FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PONCA CITY, Okla. (January 15, 2015) – The Student Angler Federation,(SAF) in partnership with the Inshore Fishing Association (IFA) is offering interested High School Students an opportunity to participate in their second High School RedFish Tournament on Sunday March 8^th at Laishley Park located at 120 Laishley Park Court in Punta Gorda Florida.

This will be a two person team event for students in grades 9-12. NEW for 2015 is the option for one member of each team to be a 7^th or 8^th grader if the team chooses. All teams should pre-register online for any high school event at HighSchoolFishing.org to avoid onsite late fees.  Both anglers and their “coach,” who provides the boat they compete from will need to check in on Saturday March 7^th at the IFA weigh-in trailer located at Laishley Park from 5:00pm to 6:00pm with a rules meeting to immediately follow. Take off is at 6:30am and the weigh-in will begin at 2:00pm on Sunday

 “Our expansion into the saltwater events has been an exciting venture for us,” stated TBF National Youth Director Mark Gintert. “We worked with the staff of the IFA to conduct the nation’s first High School saltwater event last year in Houma LA and that experience has propelled us into 2015 with the mission of creating more opportunities for our High School Anglers as we can. Working with the IFA is a perfect fit for us and we look forward to seeing more of these events in the future.” added Gintert.

“We are very excited to continue to work with the Student Angler Federation to help build the foundation of our Inshore Fishing Series across the country” stated IFA Tournament Director Eric Shelby.  “We think this gives us a terrific platform to help grow our series as well as create a host of new opportunities for High School Anglers” cited Shelby.

Students and parents can go to HighSchoolFishing.org for details on the Student Angler Federation and to sign up. Annual cost is a meager $25 year and there is no entry fees to any SAF event conducted in our national program including the existing SAF High School State Bass Fishing Championships that are conducted annually in each state. All SAF members nationwide automatically qualify just for being a member to come and compete in the 2015 High School Fishing World Finals for thousands of dollars in scholarships and prizes each year.  The World Finals allows anglers to test their skills against High School anglers from across North America at the week-long family vacation event which will be held at a new venue this year in Florence Alabama on Pickwick Reservoir, July 7-11. As with all SAF national events, there is no entry fee to this come one, come all mega event that gives every high school team in the world a shot at the sports top prizes.

If you’re not a 2015 SAF member, there’s a one-time $25 per year membership fee which you can pay in advance when you register at highschoolfishing.org

Event Details:

Sign-up: Pre-register online at HighSchoolFishing.org or a $25 late registration fee can apply to those registering onsite. The best way is to pre-register online at highschoolfishing.org. 

Mandatory Check-in: Saturday March 7^th at the IFA trailer located in Laishley Park. The park address is 120 Laishley Park Court in Punta Gorda Florida.

 Takeoff & Weigh-in: Sunday, March 8th at Laishely Park. Take-off at 6:30am with the weigh-in scheduled for 2:00pm.  Questions? 580-765-9031

Tournament Waters: Contestants may fish any public access waters on the Western half of Florida except within 1 mile of the Port Manatee Port Authority Office at 300 Tampa Bay Way #1 Palmetto FL.

About the IFA

Drawing inshore anglers from Texas to the Carolinas and beyond, the IFA Redfish Tour is the largest and oldest redfish tour in the nation. Offering anglers the opportunity to compete in low-entry fee events, redfish anglers can fish close to home, minimize expenses and compete for lucrative winnings and contingency prizes. The IFA Kayak Fishing Tour presented by Hobie Fishing is the fastest-growing kayak fishing tournament trail in the county. Kayak anglers competing in the catch-photograph-release tournaments can take advantage of the numerous money and product prizes awarded to competitors. For more information or to become a member of the IFA, visit www.ifatours.com.

About The Student Anglers Federation

The Student Anglers Federation (SAF) was formed by The Bass Federation (TBF) when TBF started and founded the national high school fishing movement in 2007 and is the oldest and largest High School fishing program in North America. SAF is the recognized worldwide leader in High School fishing programming and sets the bar with a long list of industry exclusive programs including offering events for 7-12^th graders in every state as well as Canada, the only High School fishing program that includes angler educational studies, online training and angler testing and full comprehensive insurance for all SAF clubs, members and events. SAF truly is education through fishing. Visit bassfederation.com or highschoolfishing.org and “LIKE US” on facebook!

