10-year old Christian Pennington is getting hooked on fishing, thanks to his grandparents, Roger and Katie Pennington.

“I’ve fished just about all my life,” says Roger Pennington, Sea Eagle owner from southwestern Virginia. “I do quite a bit of lake fishing for trout and large mouth bass.”

Roger seeks out the smaller lakes in his area. “Lakes that are five or six or seven acres have fewer people on them and less boat traffic so the fishing’s better,” he says.

Gas-powered outboards aren’t allowed on lakes where Roger fishes. He owns a MinnKota electric trolling motor but powers himself around using oars most of the time.

Passing down traditions

Roger’s got “fishing fever.” Could a love of fishing be catching? When we asked Roger why he fishes, he said, “Both sides of my family were fishermen. It’s a family tradition that’s been handed down from generation to generation.” And now he’s helping the younger generation catch the fever.

Roger’s 10-year old grandson loves fishing, too, and is Granddad’s fishing buddy. Roger snapped a picture of Christian and the biggest large mouth bass he’s ever caught — 15” and about three or four pounds. From the smile on his face, we think Christian’s already hooked on fishing.

Christian caught and released his prize fish because it wasn’t quite big enough for the dinner table; in that area, a “keeper” must be 18” or more. “We do a lot of catch and release,” says Roger.

Sports car of the sea

Roger’s first Sea Eagle was the FoldCat, a twin-pontoon inflatable boat specifically set up for fishing. So why’d a dedicated fisherman trade up to a Sea Eagle’s SR14? “SR” stands for Sport Runabout and this boat is dubbed the “sports car of the sea.” The SR series is Sea Eagle’s high-performance speedboat favored by speed-and-power enthusiasts and water rescue teams.

“I don’t run around in this boat, I use it strictly for fishing,” Roger told us. “It works very well for that.” The solid floor adds stability and there’s room for the whole family. Roger added a swivel seat and plans to add another.

Your own fishin’ tradition

Do you fish? Is there a youngster in your family to whom you can pass along the fishin’ tradition? We hope there is, and we hope they’ll enjoy it with you as much as Christian enjoys fishing with his grandparents.