Caleb Cloud, 11, of Loveland, hooked a gigantic halibut, three times bigger than himself. It weighed 335 pounds and took three men, struggling 45 minutes, to pull it into a boat cruising in the Pacific Ocean.

Caleb said he thought he had hooked a rock.

"When I saw it was a big fish, I was nervous, excited and scared. I didn't want to lose it," Caleb said.

He was fishing with his parents, Dwight and Laura; brother, Cole, 9; friend Matt Ellison; and Matt's father, Mike Ellison.

"When we went there to fish, the boys wanted to catch a fish larger than themselves," Dwight Cloud said. "Caleb is a basketball player and when you really look at it, he caught a fish as big as Shaq (NBA player Shaquille O'Neal), 7 feet long."

Caleb is about 5 feet tall and weighs about 90 pounds.

Cole also caught a halibut twice his size; it weighed 133 lbs.

Dwight Cloud said he and his wife coordinated a fishing trip among 24 people. They flew to Alaska and stayed at the Elfin Cove Lodge, about a 45-minute float plane trip from Juneau.

He said they were using cut-up pink salmon for bait.

The Clouds go fishing regularly in Alaska. This time they took their two oldest boys. They have two other sons, Cade, 4, and Cal, 2.

Laura Cloud was in on the excitement. She helped son, Cole, pulled in his halibut. And she hooked a 20-pound yelloweye.

"We caught over 5,000 pounds of fish: halibut, king salmon, coho, ling cod and yelloweye," Dwight Cloud said. "We brought back 2,400 pounds of filets."

Cheerleader sings anthem

Tara Willson, a Ben-Gal cheerleader and a research assistant at the University of Cincinnati, sang the national anthem before Saturday's Bengals-Patriots game at Paul Brown Stadium.

Willson works in the laboratory of Dr. Kathleen Heppner Gose in the UC College of Medicine's Division of Epithelial Pathobiology.

"I happened on the sidelines one time and the Ben-Gals coach heard me. She asked me to sing for the team," Willson said. "I sang for the team when the Bengals did an overseas tour."

Willson, 25, has been a Ben-Gal for three years. She is a graduate of the University of Kentucky with a double major in biotechnology and biology. She lives in Florence.

POSITIVELY KIDS: Christian awards

Katharyn Balbach and John Holliday received the Outstanding Christian Awards for the 2004 graduating class of St. Margaret of York School. The awards and scholarships are given by the PTO to an eighth-grade boy and girl who exemplify Christian values in their daily lives.

Katharyn, the daughter of Jayne and Bill Balbach of Deerfield Township, will attend Mount Notre Dame High School. John, the son of Margie and Ken Holliday of Morrow, will attend St. Xavier High School.

Wins scholarship

Nicholas Helton was awarded a $1,500 Abbott Scottish Rite Scholarship from the 32nd-degree Masons headquartered in Cincinnati in recognition of his scholastic and all-around achievements. Nicholas, a recent graduate of Taylor High School from Cleves, also received a $9,000 Presidential Scholarship to attend Lee University, in Cleveland, Tenn.

New Eagle Scouts

Two Scouts from Troop 560, sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Norwood, have attained the highest rank of the Boy Scouts of America, the Eagle award:

Sean Derenthal for his community service project replaced an old staircase and railing at Sellman School. The son of Corene and Jay Derenthal of Madeira will major in biochemistry at Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah, in the fall.

Brian Tecklenburg's project was to replace an old rotting retaining wall at Camp Stepping Stones, a camp for people with disabilities. The senior at Indian Hill High School is the son of Linda and Don Tecklenburg of Indian Hill.

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