Just above the TV set in Chris Cochran’s house hangs a large-mouth bass—a 13-pounder caught by his father.

A 16-pound striper, a 10-point white-tail, a 9-point white-tail, some ducks and a few more large-mouth bass stare back across the room at the TV-topper. None of them were caught by Chris, and now the 14 year old is out to change that.

“I’ve got a challenge for fishin’. I’ve gotta catch at least a 15-pounder and I don’t think that’s going to be possible,” he said. “If I wanna mount a deer. I’ve gotta kill one that’s at least 12 points.”

Chris has alrea...