6-year-old follows in dad's footsteps, catches first cobia

Nathan Legg usually isn't shy when asked about the fish he catches.

"He's been talking and talking and talking for weeks about finally catching his first cobia," said Jason Legg, his dad. "He's been bragging to everybody."

But when asked by a reporter if the fish put up a good fight, he clammed up.

"Yep," the 6-year-old whispered.

Nathan is quite the young angler. He's caught a variety of species and last year earned Junior Angler honors from the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament for catching and releasing at least six species.

But he's always wanted to be like his dad, who is widely regarded as one of the best cobia anglers in South Hampton Roads.

Nathan finally got a chance when Julie Ball asked his dad to join her and a few others on a recent trip.

"I told her that if I left the house with a fishing rod in my hand, that Nathan would probably kill me," Jason Legg said. "He had been bugging the daylights out of me to take him out again. So Julie told me to bring him along.

"He was thrilled."

Several cobia were caught that day, including a pending line-class world-record 82-pounder by Ball.

"Most of the ones we saw were too big for Nathan to handle," Jason Legg said. "So we kept looking and finally saw a smaller one."

When he spotted the fish, he tossed a bucktail past the fish and swam it in front of its face. The fish instantly attacked, and the rod was handed to Nathan.

"It took about 10 minutes," Nathan said, finally warming up to the conversation. "We caught it at the third island. It was pretty exciting."

Nathan's fish came in at 17-1/2 pounds - small by most standards, but big enough to make the rising John Tyler Elementary School first-grader proud as a peacock.

"He showed that fish to everybody before he'd ever let me take the knife to it," his dad said. "That fish usually would have gone back in the water, but he was just so darned proud of it. There was no way that fish wasn't coming home to show everybody.

"He knows I'm a cobia fisherman and a sight-caster, and he's always wanted to do the same."

Nathan started fishing with his dad when he was 3, working baits on the bottom for spot and croaker. He took to it naturally and now loves to fish more than anything.

"If he's not fishing, he's not watching cartoons," his dad said with a laugh. "He's watching 'Spanish Fly' and all the other fishing shows."

Nathan is one fish shy of a second consecutive Junior Angler award, and his dad was pretty sure he'd get that by the end of this weekend.

"He'll either get a trout or a flounder when we go (today)," his dad said. "He's pretty excited about going again."

Nathan's cobia was the biggest fish he's ever caught and has him thinking of future successes.

"I want to catch a big one like Julie Ball did," the young Portsmouth resident said. "It was very thoughtful of her to take me, and it was fun to see how big that fish was.

"I want to get one, too."