The weather was wet and overcast but the fishing was excellent. All teams were able to bring in sizable 5 fish limits. The smallmouth fishing was hot to start the morning as most teams opted for the quick limit. As the clouds broke with about 2 hours left, the teams shifted to the largemouth bite with most teams able to upgrade size.

The team of Brenton Vinton and Chase Martin came out on top with a huge limit  of fish that weighed 18.5 pounds, fishing early for smallmouth and then going for largemouth late in the morning.

Last year’s champs, Andrew Goodrich and Matt Safer,  straight off their good finish at Lake Hartwell came in second with a five fish limit of 16.8 pounds.

In third place, the always consistent team of Jake Labelle and Hunter Navari with a five fish limit of 16.2 pounds. Jake and Hunter said they were going to swing for the fences and were on a good largemouth bite but the overcast morning slowed their flipping bite.

Baits of choice were dropshot and top water Ned rigs  for the smallmouth bass. Most of the largemouth came off flipping baits and bladed jigs. Overall every team’s skill sets showed as many teams caught fish in a multitude of ways.  All teams were greeted with many spectators at the weigh in and the local news broadcast.

Huge Thanks goes out to all the parents and boat captains! 

12^th Annual High School Fishing World Finals & National Championship heads to Anderson, SC and Lake Hartwell

Record field expected to attend, nearly 3 Million in scholarships & prizes up for grabs.

The premier High School Fishing event in the world is set to begin June 30-July 3 in Anderson, SC on Lake Hartwell, from Green Pond Landing event center. The 12^th Annual High School Fishing World Finals and National Championship has over 400 teams registered. A team consists of 3 people to a boat, 2 High School anglers and their adult boat Captain /Coach, that alone equates to more than 1200 participants from 41 states and 2 foreign countries as far away as Zimbabwe, South Africa, plus all their families and friends. Several thousand people will be added to the Anderson population for a week or so.

The student anglers pay no entry fee to compete in this one-of-a-kind dual event, the World Finals portion is the granddaddy of them all where most of the prizes and scholarships are awarded and the most difficult to win. It is open to any SAF member in the nation, so everyone attending will be competing in the World Finals for prizes totaling nearly 2.5 million dollars. At the same time on the dual-stage the top anglers from all SAF sanctioned events and MLF events nationwide qualify to compete in a national championship event with its own set of prizes and scholarships totaling nearly $500,000. Which puts nearly 3million dollars in scholarship and prizes up for grabs.

The unique format was developed with feedback from the parents and families over the last 12 years. In the competitive arena there is just no way around travel for the anglers, industry staff and partners. It is expected in fishing and is no different than baseball, softball, cheer or dance team championships or any other high school sport. The two events are conducted together as a dual event to save travel, costs and vacation time for the families while giving any youth from anywhere, any background or economic strata and a chance to come and earn a life-changing educational opportunity if they can and experience the comradery of an event this size where lifetime friendships are made.

“We are very proud to be working with the TBF/SAF and hosting the High School World Finals and National Championship at Green Pond Landing, Lake Hartwell and Anderson County!” Stated Neal Paul Executive Director of Visit Anderson. “The future in bass fishing is our high school anglers and we look forward to hosting the anglers and their families in our community. Our team at Anderson County has worked extremely hard to ensure that we continue to be a destination for bass fishing. Green Pond Landing, a nationally recognized facility, and Lake Hartwell, a Top 100 Bass Lake in America, will once again provide our guests with a Championship Experience!”

Few places can accommodate 400 plus teams on the water for a week, but Lake Hartwell and Green Pond Landing is state of the art and can do it easily. So, June 30-July 3, 2021 will find the Championship anglers on the massive border waters between South Carolina and Georgia of Lake Hartwell at Anderson, SC., and Weighing in at the newly revamped Green Pond Landing Event center each day starting at 1:30 pm ET. The event is free to attend and open to the public. The event is also being filmed for National television on the Pursuit Channel and other Networks. LIVE coverage and leaderboards will run each day on www.HighSchoolFishing.org and Facebook www.facebook.com/hsfishing

“We are excited to be heading to Anderson, SC, it is a place that “makes you feel like home” no matter where you are from and there is lots for the families to see and do. The residents of Anderson should be very proud of your Visit Anderson tourism group as they have worked very hard to showcase your community and make the kids feel welcome.” Stated The Bass Federation’s President and CEO Robert Cartlidge.

“The question I get asked often is why High School Fishing?” Cartlidge continued. “The answer is may not be what many would think. It is not about being the next “pro angler” or getting sponsor patches on your shirt.” Those all may or may not be by-products. We started the national High School movement for 3 reasons. One, we felt that youth across all sectors needed clean family fun and to live and learn in the outdoors as many of us did when we were young. So, the purpose was to use fishing to get kids outdoors with an adult mentor and with the intent of not just educating about common sense, manners, and ethics, but about math, science, and language arts and why those are important to fishing yes, but also to life in general. Two, we wanted to provide education opportunities. Not just college, but trade school too, as our country was built by and still needs trades and skilled craft people. College is not for everyone, especially in today’s world. Education opportunities are what we are after.” Three, we did not want the program to be about money, so from the start neither SAF/TBF nor our partners in fishing at MLF, who was among the first to join our SAF movement and grow it side by side with us, requires any entry fees for our regular High School events nor do we pay cash to kids at High School events. It is always prizes & scholarships. The result has been the explosion we currently see in high school fishing participation nationwide and thanks to the support of our industry partners, our host communities like Visit Anderson and the Parents and Boat Captains/Coaches/Mentors that make it all happen. We thank each and every one of them and are excited to be a part of that and to showcase these young people in Anderson, SC.”

The popular four-day High School Fishing World Finals and National championship combined event format is a very unique structure where all anglers compete for three days in a format with a second chance round, much like any other double elimination High School sport. It is designed to keep everyone competitive and in the game until the final day cut. For full details, check out HighSchoolFishing.org. You can get your club affiliated with SAF and compete! All TBF, SAF and MLF High School Fishing events are no entry fee events. To register, anglers only need to be a member of the Student Angler Federation (SAF) which is a mere $25 per year and includes competitor SAF and MLF memberships. It is as easy as completing the online registration at HighSchoolFishing.org.

About The Bass Federation

The Bass Federation Inc., (TBF) is a member of the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. TBF is owned by those we serve and dedicated to the sport of fishing. The Federation is the largest and oldest, organized grassroots fishing, youth and conservation organization there is. TBF, our affiliated state federations, and their member clubs conduct more than 20,000 events each year and have provided a foundation for the entire bass fishing industry for 50 years. TBF founded the Student Angler Federation and the National High School Fishing movement in 2007 to promote clean family fun and education through fishing. Visit bassfederation.com or highschoolfishing.org and “LIKE US” on Facebook.

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