Park Hill South team wins first Teen Anglers tournament

Osage Beach, Mo. – Park Hill South High School anglers Bryce Soske (left) and Kaleb Lenhert won the inaugural event of the Teen Anglers Tournament Series by catching a 16.58-pound limit Saturday, March 28 at Lake of the Ozarks.

MO Teen AnglersMaking a 20-mile run on Lake of the Ozarks in snow and frigid temperatures paid off in a victory for Park Hill South High School anglers Bryce Soske and Kaleb Lenhert Saturday, March 28 at the Teen Anglers Tournament Series season opener.

Soske and Lenhert sacked up a five-fish limit weighing 16.58 pounds to top a field of  162 student anglers from across the state.  The duo’s winning pattern consisted of jerking suspending stickbaits along wind-blown secondary points from the 36- to 39-mile mark of the Osage arm.  Soske threw a Luck “E” Strike RC Stick in a black shadow hue and Lenhert jerked a black-and-silver Rapala suspending stickbait.

Park Hill South Co-Coach Gary Soske served as the boat captain for the winning anglers.  “I thought they did a fine job,” Gary Soske said. “They stayed focused and fished the entire time. Obviously the weather was brutal but they are experienced so they were prepared for it with the proper clothes.  The hands got cold a few times but that was about it.”

Lenhert said he likes fishing this time of year despite the cold weather. “It was the first tournament I had ever fished in the snow,” he said.  Catching fish all day helped the teen anglers forget about the cold.

Both anglers fish Lake of the Ozarks frequently since their families own lake houses there. They had fished the lake during their spring break and the weekend before the tournament. “It wasn’t our first day on the lake in that area,” said Coach Soske.  “We felt pretty confident going in. We knew where the fish were biting.”

The other top five teams winning trophies at Lake of the Ozarks were: Ross Thompson and Collin Kemp of Nixa High School in second place with a 16.34-pound limit; Ashley Ruggles and Garrett Moeller, Hillcrest High, third, three fish, 13.33; Cody Tumlin and Cameron Smith, Ozark High, fourth, 12.96 limit; and Corbin Mertgen and Heath Renno, Lincoln High, fifth, four fish, 12.65.

Winning big bass gift certificates from Sportsmans Warehouse were Dakota Pierce and Derrick Bushong of Ava High with the first big bass weighing 6.98 pounds; Mertgen and Renno, second big bass, 6.30; and Ruggles and Moeller, third big bass, 5.93.

The tournament was the inaugural event of the Teen Anglers Tournament Series and Tournament Director Randy Conlon said he was “ecstatic” about the turnout. “I thought it went excellent,” he said. “We had 22 school districts show up.  We were up close to 50 boats (before the tournament) and we took a lot more entries at the ramp.  We had put out a deadline, but we had some calls after that and we ended up taking 30-something teams at the boat ramp.”

The tournament director did have to solve a unique dilemma for one of the contestants before the takeoff.  Conlon said he “got tickled” by one girl who asked if he could stop the tournament at noon so she could leave and make it home in time for her prom.  He solved the problem by telling her she could either weigh in her fish early or leave early and let her partner continue to fish the rest of the day  “In 20 years (of holding tournaments) that is one question I have never been asked,” Conlon said.

For the full results of the tournament and more information on the Teen Anglers Tournament Series, visit www.teenanglers.net.

High School Anglers Fish for Their Future at Murray State Open

High School Anglers Fish for Their Future
Scholarships and conference tournament berths up for grabs at Kentucky Lake event
By Dominick Schenewerk

