After four qualifying events that averaged over two hundred and twenty-five teams per qualifier, the GHSA group was ready to crown a Champion at Clarks Hill this weekend.  A total of one hundred and nine teams qualified from the four events to come and participate in the final event at Wildwood Park.  After a three-hour fog delay on Saturday morning the teams were finally able to get on the water a little after 9 AM.  Most anglers said it did not take long to catch their fish, once they got started.

The Bainbridge Basscat team of Bowynn Brown and Shane Dill took home the Championship trophies with a catch of 16 pounds and 12 ounces.

Second place belonged to Bacon County Red Raider team of Mason Boatright and Lane Kinlaw with 12 pounds and 08 ounces.  One ounce behind them, in third, was the Alexander Cougar team of Trent Hammock and Carter Seabrook with 12 pounds 07 ounces.

These three teams were also awarded a berth in the upcoming SAF High School National Championship.  Rounding out the top five teams were Fisher Carver and Jack Reeves with 12-03 and then Caden McMillian and Krystyn Garrett with 11-15.  The team catching the Biggest bass was the Richmond Hill team of Savannah and Carson Goode with a giant lunker weighing 5-09 pounds.

Most of the anglers were fishing really shallow water while throwing a Fluke, Trick worm, Ned Rig, Jug, or some form of topwater bait.  Congratulations to all the teams that participated in the GHSA Program in 2022. For full results and photos CLICK HERE

The Student Angler Federation (SAF) High School Fishing State Championship for Indiana was held at Hoosier Hills Marina this past weekend.  Anglers from all across Indiana came to Patoka Lake to participate in the event.  The talk during Registration on Friday night was about how tough the lake was fishing and how not very many fish were being caught since the recent storms had rolled through and dropped a lot of rain throughout the lake.  Saturday was an overcast day with a few light sprinkles that gave way to a breezy partly cloudy afternoon Weigh-in.

The Scottsburg team of Kaden Raichal and Chandler Marcille squeaked out the win with an impressive limit that weighed 19 pounds and 14 ounces.  The IC Anglers team of Wyatt Wise and Aaron Spurgeon weighed 19 pounds and 13 ounces to claim second place.  Third place was another Scottsburg team, Chase Fleenor and Tyler Stewart who put 18-07 on the scales to take the last set of plaques.

Rounding out the top five teams were the East Central team of Grayson Hylton and Isaac Smith with 15-05 and the Northeast Dubois team of Ty Verkamp and Kaden Bieker with 14-06.

The Lew’s Big Bass award went to the Mishawaka team of Tanner Banks and CJ Stamm for their 6-04 lunker.  They each received a Lew’s Reel for their catch.

Most all anglers reported that they were catching their fish in shallow water.  Many were sight fishing while others were just fishing down the banks.  Trick worms, chatterbaits, flukes, jigs and Ned-Rigs were all catching fish.  Many team reported catching more that a dozen keepers while other teams reported that it took all day just to get their limit of five fish.

For full results and photos CLICK HERE.

The 2022 California SAF State Championship was held April 24th on the California Delta in Stockton, CA. Joaquin Elliott and Vince Fonte from Liberty High take state with an impressive five fish limit that weighed 19 pounds 52 ounces. Followed by Westly and Chritopher Gritts with a limit of fish weighing 16 pounds 9 ounces.  In 3rd place was Delta Teen Team, Isaac Graves and Lucas Avila with 15 pounds 64 ounces. And in 4th place was Cody Domingos and Kyle Goldstein with 14 pounds 37 ounces. These top 4 teams have won a spot into the 2022 National Championship to be held on Pickwick and Wilson Lakes in Florence, Alabama June 22-25 in conjunction with the 13th Annual High School Fishing World Finals. The High School Fishing World Finals is an open event to any active SAF members. For more info CLICK HERE. For full results for the CA SAF State Championship CLICK HERE.