Kauffman and Carey Win SAF National Championship at Lake Hartwell

The 15^th Annual High School Fishing World Finals and National Championship is now in the books.  It took place in Anderson, South Carolina at Lake Hartwell at Green Pond Landing.  The National Championship part of the event featured 249 teams competing over a three-day, combined weight format event.

National Championship qualified anglers were all so competing in the World Final portion of the dual event as well so their day 1 and day 2 weights counted in both events.  So as Day One was getting underway, anglers were hopeful that their practice would pay off.  When day 1 closed, 235 of the teams were on the board, many with a hefty three fish limits.  To better support fish care and conservation, and the keep the large youth events competitive, The Bass Federation has for years requires a 3 fish limit on all its summer-time national events.

The National Championship Day One leader was the Alabama team of Mason Carden and Morgan Carden.  They put a giant bag of fish on the scales that weighed 12-08 pounds, just over a four-pound average.  To finish in the Top Ten for the day you needed 9-10 pounds.  This was a strong start with the three fish limit.  You had to have better than a three-pound average, just to stay in the hunt, for the National Championship title.

As Thursday began on day 2, there were over fifty teams with a legitimate shot at making the cut in the Top Ten that afternoon.  The team that was second place after Day One, moved to the top of the leaderboard on Day two with another strong showing, bringing 8-10 pounds to add to their Day One weight of 12-02.  They lead all National Championship Qualifiers with 20-12 pounds.  Bryson Dover and Angel Cornejo of Georgia were just 13 ounces off the lead, heading into the final round on Friday.  It took 17-10 pounds to make the Top Ten cut that afternoon and the ten finalist teams were just separated by slightly more than one 3 pound fish so anyone in the top 10 could have still won it.  All other national championship qualified outside the top 10 were cut to continue on in the World Finals standings after day 2.

When the dust settled on Friday’s top 10 National Championship weigh in, the Pennsylvania team of Josh Kauffman and Trent Carey wound up taking home the National Championship trophies and titles by bringing 9-03 to the scales and ending their three days with 29-15 pounds.

Pennsylvania team of Josh Kauffman and Trent Carey

Bryson Dover and Angel Cornejo remained in second with a final weight of 28-11 pounds.

Bryson Dover and Angel Cornejo

Third place went to the Georgia team of Charles Roberts and Reese Mutter with 26-12 pounds.

Charles Roberts and Reese Mutter

Rounding out the top 5, Carter Cunningham and Landon Glander took fourth with 26-210 pounds and another Georgia team of Lane Parker and Noah Dzyuba took fifth with 25-11 pounds.  All 10 of the National Championship finalists on Friday auto advances to Saturday’s final day of the 15th annual High School Fishing World Finals.

Most of the National Championship teams talked about fishing fairly shallow all week and were using topwater baits and Flukes to catch most of their fish.  Most were fishing in 3-8 feet of water.  Most teams also talked about catching several keepers each day and having to cull several times to improve their catch.

15^th Annual High School Fishing World Finals & National Championship heads to Anderson, SC June 19-22 on Lake Hartwell

 Pinnacle High School Event In The World Offers Millions In Scholarships & Prizes.

The premier High School Fishing event in the world is headed to Anderson South Carolina on Lake Hartwell June 19-22. The 15^th Annual High School Fishing World Finals and National Championship dual event already have over 400 teams from around the world signed up for this wildly popular event. SAF member teams from most US States and multiple foreign counties such as Canada, Zimbabwe, and South Africa are expected to attend and compete for a share of the richest prize pool in all of bass fishing which will offer up an eye-popping 3 million dollars plus total in prizes and scholarships all done with NO entry fees.

“We are very proud to be working with the TBF/SAF and hosting the High School World Finals and National Championship at Green Pond Landing, Lake Hartwell and Anderson County!” Stated Neil Paul Executive Director of Visit Anderson. “The future in bass fishing is our high school anglers and we look forward to hosting the anglers and their families in our community. Our team at Anderson County has worked extremely hard to ensure that we continue to be a destination for bass fishing. Green Pond Landing, a nationally recognized facility, and Lake Hartwell, a Top 100 Bass Lake in America, will once again provide our guests with a Championship Experience!”The student anglers pay no entry fee to compete in this one-of-a-kind dual event, the World Finals portion is the granddaddy of all national High School events, and where the bulk of the prizes and scholarships are awarded, it is also the most difficult to win. The World Finals is open to any SAF member in the world, so everyone attending will be competing in the World Finals. At the same time on the dual-stage, the top 10% of High School teams from all SAF sanctioned events including MLF Open events nationwide in the preceding 12 months are qualified to compete in a national championship event with its own set of prizes and scholarships that will top $500,000. So those National Championship qualified teams are entered into both events and have a chance at both prize pools all in one trip.

A high school team consists of 3 people to a boat, 2 High School anglers, and their adult boat Captain / Coach, no high school angler may fish alone. Add in all the families and friends for both anglers in the boat will push the expected attendance to roughly 3000 people connected to this week-long event.

