The 2026 Louisiana High School state championship started off with a bang. With predicted rain and weather thinking we would have a rough start it turned out beautiful for the morning ceremonies and take off.

Teams got underway and the fishing commenced. With predictions of spawning bass hopes were high for that big bass and big bags.

Our first place 2026 state championship team may have waited and weighed in last. But they certainly came in first Zeb Ates and partner Richie Faust had a huge uphill battle with a substantial weight of 19 pounds and 12-ounce bag already in the lead.

As the weigh-in was winding down, we brought up our current leaders for the grand finale and Ates and Faust brought up their bag of fish. After seeing the bag, we knew there was a chance.

The scales settled with tensions high, Ates and Faust knew they had it won with 5 fish all alive weighing in at an impressive 21 pounds and 8 ounces. Zeb and Richie also had a great kicker fish that would secure them with the honors of big fish award with a big fish weighing 9 pound 2 ounces.

The team on the stage waiting for the scales to settle was Peyton Bennett and Brayden Pye they had held a commanding lead for quite some time with nearly a 20-pound sack. Bennett and Pye also had a great day on the water with 19 pounds and 12ounces landed them in 2nd place.

Our third-place team Clint Turrentine and Michael Watkins also had a great day on Lake D’Arbonne weighing a 5 fish limit at 18 pounds and 8 ounces.

In 4th place and a brand-new High School team was Nate Sylvestri Partnered with Hinton Carroll who took the lead early on with 15 pounds and 13 ounces.

And rounding out the field with 13pounds 3 ounces went to Chandler Brown & Luke Moss giving them 5th place also securing the team with a national berth to the 17th Annual High School Fishing World Finals & National Championship.

The top 5 teams all win National Berths to this year’s 17th annual High School Fishing World Finals & National Championship, held on Lake Cumberland, Russell Springs, KY.

Remember all active SAF member teams can each register online and come fish the World Finals with a great chance to make the World Finals Championship final day and have opportunity to some great scholarships and prizes.

Saturday, February 21, anglers gathered for an exciting and memorable fishing tournament at the SAF Florida State Championship on the Toho Chain out of Camp Mack. The event brought great weather, strong competition, and plenty of action on the water — making it a truly enjoyable day for everyone who attended.

By the end of the tournament, participants had landed an impressive 141 fish, with a combined total weight of 414 pounds, 3 ounces — a testament to both the excellent fishing conditions and the skill of our anglers. Big fish for the day weighed in at 8lbs. By Treston Stowers.

Congratulations to our Top 4 teams, who have earned their place to compete in Kentucky:

1 Colton Battlon & Jackson Ming- 27.70

2 Jackson Munns & Saylor Urban-21.23

3 Jaedin Velez & Daniel Gray- 20.64

4 Mason Collier & Jayden Lauffer- 18.99

Well done to all participants for making this tournament a fantastic success. We look forward to seeing our qualifying teams represent us in Kentucky and wish them the best of luck.

Georgia High School Association GHSA, local county officials and the SAF National Tournament staff discussed the situation based on local and statewide conditions expected.

Out of an abundance of caution, the Lake Seminole qualifier for this Saturday is cancelled. The overnight temperatures will be well below freezing and it’s not worth the risk for 200 teams and boats to travel from all corners of the state. GHSA had notified the states AD’s of this decision.

GHSA has been in touch with the SAF National Office, and we have collectively drafted a contingency plan that will add qualifying slots to the three remaining scheduled tournaments, so everyone still has a fair chance to advance. Those details will be defined and published as soon as possible, and we will move forward safely and effectively.

We are sorry to have to make this decision, but YOUR safety must always be our top priority, and this is certainly an unusual situation. So, we wanted to make sure to let you know as soon as physically possible so that you can cancel travel and lodging arrangements. We thank you all for your understanding, no one likes to cancel an event, but it is the right thing to do in this particular case.

PLEASE help us pass the word of this cancellation to other GHSA team’s coaches and teammates that you know, so no one travels in these conditions.