The Central Texas High School Tournament Trail held the first of 4 qualifying events on Sunday the 18^th of January 2015. The event drew a total of 13 teams, 26 student anglers, from 8 different schools.  Despite it being a beautiful day, the lake on the other hand proved to be a bit of a challenge for these young anglers. At weigh-in it was clear just how challenging the day had become. 4 of the 13 teams had fish to weigh, with the winning weight tipping the scales at 3.92lbs.  Congratulations to all the teams who took part in our first ever event and look forward to putting your skills to the test on Lake Belton in February.

MWAC – A Big Catch for Magnolia West

Members are pictured above from left to right.
Jarrett Tyler, Dalton Turpin, Bryce May, Jerry McGrew, Drew Thompson, Austin Knight, Preston Ruby, Carson Henley, Aaron Batten, Logan Thumann, Zachary Knowles, Cameron Faulkner, Cameron Carter, and Kirk Clugston.

Something “fishy” is going on in the halls of Magnolia West High School and if the founding members of the first Magnolia West Angler Club fishing team (“MWAC”), have their way, they will be winning a state fishing tournament by the end of their first season.

West freshman, Cameron Carter and sophomore, Logan Thumann found inspiration to create a high school fishing team after what they deem a divine meeting with David Cosner, a member of the Texas Bass Cats Fishing Team.  Carter explains, “Our family thought we were just buying a boat from him but apparently God put him in our path for a bigger reason.”  The young men shared David’s lifelong love of the sport of Texas lake bass fishing and that, along with David’s experience in team fishing, helped the team get it’s start.  “He has really stepped up to mentor us as we’ve put this team together”, says Carter.   “He is inspiring to us and we want to push harder to make this happen”, adds Thumann.

It didn’t take long for the word to spread among the fishing friends and after Facebook posts of their winning catches in local and regional tournaments, their friends soon got hooked on the idea too. “These kids have been fishing together for years growing up around the Magnolia area. While other kids were playing video games on Saturdays and after school, these kids were hitting the local lakes and streams trying to catch the big one”, one Mom added. “They are just now taking it to a competitive level by forming this team.”

School fishing teams are not as uncommon as you might think; many high schools and universities have Bass Fishing Teams. Mark Gintert, the National Youth Program’s Coordinator for The Bass Federation is quoted as saying, “Fishing is the fastest growing high school sport in the country today.”

Kirk Clugston, the student’s Magnolia West math teacher, has taken on the role of school sponsor for MWAC and will be accompanying them to tournaments. The team has also secured many commercial sponsors including Academy Sports + Outdoors, Berkley, Spring Carpets. In addition, a local fishing rod maker, Kistler Custom Fishing Rod Corporation, is sponsoring the team president, Cameron Carter.  Kris Oberly and Robin Carter are delighted to serve as the team’s Parent Coordinators. Anyone interested in joining sponsorship can contact Robin Carter at 832-276-8962.

The team currently consists of eighteen members. “We have many goals for the Magnolia West Angler Club,” says Cameron Faulkner, the team’s historian.  Each member is encouraged to be certified in Angler Education, mentor other fishermen, and participate in organizing a local charity fishing tournament. Many organizations will help facilitate this charity tournament including the team mentors from members of Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Texas State Bass Fishing Team and the Texas A&M Bass Fishing Team.  Zach Knowles says, “We are really hoping for any support we can get from the amateur & professional fishing community.”

Zach Knowles, club reporter added, “I’m really looking forward to fishing with my friends this season. Having our parents in the stands watching us play basketball is great but having my dad as captain in the boat with me each tournament will be an awesome competitive experience. I can’t wait for our team to take some wins at our tournaments.”

Bryce May, the team’s treasurer, brings many years of experience from his participation with the Magnolia 4H Sport Fishing Project.

The next two tournaments are scheduled for January 17^th at Sam Rayburn and the team’s first Fisher of Men Tournament on January 31^st.  The club’s mission statement, as it appears on their jerseys, quotes Matt 4:19 that says this team will be fishers of men.  The team looks forward to participating in the state tournament on Lake LBJ, March 20through 21^st, 2015.

A huge thank you goes out to all the sponsors and supporters of the MWAC for the 2014-2015 season.