CONTRIBUTED BY ALBBAA
ALABAMA —
Brandon Hornsby and Bry, his 2-year-old son and youngest of six children, have a fish story to tell.
It was Bry’s first fishing trip, as Brandon, his wife, Tiffany, and Bry went to a private pond owned by family friends in Notasulga. Bry wasted no time reeling in his first bass.
“We took him over there one evening just to get him out of the house,” Brandon said. “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. 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.
The photo, showing Brandon and Bry just moments after he reeled in a small bass, received more than 1,300 votes in online voting to win the contest. As the contest winner, Bry receives a prize package featuring an assortment of Road Runner crappie and bass fishing lures donated by TTI Blakemore. The package is valued at more than $250.
Designed to allow anglers of all ages to showcase how they enjoy the bountiful fishing in the Black Belt, the ALBBAA’s 2023 Best Fish Photo Contest drew 60 entries and thousands of online votes. The Hornsby family lives in Notasulga, a small town located in Alabama’s Black Belt.
“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.”
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.
The Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association is committed to promoting and enhancing outdoor recreation and tourism opportunities in the Black Belt in a manner that provides economic and ecological benefits to the region and its citizens. For information, go to www.alabamablackbeltadventures.org.
