There were a record 437 teams, 1,311 official participants including each team’s 2 high school anglers and their boat captains participating in the 15^th Annual High School Fishing World Finals and National Championship at Lake Hartwell during the week-long event in Anderson, South Carolina to test their skills.  Different weather patterns and fish movements challenged these anglers each and every day.  To better support fish care and conservation, and the keep the large youth events competitive, The Bass Federation has for years requires a 3 fish limit on all its summer-time national youth events to better support fish care and conservation and to keep the event, which features anglers from not just across North America, but from around the world competitive throughout the 4-day event.

Wednesday’s first competition day brought clear skies and a good bit of wind with it along with the heat.  When day 1 was over Mason Carden and Morgan Carden were leading the World Finals with an impressive 12-08 pound sack of green fish.  Lake Hartwell proved again it was a top fishing destination and the fish bit well on the first day as 398 teams came to the scales that afternoon.  Thursday the weather went to cloudy conditions, more muggy and hardly any wind.  This seemed to slow down the anglers just a little bit, as many of them said their fish were biting better when the wind was blowing.  As we entered Thursday, the weights were really close together with numerous ties due to the unique format of this event all teams vie for Finals on Saturday right up until the last cut is made.  Thursday’s weights were still in the high eight pound and mid-nine-pound range with a few teams bringing in double digits.

Thursday’s day 2 is a what we call “cut day” after two full days of fishing after Thursday weigh-in the 437 boat field is cut into 3 groups. While everyone who attends is in the World Finals pool fishing for the bulk of the scholarships and prizes, those teams who also qualified for the National Championship segment, their daily weights are tracked separately as well and the only the top 10 teams from the National Championship qualified pool on day 2 advance to the National Championship day 3 finals, the rest of the National Championship group stay in the World Finals pool of anglers for day 3.

Day 3 is “Judgement Day”  built like any other HS program as a double elimination round.

On day 3 (Friday) anglers are in one of 3 groups. The top 10 in the national championship who automatically advance to Saturdays day WORLD FINALS.  Then there is the world semi- finals group.  The great field “leveler”  group it contains only the top 2 teams from each state or country represented for Friday’s competition.  All the remaining anglers are in the “Second Chance” round on Friday’s day 3 and the three weigh in groups are set.  Both of the last two groups (world semi-finals and second chance round) have their weights zeroed and everybody started out the same on Friday morning just like a double elimination basketball/baseball event or most other high school sports tournaments.

When the scales closed Friday evening, the ten National Championship finalists were all qualified to be the first ten teams that mad the World Finals on Saturday.   The top 10 from the World Semi-Finalists (top 2 from each state group) also advance to Saturday’s WORLD FINALS. Leading the semi-fianls group Brody Kellum and Carson Thompson of Georgia had 11-12 pounds.  It took 8-13 to make the top 10 cut for the Semi-Final group.  Then we take the rest of the semi finalists and all the second chance round weights and merge them into one standings list by day 3 weight and take the top 10 from there no matter which group they come from. Some years they all come from one list some the other most years it is a mix. For this event nine(9) of those were from the Second Chance round and only one from the Semi-Finals group.  That give us 30 of our 31 teams for Saturdays world finals.

After day 3 TBF hosts a pizza party and Favorite fishing presents a custom rod to all graduation seniors as it is also senior night, at the conclusion of the party we hold a “Lucky Dog” drawing where we draw out of a hat one team to get back into the final day of the world finals on Saturday setting the field at 31 teams.

The Iowa team of Ethan and Ty Timmerman was the Lucky Dog drawing winners this year that put them back into the Saturday Finals.  Now our World Finals Championship was set and all teams were once again set back to zero weight for Saturday’ WORLD FINALS.

All but one team weighed fish on Saturday and the weights were once again very close, with only two ounces separating the winners and second place.  The Kentucky team of Elijah Coleman and Bryce Alfrey set 13.00 pounds on the scale and held the lead during most of the weigh in.

Elijah Coleman and Bryce Alfrey

But as the last team came to the stage, both teams knew it was going to be close.  The Louisiana team of Bennett Fontenot and Braxon Speyrer brought a hefty sack of bass to the scales and when the weight locked, they came up two ounces short, at 12-14.  Bryson Dover and Angler Cornejo who finished second on Friday at the National Championship, finished third Saturday with another good bag of 11-14 pounds.  Rounding out the Top five were the teams of Owen Wiggens and Bill Gaines in fourth with 10-13 and Degan Dougherty and Wyatt Massey in fifth with 9-11 pounds.

Many of the winning teams were offered multiple scholarship opportunities to help further their education.   In total over 3 million dollars in scholarships was offered to teams who attended.

