MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WDHN) — A boy and his dad have quite a fishy story to tell.

According to the Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association (ALBBAA), Brandon Hornsby and his wife Tiffany, took their son Bry on his very first fishing trip to a private pond owned by family and friends in Notasulga. Bry wasted no time reeling in his first fish.

“We took him over there one evening just to get him out of the house,” Brandon recalled. “He’d never been fishing. His mom loves fishing. It’s hard to keep a 2-year-old’s attention, as you can imagine, so we were just sitting on the bank fishing.”

“It was funny because he was trying to cast his little fishing pole,” Brandon added. “He tried to cast it, and it barely went into the water. As I was trying to get it to reel it back in, the fish hit the worm and took off. He hooked it himself and reeled it in. That was his first one. He accidentally caught the fish.”

The happy accident led to 2-year-old Bry winning the Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association’s 2023 Best Fish Photo Contest.

Photo courtesy of the Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association

The photo shows Brandon and Bry just moments after he reeled in the small bass and received more than 1,300 votes online — winning the photo contest.

As the winning contestant, Bry will receive a prize package featuring an assortment of Road Runner crappie and bass fishing lures donated by TTI Blakemore that is valued at $250.

“This region is blessed with so many lakes, rivers and streams, and the Best Fish Contest is intended to celebrate the summer fishing season and encourage people to enjoy our natural resources,” said Pam Swanner, Executive Director of the Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association. “The photos entered this year included people of all ages who wet a line on our abundant waterways found throughout the Black Belt’s 23-county footprint. It’s gratifying to see these family snapshots that remind us about the unbridled joy of catching a fish.

“Bry’s winning photo with his dad definitely showcases the family memories made in the outdoors,” Swanner says.

Alabama’s Black Belt consists of 23 counties located between the Appalachian Foothills and the Coastal Plain – Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Crenshaw, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Russell, Sumter, Tuscaloosa and Wilcox.