A Fish Is Nice, But I Really Wanted A Mermaid. . . .

Alaska's Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby has one of its youngest monthly winners ever - six year old Tegan Humphrey from Palmer, Alaska. Her lucky catch? A 138.8 lbs halibut!

The day didn't start that well for the pre-schooler. Her first catch, a chicken halibut, had to be yanked out of the water after a tough fight with another halibut, who was trying to eat it for lunch. The poor fish came out with bite marks starting from its gills all the way to its tail.

With just one more chance left (the competition allows only two tries per contestant), she cast out her line again. And, boy, was she in for a surprise! Within a short period of time, a humongous halibut fell for the bait - hook, line and sinker.

With the fish weighing more than 3-times Tegan's 40lbs frame, she had to get dad for assistance. The epic battle between man and amphibian lasted 25 minutes. Finally, a tired but jubilant Charles Humphrey, hauled the catch onto the deck of Captain Rob Hyslip's charter boat.

With this giant catch, Tegan easily surpassed the previous contender, whose catch weighed in at a measly 61.6lbs.

While Tegan is the winner for June, and currently the top contender to win the title of the Lady Angler division, she will have to wait until September, before she can claim the prize, which could be north of $40,000 USD.

While fish of this size are rare, Tegan's gigantic catch has already been surpassed by David Moore the leader in the Men's Angler category with his prize catch of a 235 pounder!

However, none of these matter to Tegan, for while she is excited by her catch, she would have rather caught a mermaid! And she may do so next year - for the derby coordinator seems to like the idea of a 'mermaid' category and may even consider adding it next year!

Sources:lattimesblog, adn.com