Jeff McNew’s kids have a newfound appreciation of their dad’s wisdom.

Andy and Matt McNew weren’t happy with Jeff’s decision to forego bringing the boat along on last weekend’s camping trip at Lake Waco’s Airport Park. He told them they could bring along their kayaks and fish around the park’s shorelines, but the boys, who are avid anglers, had been planning on bigger things.

Little did they know as they grudgingly loaded their kayaks up for the trip to the lake, that something really big was in store.

The brothers, along with their friend Timmy Urbanek, set out from camp last Saturday morning on a quest for bass along Airport’s limestone shores. Matt tossed his lure in front of an overhanging tree by the bank, and all of a sudden he forgot about being in a kayak.

“I was fishing a Bandit crankbait and reeling at medium speed when it hit,” he said. “At first it wasn’t really fighting, and I thought it was probably a 3- to 4-pounder, but then it suddenly stopped.”

The fish then proved it had a little fight in it by launching itself straight up out of the water, which got the attention of the young fisherman.

“When she jumped, I saw the true size and thought to myself, ‘Oh, my God, stay on!’ ” he said.

As the fish landed back in the water and began fighting, Matt again remembered he was in a kayak, as the whopping bass pulled him around the area. But the youngster wasn’t rattled and fell back on his fishing experience, which sometimes included improvising.

“I was pretty much skiing behind the fish. I just played her in and basically reeled myself in to her,” he said.

The big fish erupted out of the water a total of four times as McNew worked to control the jumps so that the fish couldn’t shake the lure from its jaw.

“Luckily, I hooked her good,” he said.

When the fish eventually tired, he reached down to lip her and bring her into the boat. But the massive fish still had untapped energy and headed toward the bottom for another round of fighting. The line was stripping so fast that it caused a burn on McNew’s hand.

Despite the setback, he worked the fish back into range and got it into the boat.

“I finally got her back up to my kayak, lipped her and laid her on my lap,” he said, “and started screaming, ‘Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Andy, get over here!’ ”

His companions were, of course, worried that something terrible was happening, but as soon as they eyeballed the fish, they joined in the celebration. On the way back to camp, they realized that their bass boat never could have made it into the area where the fish was caught.

The trio paddled back to shore to weigh, measure and photograph the 10-pounder, which measured 26 inches in length and 16 in girth.

Matt decided to release the fish back into the lake. He then canceled the rest of his fishing appointments for the day and threw a retirement party for his crankbait.

Photo contest

Entries for the Centex Outdoors Game Cam Photo Contest will be accepted through June 26.

To submit an entry, attach your picture to an e-mail and send it to mail@centexoutdoors.com with “game cam contest” in the subject line. Include your full name, address and telephone number, along with the time, date and location the picture was taken.

Dr. Jim McGregor of Waco, Academy Sports & Outdoors and others are donating goods and services for the grand prize, and Tribune-Herald photographers will be among the contest judges.

Bite early, late

Lake Whitney striper guide Clay Yadon (817-219-3707) says he’s catching lots of good stripers suspended over deep structure, but adds the moon phase is playing into timing strategies.

“We’re fishing over suspended schools at about 20 to 28 feet and catching a lot of fish in the upper teens, including an 18-pounder caught by a 5-year-old boy who was fishing with me and his grandfather last week,” Yadon said.

Yadon says that the full moon is causing the prime-time bite to come early and late.

“If you miss the early bite, you just have to wait them out,” he said.

Looking ahead

Check out the Tribune-Herald outdoors column next Sunday for an amazing story about Josh Sears and Bryan Dodd, who are proud owners of a new Lake Waco bowfishing record.