It was the last weekend before the start of a new school year for most of Central Texas, and there’s no better way to spend the final Saturday before school than fishing in a tournament.  The Faith Angler Network (FAN) has hosted a very respected adult tournament series for over 10 years and has now taken an interest in high school fishing.  Just recently they sponsored and helped create the FAN High School Bass Team for all students who do not yet have a fishing team developed in their high schools.  To introduce the new team and FAN to the Texas high school fishing scene, they presented the “Last Cast of Summer” open tournament out of Granite Shoals, TX on beautiful Lake LBJ.

20 teams representing schools from all over the central Texas area participated and enjoyed the challenge of bringing in the 5 biggest bass for a shot at trophies and new Abu Garcia Veritas rods and reels.  The anglers and captains left out at 7am after the playing of the National Anthem and a prayer, then came in at 2pm to find a full stage setup with fish care stations, digital scales, TV leaderboards, and hot dogs and refreshments to enjoy while watching who would have the best bag of fish.

The Faith Angler Network truly is a network of support from many sponsors, affiliates, and the fishing community.  Just a few days before the tournament, a couple of students called and wanted to participate, but they did not have a boat captain or boat.  Jeff Cook, the founder and director of FAN made some calls and thanks to the Cen-Tex Bass Hunters club out of the Killeen/Temple area the situation was quickly reversed as they responded with not 1 boat, but 6 boat captains and boats that now needed students to be found!  What a blessing and it didn’t take long to find students excited to claim those boat spots!

For an August 24th in Texas, the weather was pleasant, winds were calm, and rain held off until after the tournament.  Anglers interviewed at the weigh-in reported catching their bass on jigs, soft jerk baits and worms worked very slowly.

20 teams on 20 boats with 39 students caught a total of 43 fish totalling 88.53 pounds.  First Place went to Jake Read and Taylor Thomas from Vista Ridge HS in Leander, TX.  They had 5 fish for 12.67 lbs and each took home a trophy, an Abu Garcia Veritas rod, and Black Max Reel.  Second place went to the FAN High School Bass Team of Brett Sunvison and Harrison Lansdale from Georgetown, TX for their 5 bass limit of 11.03 lbs.

Third Place was the Marble Falls team of Ben Stripling and Jordan Wright with their 2 fish that included a giant 8.48 lb fish that also earned Jordan the Big Bass award.

For full tournament results please visit http://fanhighschoolbassteam.com/tournaments.

FAN would like to thank all of their sponsors that help these events happen.  Marine Outlet who brought out the amazing Phoenix bass boat and weigh-in trailer.  Pure Fishing helped provide incredible prizes for the kids such as the Abu Garcia rods and reels, and Berkley Havoc baits, tackle bags, and more.  Lake Fork Tackle, Brad Marshal Homes, Academy Sports & Outdoors, Foundation Auto Repair, Kistler Rods, Shakespeare, and many others also support FAN to be able to do these events along with many other community service and outreach programs FAN and the new team will be doing throughout the year.  Also FAN would like to thank their network of supporters such as Valerie and Doug Cruts, Justin Rieger, and Jon Sigman who spent their day with Jeff Cook to setup and run the tournament.  Special thanks to the boat captains and parent volunteers as well, and especially again great gratitude goes out to the Cen-Tex Bass Hunters for getting more kids on the water.  Also they would like to thank the city of Granite Shoals for allowing the use of their Bluebriar Park at no cost for these students.

The FAN High School Bass Team is very excited about the future of high school fishing in Central Texas and beyond, and looks forward to hosting more fishing opportunities, while also serving in many community outreach programs.  You can keep up with the FAN High School Bass Team by liking their Facebook page, or watching their web site at http://fanhighschoolbassteam.com.  For more information on the team you can contact Scott by email at info@fanhighschoolbassteam.com or phone 512-522-2658.

Faith Angler Network is a 501©3 non-profit organization serving the Central Texas Area with Youth Fishing Events/ charity Events/ Military Supported and Awareness Events/ Professional Run Bass Tournaments.