The Top ten teams even got to pick a pair of prizes from the Prize stage.  Items included, TV’s, Computers, kayaks, earbuds, mini-fridges along with other great prizes.  Garmin, Aqua View Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s proved significant boat captains prizes to reward them for their commitment to youth fishing.

Most of these teams reported catching their fish on Flukes, Whopper Plopper’s, Spinnerbaits and Drop Shots.  The shallow fish were in 3-5 feet of eater while several of the spotted bass were in 30-50 feet of water and out on the end of long points and channel swings.

We had a great week in Anderson South Carolina.  look for a press release soon on the next 3 years rotation including the 16th, 17th, and 18th annual editions and location for the High School Fishing WORLD Finals and National Championship.

Kauffman and Carey Win SAF National Championship at Lake Hartwell

The 15^th Annual High School Fishing World Finals and National Championship is now in the books.  It took place in Anderson, South Carolina at Lake Hartwell at Green Pond Landing.  The National Championship part of the event featured 249 teams competing over a three-day, combined weight format event.

National Championship qualified anglers were all so competing in the World Final portion of the dual event as well so their day 1 and day 2 weights counted in both events.  So as Day One was getting underway, anglers were hopeful that their practice would pay off.  When day 1 closed, 235 of the teams were on the board, many with a hefty three fish limits.  To better support fish care and conservation, and the keep the large youth events competitive, The Bass Federation has for years requires a 3 fish limit on all its summer-time national events.

The National Championship Day One leader was the Alabama team of Mason Carden and Morgan Carden.  They put a giant bag of fish on the scales that weighed 12-08 pounds, just over a four-pound average.  To finish in the Top Ten for the day you needed 9-10 pounds.  This was a strong start with the three fish limit.  You had to have better than a three-pound average, just to stay in the hunt, for the National Championship title.

As Thursday began on day 2, there were over fifty teams with a legitimate shot at making the cut in the Top Ten that afternoon.  The team that was second place after Day One, moved to the top of the leaderboard on Day two with another strong showing, bringing 8-10 pounds to add to their Day One weight of 12-02.  They lead all National Championship Qualifiers with 20-12 pounds.  Bryson Dover and Angel Cornejo of Georgia were just 13 ounces off the lead, heading into the final round on Friday.  It took 17-10 pounds to make the Top Ten cut that afternoon and the ten finalist teams were just separated by slightly more than one 3 pound fish so anyone in the top 10 could have still won it.  All other national championship qualified outside the top 10 were cut to continue on in the World Finals standings after day 2.

When the dust settled on Friday’s top 10 National Championship weigh in, the Pennsylvania team of Josh Kauffman and Trent Carey wound up taking home the National Championship trophies and titles by bringing 9-03 to the scales and ending their three days with 29-15 pounds.

Pennsylvania team of Josh Kauffman and Trent Carey

Bryson Dover and Angel Cornejo remained in second with a final weight of 28-11 pounds.

Bryson Dover and Angel Cornejo

Third place went to the Georgia team of Charles Roberts and Reese Mutter with 26-12 pounds.

Charles Roberts and Reese Mutter

Rounding out the top 5, Carter Cunningham and Landon Glander took fourth with 26-210 pounds and another Georgia team of Lane Parker and Noah Dzyuba took fifth with 25-11 pounds.  All 10 of the National Championship finalists on Friday auto advances to Saturday’s final day of the 15th annual High School Fishing World Finals.

Most of the National Championship teams talked about fishing fairly shallow all week and were using topwater baits and Flukes to catch most of their fish.  Most were fishing in 3-8 feet of water.  Most teams also talked about catching several keepers each day and having to cull several times to improve their catch.

15^th Annual High School Fishing World Finals & National Championship heads to Anderson, SC June 19-22 on Lake Hartwell

 Pinnacle High School Event In The World Offers Millions In Scholarships & Prizes.

The premier High School Fishing event in the world is headed to Anderson South Carolina on Lake Hartwell June 19-22. The 15^th Annual High School Fishing World Finals and National Championship dual event already have over 400 teams from around the world signed up for this wildly popular event. SAF member teams from most US States and multiple foreign counties such as Canada, Zimbabwe, and South Africa are expected to attend and compete for a share of the richest prize pool in all of bass fishing which will offer up an eye-popping 3 million dollars plus total in prizes and scholarships all done with NO entry fees.

