as a record. ``I didn't know,'' Harpster said. ``Afterward af·ter·ward also af·ter·wards adv. At a later time; subsequently. Adv. 1. afterward - happening at a time subsequent to a reference time; "he apologized subsequently"; "he's going to the store but he'll be back here I was telling some guys about it, and they said, 'Hey, that sounds like it might be a record, you should check it out.' So I called the IGFA IGFA International Game Fish Association IGFA International Group of Funding Agencies for Global Change Research IGFA Indiana Grain and Feed Association IGFA International Guild of Fine Artists IGFA inert gas fusion analysis IGFA Intergovernmental Funding Agency and told them what happened. They told me to send the scales I used, but they moved their offices and our stuff ended up getting lost in the shuffle. I didn't want to make that mistake with Nicole.'' So after they arrived home and confirmed, on the IGFA Web site, that Nicole's catch was a world record, they went straight to a grocery store in Palmdale to confirm the weight. After that it was on to Greg Whitaker's taxidermy taxidermy (tăk`sĭdûr'mē), process of skinning, preserving, and mounting vertebrate animals so that they still appear lifelike. business in Quartz quartz, one of the commonest of all rock-forming minerals and one of the most important constituents of the earth's crust. Chemically, it is silicon dioxide, SiO2. Hill to make a memento me·men·to n. pl. me·men·tos or me·men·toes A reminder of the past; a keepsake. [Middle English, commemoration of the living or the dead in the Canon of the Mass, from Latin for Nicole. ``She didn't really grasp what she had done,'' James Harpster said. ``I mean, I've been fishing since 1963 and my biggest has been about six pounds. I take the kids out because it's fun for them. ``Even her mom didn't really understand. She said, 'Well, it's just a record for the lake, right?' And I said, 'No.' And she said, 'It's a record for the state?' And I said, 'It's a world record.' I think when we had Nicole sign some papers, she got a little curious A Little Curious is a children's television show which has aired on HBO Family since 1998. The 30-minute episodes are essentially anthologies of shorts centered on a common, easily digested theme such as "Up and Down" or "Slippery. .'' Nicole received a certificate from the IGFA for her achievement, which seemed to catch everybody involved off guard. ``I knew it was pretty big, but I was very surprised when I found out (it was a world record),'' Smith said. ``I do like fishing, but I had only been out there a couple times, so I was surprised that this happened to me.'' CAPTION(S): box |
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