Nugent Twins Win 2011 Arizona High School Fishing State Championship

Hosted by: The Bass Federation – Arizona

September 25, 2011 – Theodore Roosevelt Lake, AZ – Great day to be out on the water and as the sun rose the High School Anglers and their boat captains were right in the mix with the adults of TBF-AZ.  Fishing was tough for everyone, but everytime it’s tough out there someone finds a way to bring in the right fish.  Although there was some disappointment the anglers were on the same stage as the adults going through the same process of being weighed in and receiving their weigh information.  The event went rather smoothly with the team from Peoria High School, Cody and Michael Nugent having “Bass Catch Fever” (Sorry) to take the title for Arizona and on their birthdays no less!  Cody and Michael Nugent will be representing Arizona at the Regional Championship being held at Saguaro Lake, AZ.

Keith Espe who has been a voice in Arizona promoting High School Fishing was on hand to congratulate the anglers, parents, and boat captains.  Keith is spearheading the program and the voice of High School Fishing here in Arizona for the TBF-AZ working with area schools and the National Guard to further develop the program.

With the success of the event at Theodore Roosevelt Lake, TBF-AZ has opened the opportunity for three tournaments in the future including; Bartlett Lake, Theodore Roosevelt Lake, and the State Championship to be held at Martinez Lake, AZ.  It looks as if High School Fishing is taking a firm hold.  Thank you to all who made the event possible, manageable, and fun.  If you would like Keith Espe to speak at your school about developing a team or program you can contact him at FISHESPE@YAHOO.COM

The state champions will advance to an FLW Outdoors/TBF High School Fishing Regional Championship held in conjunction with a National Guard FLW College Fishing Regional Championship hosted on a college campus this fall. They will receive travel allowances to help offset expenses. The winners from each regional will advance to the FLW Outdoors/TBF High School Fishing National Championship held on a college campus in conjunction with the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship in the Spring of 2012. National Champions will each receive a $5,000 scholarship to use at the university of their choice.

Teams who entered and competed at this event, if still eligible, will be qualified to fish in the largest event in high school fishing, the 2012 High School Fishing World Finals (at no extra cost), to compete for thousands in college scholarships and prizes. Additionally, it is open to any and all high school fishing teams who would like to come and compete. If you are not SAF members, you will just need to pay a $50 team entry fee. For more information regarding the HSFWF, please visit our HS Fishing World Finals page on HighSchoolFishing.org.

A unique feature of an SAF sanctioned event such as this is the “angler testing” component. Anglers were given the opportunity to take a free online test at HighSchoolFishing.org about boater safety, conservation and angler ethics, which made them eligible for contingency awards at their state championship. “It’s an industry first by TBF and a tremendous way to emphasize the importance of education to these student anglers,” TBF Youth Director Mark Gintert commented. “The Federation is driven by our desire to promote education through fishing and the testing component is designed to do exactly that. Put this package together with our partnership with FLW Outdoors and the sky is the limit.  These young anglers will have opportunities unlike anything the industry has ever seen.”

TBF and SAF would like to thank the Arizona Bass Federation crew and all the volunteers who helped make this event happen. And a huge thank you to all the parents, mentors, teachers, coaches and boat captains for getting your students involved with high school fishing!

For more information regarding SAF High School Fishing, you can visit www.highschoolfishing.org , www.facebook.com/HighSchoolFishing  or follow HS Fishing on Twitter @HS_Fishing