Keller & Nocilla win Louisiana High School State Championship

Hunter Keller and Nick Nocilla from Barbe High School put together a very consistent 5 bass limit of 11 pounds and 7 ounces to win the 2015 Louisiana State Championship on Sunday at Sibley Lake in Natchitoches, La. “We are just thrilled to have won this event.” stated Nocilla.

“We came down here for the first time on Friday evening and got a little time on the water on Saturday but other than that we had never been on this lake before” stated Keller who is a senior at Barbe high School. “We caught most of our fish ripping squared billed crank baits through the grass and mixed in a few on a senko.” added Nocilla who is a junior.

Watermelon red seemed to be the color of the day for the duo who led a field of 58 anglers who registered for the event that was originally scheduled for the Red River but had to be moved due to high water conditions. When asked what the key to their success was both anglers quickly answered that their boat captain helped keep them positive when they missed a couple of fish early in the day.

Coming in a close second with 11lbs 2oz was the team of Wesley Holt and Colby Miller from Oak Hill High School. They squeaked in just ahead of third place finishers Nicholas Wiggins and Lane Possoit who had 11lb 1oz from the host school Natchitoches Central High School who also hosted the weigh-in after the change of venues.

Rounding out the five teams who qualified for the Southern Conference Regional event which will be held in Pine Bluff Arkansas in October was the fourth place team of Dylan Poche and Regan Maxey who brought five keepers in that weighed 10lb 15oz. That sack was also anchored by the Lew’s Big Bass winner for the tournament, a 4lb 9oz beauty that won the anglers two terrific Lew’s reels for their efforts. The final qualifiers who grabbed a regional berth was the team of Cade Gordon and Haden Craig from Benton High School who had a just 3 chunky fish that weighed in at 10lb 2oz to claim the fifth and final spot at the Conference Championship.

The Northwestern State University Coliseum hosted the teams Saturday to a terrific “Pastalayla” dinner that was provided by the city of Natchitoches. Special thanks go out to Mayor Lee Posey and Steve Graf who helped bring the event to Natchitoches and orchestrated the venue change when the Red River became too dangerous to navigate due to the high water conditions. Natchitoches Central High School rolled out the welcome mat for all the anglers as they hosted the weigh-in at the school parking lot just a few minutes from Sibley Lake.

 
The Louisiana TBF Youth Director Charles Hogg and his family provided manpower for the event which saw a significant increase over last year’s event.
All of these event participants are invited to compete in the TBF/FLW Texas Open on Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend in June as well as the High School Fishing World Finals in July in Florence Alabama. All of those event details as well as full standings for this event can be found at highschoolfishing.org under the “Tournaments” tab.

Tragic Accident Claims the Life of a SAF Angler

It is with the deepest sorrow and sympathy that I write this article to inform all in our High School Fishing community of a terrible accident that has claimed the life of one and critically injured another of our former anglers.

Tara Miller and Austen Cathcart from the River Valley Bass Club in Arkansas were in a horrible motorcycle accident on Tuesday night. Tara did not survive. Austen was airlifted to a hospital in Little Rock where he was in critical condition.

The severity of this tragedy is unmatched by anything that can be said at this point and I’m at a loss for words to describe the sorrow I felt when I heard the news. From a personal standpoint I knew both of these anglers well and always enjoyed going to events where I knew they would be participating. They both always came with a smile and great sense of competitive spirit.

Austen teamed with Sawyer Grace to make the final of the High School Fishing World Finals twice and half of the World Champion Team winning the event in 2012. He and Sawyer also competed in the Boat US Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship as the winner of the HSFWF and represented our organization well. In the early days, Austen and I had several counseling sessions over his grades and priorities in school but his love of fishing and the outdoors prevailed and motivated him to improve so he could participate and by the time he had graduated we were no longer having those discussions. It is one of the things I like most about High School Fishing. It gives some students a reason and purpose to go to school and Austin Cathcart as a High School Fishing World Champion is a terrific example of that.
Over the years I had kiddingly named Miss Miller “Big Fish Tara” as she seem to always come to the scales with one monster bass after another that she had managed to catch. Her team didn’t always win but she always seemed to have that one big one in the sack! Her smile was infectious and I was thrilled to see her show up last year at our High School Fishing World Finals Pizza Party simply to route the team on even though she had already graduated high school and was a student at Arkansas Tech University. Tara always enjoyed the outdoors and we will miss her sorely. However, the one thing you can count on is this, if there are big fish in heaven Miss Tara is going to catch one. Her loss is a devasting blow to her friends, family, fishing club and all of us in the Student Angler Federation and the TBF National Office.
Please join me in praying for Tara’s family and Austen’s recovery.
Mark Gintert
TBF National Youth Director

Veteran and Newcomer Team up to win Georgia State Championship!
In previous years Tyler Mathews would have been watching from the dock as High School anglers from across the state of Georgia would have been taking part in the 2015 Georgia High School State Championship. But with the expanded SAF rules that now allow 7th and 8th graders to participate with a High School aged partner. Mathews got his big break when he was paired with senior Blake Stephenson and the two worked together perfectly to win the State title with an impressive 5 fish limit that weighed 17lbs 5oz. Young Mr. Mathews also helped the cause tremendously with a 6lb 2oz kicker fish that help the team from Evans High School/Middle School edge out second place finishers Tristan Thomas and Dakota Crumley of East Hall High School who finished right behind them with an equally impressive 5 fish limit that weighed 17lb 3oz.

These two teams will lead a six team contingent that advanced from the 68 boat field to the SE Conference Regional Championship in September at Lake Lanier which is also in the state of Georgia.

Finishing third was the team of Jared Baker and Jake Staley from Whitewater High School who had a limit of fish that weighed 16lbs 13oz. Fourth place went to the team of Mathew Jones and Eli Huggins of West Forsyth High School who had a five fish limit that tipped in at 15lbs 11oz. The pair also captured the Lew’s Big Bass award with a 7lb 4oz beauty to claim a nice pair of Lew’s reels for their efforts. Finishing in fifth place was Nathan Ragsdale and Joshua Bennett who brought in 13lbs 13oz to seal their trip. Rounding out the Conference Championship qualifiers which advance the top 10% of the field to the fall event was the team of Jake Hubbard and Mason Quarles of North Forsyth High School who had 13lbs 1 oz. Just missing the cut but also having a good outing was the team of Andrew Johnson and Griffin Caraciddo also from North Forsyth High School who had a very respectable outing with 12lbs 11oz to finish seventh in the event.

“We caught our fish on a green pumpkin Shakey Head” stated Stephenson the elder statesman from the winning team. “Now I know it might seem hard to believe but we caught almost all of our fish when it was raining” added Stephenson. “Combine that with finding a little muddy water and that seemed to be the secret for us today.” When asked how he caught his 6lb kicker fish the smiling Mathews stated that he flipped the Shakey Head back into a little pocket and the fish just barely bumped the bait when he set the hook and the event winning moment was on! The pair was quick to thank their boat captain and parents as well as Buckeye Lures for helping them to victory during the event that saw a steady rain cover the area for almost the entire day.

Special thanks goes out to the Georgia Bass Federation, Cabela’s, the staff at the beautiful Wildwood Park and the Augusta Sports Council for hosting a terrific event for the up and coming stars.

For full standings CLICK HERE