Alabama High School Fishing State Championship Set For May 26

PONCA CITY, Okla. (Apr. 25, 2012) – The Bass Federation (TBF), in partnership with FLW Outdoors, and Florence Lauderdale Tourism announced it will host the 2012 Student Angler Federation (SAF) Alabama High School Fishing State Championship. The event will be Saturday, May 26, on Pickwick Lake launching out of the McFarland Park Ramp near Florence, Ala.  A unique element of the event is it will follow the Association of Collegiate Anglers (ACA) BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship, held on Pickwick Lake Thursday and Friday. Continue reading

Edward Douglas White Catholic High School (LA) Getting Things Going with Guidance of Bassmaster Champion Jack Hains

Members of the E.D. White Catholic fishing team pose during a recent outing. (Photo by Submitted Photo)

A chance meeting at a baseball facility between current E.D. White Catholic coach David Constant and former Bassmasters champion Jack Hains more than a decade ago has led to a new sport at the Thibodaux high school.

With guidance from Hains, who Constant met while instructing Hains’s son in baseball in Baton Rouge in 2000, close to 50 E.D. White students have formed a competitive fishing team.

The sport is not sanctioned by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association, but with many colleges featuring fishing teams and scholarships to go along with competing, and with at least three states — Illinois, Kentucky and South Carolina — offering fishing as a sanctioned high school sport, Constant said he hopes that will soon change. Continue reading

Borucki & Koon Win 2012 Arizona High School Fishing State Championship on Lake Pleasant

Two anglers from rival schools join forces to become the 2012 Arizona State High School Bass Fishing Champions

The Bass Federation (TBF), in partnership with FLW Outdoors, and the Arizona Bass Federation held the 2012 Student Angler Federation (SAF) Arizona High School Fishing State Championship on Lake Pleasant, Saturday, April 7. Students and coaches launched out of the South Ramp near Hook Up Outfitters in Peoria, Ariz.

Conditions on the lake were fierce as the anglers battled less than ideal conditions brought on by strong winds.  After an eight hour grind, the teams and their captains headed back to the shores for the weigh in.  Christian Borucki of Cactus Shadows High School in Cave Creek and Brandon Koon of Shadow Mountain High School in Paradise Valley were last to weigh in with an impressive 12.09 pounds.  Their extraordinary efforts and unconventional approach that day amounted to a solid victory.  “Owning the 2012 AZ State Championship is an incredible feeling” said Borucki, as years of effort and a carefully cultivated strategy played out on the water that day.  “We didn’t fish bed fish until after we limited out later in the morning, Brandon’s big fish really put us over the top,” exclaimed Borucki.  Everyone was a little surprised by its weight of only 3.36 pounds, but the team assured the crowd that it had just spawned out.  This event offered The Bad Bass Fishing Team of Borucki and Koon one last opportunity to go out on top as both boys are seniors that wouldn’t be eligible for next year’s championship.  They placed 3rd in 2011’s SAF State Championship so the team quickly set their sights on claiming the title in 2012. Koon is no stranger to big wins either; He was part of the team that won the 2011 High School Fishing World Finals on Lake Dardanelle last July. Continue reading