“We are excited to be heading back to Anderson, SC.” Stated The Bass Federation’s President/CEO Robert Cartlidge. The community rolls out the red carpet for these anglers and they have a great time in Anderson, it is a fan favorite with state-of-the-art facilities, a great fishery, and many things for the families to do while in the area, our anglers love it.”

Since the very beginning of the high school fishing program neither TBF /SAF nor our partners in fishing at MLF, who was among the first to join our Student Anglers Federation (SAF) movement and grow it side by side with us, requires any entry fees for our regular High School events nor do we pay cash to kids at High School events. It is always prizes & scholarships. The result has been the explosion we currently see in high school fishing participation nationwide, it all adds up to a good wholesome experience for the kids and their families.”

From the Student Angler Federation standpoint as the founders of the national level High School fishing movement, high school fishing is not about being the next “pro angler” or getting sponsor patches on your shirt. Those all may or may not be by-products but the National High School fishing program was started for 3 simple reasons. First, to get youth into the outdoors with clean family fun, to live, learn in, and learn to respect the outdoors. SAF’s purpose is to use fishing to get kids outdoors with adult mentors and family with the intent of not just educating them about common sense, manners, and ethics, but about math, science, and language arts and why those are important to fishing yes, but also to life in general.  Secondly, SAF wanted to provide post-secondary education opportunities. Not just college, but trade/tech school too, as our country was built by and still needs trades and skilled craft people. College is not for everyone, especially in today’s college world. Education opportunities are what SAF is promoting.  Three, SAF did not want the HS program to be about money, which is the reason why there are no entry fees and no cash paid to student anglers under this program all awards are prizes and scholarships.

The unique format of this dual event is credited with making it so successful and it was developed with feedback from the parents and families over the last decade. In a competitive arena as there is just no way around travel for the anglers, staff, and partners. It is expected in fishing, no different than national HS stick and ball leagues, cheer or dance team championships, or any other high school sports. The two events are conducted together as a dual event not just to save travel costs and vacation time but to make it a true family vacation where many HS teams can travel together, have fun, and any youth from any background anywhere has a chance to come and earn a life-changing educational opportunity if they can. All while experiencing the comradery of an event this size where lifetime friendships are made.

The popular four-day High School Fishing World Finals and National championship combined event format is a very unique structure where all anglers compete for three days in a format with a second chance round, much like any other double elimination High School sport. It is designed to keep everyone competitive and in the game until the final day cut. For full details, check out HighSchoolFishing.org. You can get your club affiliated with SAF and compete!  All TBF, SAF and MLF High School Fishing events are no entry fee events. To register, anglers only need to be a member of the Student Angler Federation (SAF) which is a mere $25 per year and includes competitor SAF and MLF memberships. It is as easy as completing the online registration at HighSchoolFishing.org.

The event is filmed for national television on the Pursuit Channel and other Networks. LIVE coverage will run daily on www.HighSchoolFishing.org  and Facebook www.facebook.com/hsfishing

About The Bass Federation

The Bass Federation Inc., (TBF) is a member of the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. TBF is 100% owned by those we serve and dedicated to the sport of fishing. The Federation is the largest and oldest, organized grassroots fishing, youth, and conservation organization there is and proud “Partners In Fishing” with MLF. TBF, our affiliated state federations, and their member clubs conduct more than 20,000 fishing, youth, and conservation events each year and have provided a foundation for the entire bass fishing industry for 5 decades. TBF founded the Student Angler Federation and the National High School Fishing movement in 2006 to promote clean family fun and education through fishing. Visit bassfederation.com or highschoolfishing.org and “LIKE US” on Facebook.

Brooks Hibbitt and Noah Wingo bested the field of anglers by three plus pounds to claim the SAF Ohio High School State Championship at Alum Creek last week.  The Hartley’s Hawgs limit was anchored by a nice 4-09 lunker to help them take home the trophies.  Finishing in second place was The Saint Mary Team of Brayden Hoehn and Brandon Gibson with 12-10.  Rounding out the top three was Hoyt Nicely and Connor Bower from Hartley’s Hawgs as well with 12-02.  Places four and five belonged to Carson Harris and Wesley Houck with 10-01 and Noah Cremeens and Tanner Boothe with 9-15.  Most all anglers reported catching their fish in less that 10 feet of water.  Most anglers were in the bays around grass and wood cover.  The best baits seemed to be Ned Rigs, Neko Rigs, Chatterbaits and jigs.  Grass lines and fallen timber seemed to be the best places to catch a fish.

Nicholas Saunders and Boe McCartney landed the Lew’s Big Bass honors with a big 5-01 lunker.  The team received a pair of Lew’s Reels for their efforts.  We had several fish over three pounds weighed in and 42 of the 52 teams weighed in at least one fish.  Thanks to all the teams who participated.

For full Results and photos CLICK HERE.