Sawyer Grace & Austen Cathcart Crowned 2012 High School Fishing World Champions

July 21, 2012 – It had been a long time coming, and local anglers Sawyer Grace and Austen Cathcart of Russellville High School and the Dover High School Fishing Club claimed the 2012 High School Fishing World Finals crown today on Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, Ark. This is the first time an Arkansas Team has won this event. Even though the fishing had been tough all week with three-digit temperatures, the pair weighed in a five fish limit that weighed 15lbs 15oz. “We started catching em right off the bat this morning. The camera man showed up in our spot and hopped in our boat. Within a few minutes, just after we got mic’ed up, we started hitting ‘em. We caught 5 in a row and even culled one. We caught most our fish on a BB7 and some BB8 Bomber Crankbaits,” the team said. Continue reading

Three State Champions, Newcomers & Veterans Make 2012 High School Fishing World Finals Top 7

$40,000 in Scholarships on the Line Plus much much more!

The fishing continued to be tough on most teams in day two of the 2012 High School Fishing World Finals. But, the late bite seemed to be key for a lot of the teams making the final cut to fish tomorrow on Lake Dardanelle near Russellville, Ark. The weights zero tomorrow, which levels the playing field for all seven teams.

Three 2012 SAF State Champions make up the top seven, as well as teams who have made the finals before plus a new team from the state of Texas. Continue reading

Little Rock Christian Academy Anglers Nesterenko & Purifoy Lead After Day 1 of 2012 High School Fishing World Finals

Today the weather was hot and the fishing was even hotter at the 2012 High School Fishing World Finals. 120 teams of competitors launched at Dardenelle State Park this morning and was heading across the water at 6am. Most of the teams we spoke with today got off to a slow start, but this awesome group of student anglers started finding their fishing patterns quickly.

Little Rock Christian Academy Sophomores Cameron Nesterenko and Trey Purifoy lead after the first day with 16lbs 8 oz. “We started off catching fish on topwater and lost a couple of key fish that really could have helped us out,” said Nesterenko. Team member Purifoy added, “When the bite got tough, we went and fished deeper water with various soft plastics to help finish off our limit.” The team seems to think they can do the same thing tomorrow and have another solid day that will hopefully solidify their spot in the top seven. Continue reading