The Washington High School State Championship on Lake Tapps in Bonney Lake Washington on September 18^th shaped up to be a challenge of the mind for these young High School anglers.

The official practice day was challenged for teams to cover water effectively as high winds of 20+ mph with gusts up to 50 mph. The night before a strong cell moved through the Seattle area with lightning and wind gusts that knocked down trees and power for several areas including some of the team’s place of residence for the night. Some of the boat captains chuckled at the fact that they were lucky to have cell phones with alarms set on them instead of wall plug alarms so that they woke up in time.

By the time teams were able to launch that morning the winds had calmed down to 5-6 mph and the rain was at a minimal.

When the teams came in at 3pm there wasn’t much for smiles and fish stories being spoke of. They all had a less exciting look to their faces. As the Bell boys came up to Scales to weight their fish they were less than excited to show their hard work for the day just to only to come in with only 2 fish that weighed 2.95 lbs. for a 4^th place finish.

The second team to come in was the first time team ever to compete in a High School fishing competition Todd Fiscus & Thunder Lambright. They too only had a 2 fish limit of 1.94 lbs. for 5^th place finish.

The third team to the scales was the reigning High School State Champions from 2021. Both Wesley Opsahl and Nolan Williams were very stoic bringing their bag to the scales. They both didn’t have much to say however when asked if they wanted to weigh a big fish they were quick to say they had one pinned. A solid 3.26 lb. smallmouth was weighed. At that point it looked like to the rest of the teams like they had figured out a pattern to the day, but when asked how many fish were in their bag they were reluctant to say only 2 fish. However that second fish was another solid 3 pounder. Teams Opsahl & Williams weighed a 2 fish limit of 6.35 lbs.

With one more team to weigh in the anticipation was getting hi to see if the reigning High School State Champs were gonna go back-to-back wins. The final team of Morgan Rowe and Kyle Watts had fished hard all year long in the Washington State Series Battle to finish just right behind the AOY team of Vanderpool & Means. They both came to the scales with a very nervous look on their faces. They too when weighing their big fish pulled out a large mouth that weighed 2.11 lbs. Again they too had 4 small mouth to finish out their 5 fish limit. When the scales finally settled on the overall weight of their fish it rested at 6.62 lbs. to take the win for the State Championship.

Morgan Rowe and Kyle Watts was shocked to hear that they won. They thought they didn’t have a chance after the first hour of the tournament. At one point in the morning Morgan was dancing on the deck of the boat because he thought well if they didn’t have a chance then they might as well have fun out on the water. They adjusted to a pattern that would catch fish from the pattern that they had figured out in practice. Like most teams they thought they were going to have to catch a limit weighing more than 15 lbs. for the day. However mother nature had her way and changed things up for all of them and the bite got real tough. Teams had to rely a lot more on their strengths, instincts and the use of their electronics.

The New York SAF State Championship was held Sunday, September 12, 2021 on the Mohawk River.

The day greeted the teams with cool temps, light winds and clear skies. As the day went on, the wind picked up and gave anglers a challenge to effectively fish their spots. Frontal conditions proved to give anglers a tough day of fishing. In the end, the team of Taylor Marcel and Matthew Campbell beat out Caleb Hildenbrand and Cody Clelland by just over 1lb with 13.54lbs for 5 fish. We would like to thank Mr. Ben Jacobs from the Army for coming to watch our weigh-in and support the event. Great showing for all anglers that participated and we wish the national bound team the best of luck at Nationals in 2022.

Pinnacle High School Event In The World Offers Millions In Scholarships & Prizes

The premier High School Fishing event in the world is slated to be held June 22-25, 2022 in Florence, Alabama on Pickwick and Wilson Lakes. The 13^th Annual High School Fishing World Finals and National Championship dual event is expecting another record field for this wildly popular event. SAF member teams from most US States and multiple foreign counties such as Canada, Zimbabwe, and South Africa are expected to attend and compete for a share of the richest prize pool in all of bass fishing. In 2020 and 2021 at the 11^th and 12^th annual events, the total scholarships and prizes offered up for grabs at this event was an eye-popping 3 million dollars.

On behalf of the Florence-Lauderdale CVB, we are excited to host the World Finals again in 2022.” Stated Tyler Dolan, Manager of Group and Sports Sales for Florence- Lauderdale CVB. “This is an event that our community is always looking forward to! We can’t wait to see you all on Pickwick Lake and in the Shoals soon!

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 all national High School events, and where the bulk of the prizes and scholarships are awarded, it is also the most difficult to win. The World Finals is open to any SAF member in the world, so everyone attending will be competing in the World Finals. At the same time on the dual-stage, the top 10% of High School teams from all SAF sanctioned events including MLF Open events nationwide in the last year are qualified to compete in a national championship event with its own set of prizes and scholarships that will top $500,000. So those National Championship qualified teams are entered into both events and have a chance at both prize pools all in one trip.

A high school team consists of 3 people to a boat, 2 High School anglers, and their adult boat Captain / Coach plus all the families and friends for both anglers in the boat will push the expected attendance to roughly 3000 people connected to this week-long event.

“We are excited to be heading back to Florence, Al.” Stated The Bass Federation’s President and CEO Robert Cartlidge. It is a place that “fits” this event, Florence has a great facility, a great fishery, and many things for the families to do while in the area and the anglers love it. From the start, neither TBF /SAF nor our partners in fishing at MLF, who was among the first to join our Student Anglers Federation (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 it all adds up to a good wholesome experience for the kids and their families which is what we all want.”

From the Student Angler Federation standpoint as the founders of the national level High School fishing movement, high school fishing is not about being the next “pro angler” or getting sponsor patches on your shirt. Those all may or may not be by-products but the National High School fishing program was started for 3 simple reasons. First, to get youth into the outdoors with clean family fun, to live, learn in, and learn to respect the outdoors. SAF’s purpose is to use fishing to get kids outdoors with adult mentors and family with the intent of not just educating them 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.  Secondly, SAF wanted to provide post-secondary education opportunities. Not just college, but trade/tech 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 college world. Education opportunities are what SAF is promoting.  Three, SAF did not want the HS program to be about money, which is the reason why there are no entry fees and no cash paid to student anglers under this program all awards are prizes and scholarships.

The unique format of this dual event is credited with making it so successful and it was developed with feedback from the parents and families over the last decade. In a competitive arena as there is just no way around travel for the anglers, staff, and partners. It is expected in fishing, no different than national HS stick and ball leagues, cheer or dance team championships, or any other high school sports. The two events are conducted together as a dual event not just to save travel costs and vacation time but to make it a true family vacation where many HS teams can travel together, have fun, and any youth from any background anywhere has a chance to come and earn a life-changing educational opportunity if they can. All while experiencing the comradery of an event this size where lifetime friendships are made.

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.

The event is 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

About The Bass Federation

The Bass Federation Inc., (TBF) is a member of the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. TBF is 100% 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 and proud “Partners In Fishing” with MLF. TBF, our affiliated state federations, and their member clubs conduct more than 20,000 fishing, youth, and conservation events each year and have provided a foundation for the entire bass fishing industry for 5 decades. TBF founded the Student Angler Federation and the National High School Fishing movement in 2006 to promote clean family fun and education through fishing. Visit bassfederation.com or highschoolfishing.org and “LIKE US” on Facebook.

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