June 20, 2016
The Devil Dog anglers from Travelers Rest High School improve upon their already impressive 2016 season with another win Saturday at Santee Cooper. Add this to team wins at the Florida Open and a runner-up finish at the South Carolina Early Bird Open and the school and it’s anglers from up-state South Carolina have amassed quite the resume.
Saturday, Oakley and Gantt Conner, weighed in a whopping 25 pounds, 6 ounces, to win the South Carolina High School Fishing State Championship. The duo not only won the championship titles but also trophies and a slot in the Southeastern Conference Regional Championship to be held on Lake Cumberland in September.
Coming in second, with a respectable limit of their own was the team of, Nate Burkett and Brandon Jones, from Stratford High School with a limit weighing 16 pounds, 5 ounces.
The Travelers Rest team wasn’t finished snagging qualifying spots as Devil Dog teammates, Jacob Forrester and Wilson Rickenbaker, secured third with a limit weighing 15 pounds, 13 ounces. They finished just ahead of, Cole Drummond and Piercen Lynch, from South Florence High School who had a limit that weighed 15 pounds, 5 ounces to earn the fourth qualifying spot.
The anglers that paced the 47 boat field were primarily throwing buzz baits, frogs, shaky heads and spinner baits.
The 2016 South Carolina State Championship was a two-person (team) event for students in grades 7-12. The top 10 percent from each SAF state championship field and the top three teams from each of the seven TBF/FLW Opens will advance to a Conference Championship event. The top 10 percent of each conference championship field will then advance to the High School Fishing National Championship, in the spring of 2017. The High School Fishing national champions will each receive a $5,000 scholarship to the school of their choice.
In addition to the state, conference and national championship events, all High School Fishing anglers nationwide qualify for the world’s largest high school fishing, standalone, championship event, the 2016 High School Fishing World Finals. The 2016 World Finals is coming up June 28 – July 2 on Pickwick Reservoir in Florence, Ala., with over $60,000 in scholarships and prizes up for grabs. Click HERE for more details.
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