High School teams participating at the recent Potomac Open/Virginia State Championship on the Potomac River near LaPlatta Maryland enjoyed viewing the new products and techniques offered by Erin Divelbiss and Blaine Anderson of the Shimano Tackle Company. The pair spent the entire evening with the anglers while demonstrating a host of new products.

Jordon Mazza and his partner Richard Wellhouse used a little local lake knowledge to win the 2015 TBF/FLW Open Championship at Smallwood State Park in La Platta Maryland.

1st Jordon Mazza and Richard Wellhouse

Jordon who is going to be a senior next fall at Potomac High said they mainly used a swim jig in the grassy areas to catch most of their fish. He added that they used a wide variety of colors but the darker baits seemed to be a little more effective.  “Although we only got to pre-fish a couple of days, this river is basically our home water so we are glad we did well here “stated Mazza.“We would catch a few and then they would shut off” added Wellhouse who just recently graduated. “I think our two biggest keys to success were sticking with the swim jig and paying attention to the tide” offered Wellhouse as the two tried to get a little relief from the high heat and ultra-high humidity that blanketed the area.

The pair will lead a three team contingency from Virginia to the Northern Conference Regional Championship in September on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.

2nd Bradley Gauldin and Austin Carter

Finishing just a tick off of the lead and also advancing on to the Conference Championship was the duo of Bradley Gauldin and Austin Carter from Chatham High School.  They also had a 5 fish limit that weighed 12lbs 1oz to narrowly miss the title and finish second.
Claiming the third qualifying berth was the team of Christopher Butler and Brian Thomas from Brentsville District High School who also had a limit that tipped in at 11lb 14oz to finish third.

Rounding out the top five were Jacob Siggers and Logan Reynolds from Partick County High School who had 10lb 5oz bag to finish fourth and Jacob Lambert and Kile Quick from Broadway High and Stuarts Draft High School who had 10lb 3oz on a five fish limit.

3rd Christopher Butler and Brian Thomas

Special thanks go out to Erin Divelbiss and Blaine Anderson from the Shimano Experience Team and the FLW Outdoor staff of AC and Lisa Campbell and Brad Callahan as well as several other local volunteers.

COMPLETE RESULTS

Tyler Guthmiller (left) and Brandon Pavel (Right) with 4 of their 5 bass catch

June 14, 2015
Lake Mitchell
The goal was simple; Catch and weigh the largest five smallmouth and largemouth bass you can catch in the six hours of completion. The team that weighed the largest bag of fish would be crowned the 2015 South Dakota High School Fishing State Champions.
That’s exactly what Tyler Guthmiller (Madison High School) and Brandon Pavel (Yankton High School) became on June 14th during this tournament held by the South Dakota Bass Federation on Lake Mitchell. Four teams of two launched out and did their best to earn the win and although it was a fairly good day on the water for most, Guthmiller and Pavel were crowned Champions.
Guthmiller and Pavel have now qualified to compete in the High School Fishing Central Conference Championships on Lake Carlyle, Illinois on September 12th. They will compete against the top high school teams from 13 different states with hopes of qualifying for the 2016 High School Fishing World Finals.
Harry Ladner, the coach for the champions, said, “These guys really listened to me. They don’t have a lot of experience fishing for bass, but they worked hard and took advice well.”
High School Fishing is growing nationwide and all information on this event and future events can be found at SouthDakotaBass.com. For further comments or questions please contact South Dakota Bass Federation Youth Director Eric Weeman at ejweeman@jacks.sdstate.edu or 605.491.0269.
Complete Results
1st – Tyler Guthmiller and Brandon Pavel 5 Fish 12 Pounds 12 Ounces
2nd – Trey Doom and Zach Brown 5 Fish 10 Pounds 9 Ounces
3rd – Aaron Johnson and Zach Ledeboer 1 Fish 1 Pound 12 Ounces
4th – Evan Weeman and Dillion Chelma 0 Fish

Questions? Contact Lance Hildebrandt at 605.280.9365 or Lance@southdakotabass.com
Get all of your up-to-date information at www.SouthDakotaBass.com