Maddie Marsh shows off her monster pike she caught in a bay on the Ottawa River. PHOTO SUBMITTED.
She may only be 13 years old, but Maddie Marsh is taking the fishing world by storm in the Mattawa area.
The FJ McElligott student has been catching trophy sized fish by the boat load this summer including her biggest catch, a 22 pound, 44 inch pike which she brought in, with the help of some friends, on her paddle boat.
Most of those catches have come in an unnamed bay off the Ottawa river near Deux Rivieres. Her mother, Sue Marsh, is amazed what people are saying about her.
“A couple of the comments that I heard was it’s Maddie’s year and she must be a lucky charm of some sort and this unnamed bay by the trailer park, people are calling it ‘Maddie’s Bay’ now and boats seem to be gathering out there, where they didn’t gather before,” said Sue Marsh.
Maddie says even veteran anglers in the area are asking her to be their fishing guide.
Despite all this attention she isn’t afraid to share her fishing secret.
“I just keep trying, keep fishing, I will go out one morning catch small fish, go out in the night because I believe there’s bigger ones and they are usually there,” she says.
While she has had a memorable summer of fishing, she still has more to accomplish with her paddle boat, jig and worm.
“Well I usually like to catch perch because two years ago I caught one that was one pound and one ounce and ended up winning a fishing derby so I really like to fish for perch, they are just fun little creatures and I would just like to beat my record of a one pound, one ounce perch,” she says.
Well at only 13, Maddie Marsh likely does have a lot more good fishing stories to come.
