Indiana anglers competed on Patoka Lake in Celestine, IN on May 2, 2026, for the Student Angler Federation state championship. In days leading up to the event, from 80-degree highs to 5 inches of rain in the area, topped off with a strong cold front that dropped the temperature down to 39 degrees at takeoff, made for some challenging conditions for these anglers to adjust to.
The team of Micah White and Grayson Parker came away with the win bringing in 5 fish weighing 18-10.
2nd place was the team of Colton Fuernstein and Jared Enda with 15-12, followed by Luke Popp and Korbyn Messmer in 3rd place with 15-07.
The teams of Sam Elliott and Myles Motsinger along with Hunter Duracz and Wyatt Cole rounded out the top 5 who are moving on to the high school fishing world finals on Lake Cumberland in June.
Big Fish sponsored by Lew’s reels winners of the day were Will Whyte and Landon Fulks with a nice bass weighing 6-01.
Congratulations to all Indiana National Qualifiers! Good luck in June at Lake Cumberland!