MURRAY, Ky. — High school anglers from across the Midwest braved chilly temperatures at Kentucky Lake Saturday in hopes of finding hot spots that would help advance them to the Southeastern Conference Championship on Lake Lanier this fall as well as help fund their college education.
The 150 high school anglers and their coaches awoke to an unusually cold spring morning to compete in the 2015 Murray State High School Fishing Open. Frost-covered decks, gear and tackle, frozen live wells and outboards reluctant to start were among the first challenges those aboard the 75 boats had to deal with at Kentucky Dam Marina.
The event honored the memory of Murray State University’s Dr. Jim Carter, one of the earliest proponents of High School Fishing as a state-sanctioned high school sport. Teams competed for a grand prize of $4,000 in scholarships to Murray State. The scholarships were provided by Independence Bank of Murray and FLW in partnership with the Murray State Bass Anglers.
Winning Team, Pattern and Lures
It’s said that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, but the month didn’t follow the script in its exit this year. High skies and a bitterly cold southeast wind challenged anglers to give it their best throughout the day. In the end three teams advanced to the conference championship, with two fortunate anglers going home with $2,000 each in scholarships.
Nathan Flener and Brandon Payne of Muhlenberg County High School were the top team with an 18-pound, 6-ounce limit. Flener and Payne are both juniors at MCHS, and were among six squads that represented the high school. Muhlenburg County High School Bass Fishing is in its third year as a sanctioned varsity sports team, and is the defending Kentucky High School Athletic Association Bass Fishing State Champion. Flener and Payne will fish the Southeastern Conference Championship on Lake Lanier Sept. 26 along with Alex Tomblinson and Hunter Purdy Madisonville of North Hopkins, who finished second Saturday with 17-14 (5 fish), and Billy Hardison and Alex Taylor of Muhlenberg County, who took third with 16-13 (5 fish).
Having a few years of experience fishing the north side of Kentucky Lake, Flener made clear what his plan for the tournament was the night before at the pre-tournament meeting. It took into account the cold snap, and included an umbrella rig and covering as much water as possible. The pair figured that bass would be cruising the banks in anticipation of the spawn, and that a presentation paralleling the shoreline would be their best bet. The only question was how close to the bank they would need to fish, and how deep brilliant sunshine would position the fish.
The two had a promising start with Payne boating a keeper on his second cast with the umbrella rig. Payne ran gold blades on his rig and Flener silver, with both using Reaction Innovation’s Skinny Dippers. The two soon caught two more keepers before a seeming disaster stuck.
Not a Bad Break After All
Their boat developed minor engine problems that their coach and boat driver was unable to remedy. Left without the means to hit various spots on Flener’s itinerary, the two had no choice but to idle to the nearest bay and grind it out. Flener and Payne spent the rest of the day fishing for bigger bass in the small cove not too far from the launch. As it turned out, the motor trouble wasn’t fatal to their plans. Not only did they finish up their limit, but they were able to cull in the early afternoon, then idle a full 30 minutes to reach the weigh-in.
“The boat trouble helped us because we then had to slow down and actually fish what we could that was close,” Flener says. “We couldn’t just run all over the place, and it made us slow down and focus on what we were doing.”
The bass they caught almost exclusively hit the gold-bladed rigs in the morning and the silver blades in the afternoon. Even so, the anglers were surprised that fish bit as early as they did – three keepers on the first spot.
“After we developed problems with the outboard, I just kept telling Brandon, ‘We can do it. We can do it,” Flener recalled. As it turned out, he was right.

(Sidebar)
Remembering Jim Carter
Until he died of cancer on Feb. 13, Dr. Jim Carter was a long-time administrator at Murray State University, most recently serving as Vice President for Institutional Advancement. Carter was an iconic figure at Murray State and his roots at the university extend back to his years as an undergraduate there. Carter was a vigorous supporter of collegiate and high school fishing. He played an enormous role in the early stages of sanctioning high school fishing through the KHSAA. He also was instrumental in the formation of the Murray State Bass Anglers. Throughout his years of dedicated service to the surrounding community and undergraduate fishing, he deeply impacted the lives of countless students.
“Jim was one of our biggest supporters from the very beginning,” says Dave Washburn, FLW Vice President of Operations. “He immediately saw how college fishing and high school fishing could benefit schools, athletic associations, sponsors, host communities and, most importantly, students. We could not think of a better way to honor his contributions than to award a scholarship in his honor to the winners of the Murray State High School Fishing Open.”

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Lutheran School Lions Bass Club wins Illinois SAF High School State Championship

Lutheran School Lions Bass Club wins Illinois SAF High School State Championship

James Brown and Chandler Carter were one fish shy of a five bass limit. They made up for the lack of quantity with pure quality as they brought in four Clinton Lake beauties that tipped the scales at 17lb 9oz to easily win the Illinois SAF High School State Championship. As you can imagine with only four fish, one of theirs had to be a monster, and the pair did not disappoint as they also won the Big Bass Award with 7lb 8oz toad that overcame their one missed fish to carry them to the Central Conference Regional Championship at Lake Carlyle on September 12th. At that event they will join other qualifiers from across the Midwest with a chance to advance on to the TBF/FLW High School National Championship next spring.
Finishing second was the team of Dailus Richardson and Trevor Mckinney who represent Benton High School. They also had a four fish sack that weighed in at 13lb 15oz to claim the runner-up spot and one of the three regional qualifying berths for the fall classic.
Coming in third was the team of Zachary Hingson and Jonathan Bialeschi who had three nice fish that weighed in at 9lb 15oz to also claim a qualifying spot.
Securing the fourth and final qualifying spot in the regional was the team of Jake Hoselton and Levi Umland from El Paso Gridley High School. They had a full limit of five Clinton lake bass that weighed in at 9lb 11oz.
Forty teams competed in the event that had most of the anglers fishing Saturday in the Argenta-Oreana Open event on at Clinton Lake and then day two in the SAF State Championship. The top 10% of the field advance on to the Regional Competitions from the TBF/FLW State Championship series.
Special thanks go out to the Argenta-Oreana High School Fishing Team and their advisor Jason Parsons as well as the FLW and Mr. Alan Gray who provided the weigh-in trailer, equipment and manpower for the event.

For FULL standings check out the results on the State Championships page or CLICK HERE