HAMPTON ROADS, Va. — September 9, 2012 — Austin Haycox remembers the day, several years ago, when she first asked her father to let her join him offshore for a day of fishing.
Even easier is remembering the trip, because it was one of those unforgettable days.
"She had never been fishing before, and she got her mom to go with us because she didn't know what to expect," Rick Haycox said. "She goes out and catches three sailfish.
"I couldn't get the girl out of the chair."
Austin, now 15 and a freshman at Norfolk Academy, has parlayed her growing interest in offshore fishing into plenty of success – proving that first trip wasn't just beginner's luck.
Austin has won quite a few junior angler honors with clubs that her family is a member of. She had earned citation awards from the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament for dolphin and wahoo.
And she recently did something very few anglers ever do in one outing – catching and releasing eight white marlin out of the 11 caught on the trip.
Read the full story at the Virginian-Pilot.