July 1, 2012 – Competitors were faced with high water conditions and unstable weather patterns throughout the week leading up to the start of the TBF Oregon High School Championships. The Willamette River was running higher than normal water levels due to excess rain and being backed up by the Columbia River. The bass were scattered in the river, keeping the contenders on their toes on where to locate fish. The team of Nick Chin and Jacob Wall represented St. Mary’s High School of Medford, Oregon were able to locate 5 good keeper smallmouth bass to bring home the title of 2012 Oregon High School Champions. A combination of using tube baits and crankbaits produced the fish for the team. “We had a pretty good day and worked hard to catch the fish,” said Nick Chin.
Second place went to the team of Brandon Benedict and Wyatt Seabright representing Thurston High School of Springfield, Oregon. “We had a bunch of top water fish going but just could not get the good ones to stay on the hook,” said Benedict.
For both teams, good bites were tough to come by, but they still managed to find some fish to weigh in at the scales. Congratulations to all of the contenders that participated in the event.
If you’re interested in starting a High School Fishing club at your school, please visit HighSchoolFishing.org for details on the Student Angler Federation (SAF). Cost is only $25/ year and includes full TBF and FLW Outdoors benefits, including access to the all-new FLW Outdoors Magazine e-Edition and insurance coverage for students and their club.
The winning two-person team from each state championship will advance to an FLW Outdoors/TBF High School Fishing Conference Championship held in conjunction with a National Guard FLW College Fishing Conference Championship. Those winners will advance to the FLW Outdoors/TBF High School Fishing National Championship held in conjunction with the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship in the spring of 2013.
All SAF members and state championship participants qualify for the largest event in high school fishing, the 2012 High School Fishing World Finals to compete for thousands of dollars in college scholarships and prizes. Each team that qualifies for a conference and/or national championship will receive a travel allowance to help offset expenses. The National Champions will also each receive a $5,000 scholarship to use at the university of their choice.
For information on how to join the new and exciting sport of high school bass fishing, visit www.HighSchoolFishing.org. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/hsfishing or follow us on Twitter @hs_fishing.
