The father-son fishing trip is an age-old tradition, and for a group of local residents who made the trip on Father's Day weekend, it will forever be known as that "wild" time they made the catch of the day.

Middlefield resident John Digertt, his son John A. Digertt, 16; along with Mike Bertrand and his son Randy, of Middlefield; Paul Melluzzo, of Durham; and Gary Jehan and his son Gary Jr., of Guilford competed in the 22nd annual shark tournament at the Star Light Marina and Yacht Club in Montauk, N.Y. The group has made the trip to Long Island for the tournament for the last five years, but this year they took first prize for the heaviest shark.

The adventure started on Thursday, June 12, when the group arrived for the captain's meeting where all the rules and regulations of the tournament were spelled out. Anglers are allowed to catch mako, blue or thresher sharks. Then participants fish for bait. Digertt's group used live blue fish.

On Friday, the first day of the tournament, the 6 a.m. shotgun start saw 193 boats take off at the same time. Boats had to be back by 6 p.m. or they would be disqualified. It was an unsuccessful trip for Digertt and his group that first day as no fish were caught.

But that would all change on Saturday. Digertt plotted a new course for his boat, Reel Crazy, and his fishing mates, going east this time instead of west. After six and a half hours of traveling the open waters, 35 miles off the coast of Long Island, they got a bite. Digertt's son John brought the fish in after an hour and a half of fighting with it.

"We knew we had a big shark, but we didn't know how big," Digertt said. "We didn't see the fish for more than an hour."

They brought the fish - a thresher - into the boat live, and made the two-hour trip back to shore where it was measured and weighed. The thresher measured in at over 14 feet long with about equal seven-foot sections of body and tail, and it weighed 353 pounds. The catch qualified them for first place status in the tournament, which is one the biggest on the East Coast.

The six-man fishing team won $158,000, including the Calcutta bets. Calcutta bets are a way for non-participants to bet on the outcome of an event. Anyone who wants to be on a "team" has to win an auction for the right to bet. Some portion of the proceeds from the auction are designated as prize money for the winners.

Digertt has been fishing since he was a kid, and said he enjoys being out on the water and especially being with his son. Though this was not the biggest catch he's ever made - he once caught a 740-pound marlin in Puerto Rico - it is the biggest fish they have caught as a team, and means more because they did it themselves and not on a chartered trip.

The Digertts are planning to enter another tournament in August.

John Digertt and his wife Holly have lived in Middlefield for 10 years, and also have a daughter Jacklin.