Fin Rittenberry, a 9-year-old student at Sweet Water School in the heart of the Black Belt, won the Alabama Black Belt Adventure Association 2025 Best Fish Contest.

It’s fitting for a fourth grader whose grandfather says he’s known as “Fishing Fin.”

“He’d fish 24/7 if we’d let him,” said Ricky Ault, his grandfather.

Lauren Ault, Fin’s mom, snapped the winning photo after he reeled in a bass on one of his first casts during a July fishing trip to a family friend’s pond in the Tallahatta Springs community in Clarke County.

“As soon as we stopped, Fin was out of the car with a pole in his hand and already casting,” Ricky Ault said. “He doesn’t waste any time when he goes fishing, and he’s pretty good at picking the right spots where the bass will be.”

What does Fin remember about that fishing trip? “I had a lot of fun, and it put up a big fight,” he said.

The photo of Fin with his bass received more than 1,000 online votes in ALBBAA’s 2025 Best Fish Contest and edged a photo of Chandler Sheehan by about 100 votes. As the contest winner, Fin receives a $100 gift card.

The ALBBAA’s 2025 Best Fish Contest, which is designed to showcase how anglers of all ages enjoy the Black Belt’s bountiful recreational fishing opportunities, drew dozens of entries and garnered thousands of online votes.

“We are so fortunate in the Black Belt to have countless lakes, streams and rivers to fish,” said Pam Swanner, director of the Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association. “There’s nothing quite like the sense of gratification you get after hooking a fish and reeling it in. Many of the entries showed young people fishing, including the winning one of Fin, and that’s a wonderful reminder that outdoor recreation is available to people of all ages.

“We’re honored that so many people took the time to enter our 2025 Best Fish Contest and cast online votes, and we congratulate Fin as this year’s winner. “

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.