“We are very proud to be working with the TBF/SAF and hosting the High School World Finals and National Championship at Green Pond Landing, Lake Hartwell and Anderson County!” Stated Neil Paul Executive Director of Visit Anderson. “The future in bass fishing is our high school anglers and we look forward to hosting the anglers and their families in our community. Our team at Anderson County has worked extremely hard to ensure that we continue to be a destination for bass fishing. Green Pond Landing, a nationally recognized facility, and Lake Hartwell, a Top 100 Bass Lake in America, will once again provide our guests with a Championship Experience!”The student anglers pay no entry fee to compete in this one-of-a-kind dual event, the World Finals portion is the granddaddy of all national High School events, and where the bulk of the prizes and scholarships are awarded, it is also the most difficult to win. The World Finals is open to any SAF member in the world, so everyone attending will be competing in the World Finals. At the same time on the dual-stage, the top 10% of High School teams from all SAF sanctioned events including MLF Open events nationwide in the preceding 12 months are qualified to compete in a national championship event with its own set of prizes and scholarships that will top $500,000. So those National Championship qualified teams are entered into both events and have a chance at both prize pools all in one trip.

A high school team consists of 3 people to a boat, 2 High School anglers, and their adult boat Captain / Coach, no high school angler may fish alone. Add in all the families and friends for both anglers in the boat will push the expected attendance to roughly 3000 people connected to this week-long event.

“We are excited to be heading back to Anderson, SC.” Stated The Bass Federation’s President/CEO Robert Cartlidge. The community rolls out the red carpet for these anglers and they have a great time in Anderson, it is a fan favorite with state-of-the-art facilities, a great fishery, and many things for the families to do while in the area, our anglers love it.”

Since the very beginning of the high school fishing program neither TBF /SAF nor our partners in fishing at MLF, who was among the first to join our Student Anglers Federation (SAF) movement and grow it side by side with us, requires any entry fees for our regular High School events nor do we pay cash to kids at High School events. It is always prizes & scholarships. The result has been the explosion we currently see in high school fishing participation nationwide, it all adds up to a good wholesome experience for the kids and their families.”

From the Student Angler Federation standpoint as the founders of the national level High School fishing movement, high school fishing is not about being the next “pro angler” or getting sponsor patches on your shirt. Those all may or may not be by-products but the National High School fishing program was started for 3 simple reasons. First, to get youth into the outdoors with clean family fun, to live, learn in, and learn to respect the outdoors. SAF’s purpose is to use fishing to get kids outdoors with adult mentors and family with the intent of not just educating them about common sense, manners, and ethics, but about math, science, and language arts and why those are important to fishing yes, but also to life in general.  Secondly, SAF wanted to provide post-secondary education opportunities. Not just college, but trade/tech school too, as our country was built by and still needs trades and skilled craft people. College is not for everyone, especially in today’s college world. Education opportunities are what SAF is promoting.  Three, SAF did not want the HS program to be about money, which is the reason why there are no entry fees and no cash paid to student anglers under this program all awards are prizes and scholarships.

The unique format of this dual event is credited with making it so successful and it was developed with feedback from the parents and families over the last decade. In a competitive arena as there is just no way around travel for the anglers, staff, and partners. It is expected in fishing, no different than national HS stick and ball leagues, cheer or dance team championships, or any other high school sports. The two events are conducted together as a dual event not just to save travel costs and vacation time but to make it a true family vacation where many HS teams can travel together, have fun, and any youth from any background anywhere has a chance to come and earn a life-changing educational opportunity if they can. All while experiencing the comradery of an event this size where lifetime friendships are made.

The popular four-day High School Fishing World Finals and National championship combined event format is a very unique structure where all anglers compete for three days in a format with a second chance round, much like any other double elimination High School sport. It is designed to keep everyone competitive and in the game until the final day cut. For full details, check out HighSchoolFishing.org. You can get your club affiliated with SAF and compete!  All TBF, SAF and MLF High School Fishing events are no entry fee events. To register, anglers only need to be a member of the Student Angler Federation (SAF) which is a mere $25 per year and includes competitor SAF and MLF memberships. It is as easy as completing the online registration at HighSchoolFishing.org.

The event is filmed for national television on the Pursuit Channel and other Networks. LIVE coverage will run daily on www.HighSchoolFishing.org  and Facebook www.facebook.com/hsfishing

About The Bass Federation

The Bass Federation Inc., (TBF) is a member of the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. TBF is 100% owned by those we serve and dedicated to the sport of fishing. The Federation is the largest and oldest, organized grassroots fishing, youth, and conservation organization there is and proud “Partners In Fishing” with MLF. TBF, our affiliated state federations, and their member clubs conduct more than 20,000 fishing, youth, and conservation events each year and have provided a foundation for the entire bass fishing industry for 5 decades. TBF founded the Student Angler Federation and the National High School Fishing movement in 2006 to promote clean family fun and education through fishing. Visit bassfederation.com or highschoolfishing.org and “LIKE US” on Facebook.