Winning team Justin Rusciolelli and Kevin Cardenas

“Blast off” was more like an “Idle off” at the “DELTA TEEN TEAM OPEN” tournament on the California Delta on November 22, 2015 due to cool and foggy conditions. A large field of 76 Junior and Student Anglers in 38 boats, made anticipation and enthusiasm high for the opportunity to compete and the Delta did not disappoint. Teams traveled for this event from Fresno, Folsom, Vacaville, Placerville, Clear Lake, San Jose, and other areas to compete with the local anglers on the Delta. Many anglers had to wait for the fog to lift in the late morning hours to travel to their favorite water. A 1pm weigh-in evened the playing field for local sticks that had to fish secondary waters.

In the Student Angler division, traveling team Justin Rusciolelli and Kevin Cardenas from Vista del Lago High School in Folsom, CA, won first place with a total weight of 13.61 lbs anchored with a GIANT kicker fish of 8.83 lbs to secure the Big Fish honors as well. Delta Teen Team locals Trevor Gillilan and Justin Blevins captured second place with 12.46 lbs. Josh Gonzales and Garrett Bradshaw, also from Delta Teen Team won 3rd place with 12.24 lbs. in what proved to be a very close race.

In the Junior Angler division, Jullian Roa captured First Place and Big Fish with a total weight of 8.51 lbs and a big fish of 3.99 lbs. Miles Kaneko finished in Second Place with 6.38 lbs, and Michael Alaga secured 3rd Place with 5.88 lbs.

Awards ceremony and raffle followed a picnic style BBQ lunch provided for Anglers, Parents, and Boaters.

When: December 12th, 2015
Where: Wildwood Boat Landing
Time: Safe Light to 3pm
Who: Any adult willing to participate in taking out one youth angler and any youth angler currently affiliated with a Youth Fishing Team.
Adult Boat Captain Sin-up: Sign-up for this tournament will only be at The Tackle Shop. You may call if you wish to have name and number added to the sign-up list. 706-432-8225
Youth Angler Sign-up: All youth anglers should have adult team representative contact Tournament Director (Joey Bruyninckx) with list of anglers to participate by COB December 9th. Angler entries will be taken on a first come first serve basis, should there not be enough boat captains, the last taken will be the first dropped.
Objective: This tournament was originally designed to pit the SC Youth teams against the GA Youth teams. It has grown over time and is now open to all youth teams within the two states (GA & SC). The purpose is to provide an opportunity for our youth to fish with different adult anglers one on one in hopes to learn more about the sport and Clarks Hill in general. The adult anglers will be participating in a separate pot of money competing only against the other adult anglers. The youth will also be competing against the other youth participants for prizes being provided by each youth team participating and a smaller pot of money. The youth money pot will be awarded to the overall team that finishes with the most aggregate weight. This tournament is only possible with the help from the adult fishing community and is very much appreciated by the youth and teams alike.
Adult entry fee: $40
Youth entry fee: $10
Adult Payout: 1st, 2nd, 3rd & Big Fish
Youth Payout: 1st, 2nd, 3rd & Big Fish
– An additional $100 will be awarded to the boat captain whom has the youth angler that finishes in 1st place.
Boat Pairings: On Thursday evening December 10th @ 6 pm at The Tackle Shop a random draw will be held to pair one adult angler up with one youth angler. The draw will also dictate the blast off order. It is highly encouraged that all youth anglers be prepared to compensate the boat captain with fuel money in the amount of $30.
Tournament Rules: Clark Hill Committee rules will be followed
Tournament Director: Joey Bruyninckx 706-564-9583/ joey.bruyninckx@pcsnitrogen.com
• All entry fees will not be collected until Thursday December 10th and or the morning of the tournament.
• Phone numbers of the youth angler and the adult captain will be shared on December 10th at the draw. It is the responsibility of these two anglers to make arrangements with each other.
• Signing the attached sheet represents your commitment to participating in taking out one of our youth anglers.
• It is very possible that there will end up being a couple adult anglers that will be competing in the adult side of the tournament that will not have a youth angler. This is done to ensure we have a few extra boat captains to cover each of our youth anglers, should a boat captain not show the morning of or have an emergency. This is done to ensure fairness to all the boat captains that have committed to volunteering their time. The draw will dictate whom these extra captains will be.
• Adult boat captain sign-up for this tournament will end at COB on December 9th.

Coach Isaac Payne from the Savannah College of Art and Design continues to build his collegiate team with the addition of Noah Pescitelli from Mill Creek High School in Buford, Ga.

“The addition of Noah to our team is a very exciting” Payne said. “He’s a very creative guy, accomplished angler and has already become an entrepreneur with his KickinTheirBassTV.com site. He has a very big following and our Advertising/Marketing program should be a perfect fit for him.”

SAF’s partner’s in fishing at FLW recently published an article on Pescitelli citing, “with more than 188,000 combined likes, followers and subscribers gained through Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, which he accumulated in about two and a half years, Pescitelli’s social media reach is comparable to that of seasoned bass fishing pros and other industry media. His reach is also appealing to sponsors, including the likes of Ranger Boats, Ridged Industries, Abu Garcia and Under Armour.”

“I’m really looking forward to getting started with SCAD,” high school senior, Pescitelli said. “My scholarship is a combination of athletics and academics which I’m very proud. I plan to major in Advertising and Marketing and I think the fact they have that major in a school that specializes in art and design is going to be very exciting,” Pescitelli continued. “I want to continue to grow my small business centered around the fishing industry while getting my college education and this opportunity gives me the platform to do that; I can’t wait to get started!”

Pescitelli has racked up several accomplishments in both the fishing industry and beyond, including starting his own high school fishing team and finishing 17th out of 180 anglers at SAF’s High School Fishing World Finals, among several other fishing titles.

SAF is proud to have played a little part in his journey and excited for how high school fishing continues to pave the way towards better educations and futures for young anglers.