After a really unusual cold snap dumped snow and ice through much of the Arkansas area, it was nice to be able to get out and enjoy the sunshine again.  The High School anglers were chomping at the bit to hit the water and test their luck on a beautiful sunny weekend.  With water temps starting to rise they were hoping to catch a lot of fish.

Trey Darden and Cole McNeely from the Smackover Buckaroos caught a five fish limit that weighed 12-07 pounds.  Included in that limit, was the biggest bass of the tournament at 6-12 pounds.  That big fish propelled them over the top to help them win the SAF Arkansas High School State Championship.

Taking second place was the Greenbrier High School team of Tyner Redden and Sawyer Henderson.  They weighed in a nice bag of fish that topped the scales at 10-14 pounds.

Brantley Anders and Ben Brockwell of Hamburg High School placed third with 9-03 pounds.  Rounding out the top five teams were Collin Morris and Blake Townsend with 9-01 pounds, and Caleb Faulkner and Jared Brandon with 8-15 pounds.

The teams reported catching their fish on several different baits.  Most were caught on crankbaits, jigs, chatterbaits and even a few on the Alabama Rig.  Most of the teams said they fished in three to ten feet of water in the backs of the shallower rocky pockets.

For full results click HERE.  The photos from this event can be found on our SAF High School Fishing Facebook Page.

A great turn out of seventy-eight teams converged on Lake Lanier this past weekend to settle the SAF GA High School State Championship.  The weather changed about three different times in the week leading up to the event.  As the weigh in progressed it was obvious that the bite was tough for the young anglers.  There were ten limits weighed in and it took 9.14 pounds to make the seventh place cut to get into the upcoming National Championship event.

The team of Elijah Benson and Braedon Hubbard took top honors back to Dawson County with a nice 15.05 limit.

The Kings Ridge team of Jake Ryan & Nick Wallace finished second with 13.08 pounds.  Taking third place was Coby Thompson and Bently Floyd from Union County High School with 11.05 pounds.  Taking fourth and fifth place were Jackson & Owen Moss with 11.03 pounds and Nolan Wilson and Austin Miller with 10.12 pounds.  The last two National Championship qualifying spots belonged to Cameron Elliott and Jacob McCann with 10.05 pounds and Aspen Martin and Jett Strickland with 9.14 pounds.

Anglers caught their fish on a variety of patterns and depths throughout the day.  Swimbaits, chatterbaits, jigs, jerkbaits, crankbaits and Texas rigged worms all caught fish and the deepest fish were caught was about 40 feet and some fish came within inches of the shoreline.

Full Results are posted on the website Click HERE and all the photos can be seen on our SAF High School Fishing Facebook page.

The second Qualifier tournament for the GAPPS program was held this past weekend at Lake Lanier at Laurel Park Ramp.  Anglers fishing in this event were qualifying to earn a spot in the GAPPS Finals later on next month at Lake Oconee on March 20^th.  As with any day of fishing, whether they are biting or not, someone always finds that magical bag of fish, that stand out more than any others.

Today it was the team of Frisher Britt and Chase Chapman from Southland Academy, that figured them out to the tune of 14.07 pounds.  They produced the only five fish limit of the event and were able to take home the Championship trophies.  The next biggest bag of fish to be weighed in was the Elbert County High School team of Lance Wray and Landon Webb with 9.08 pounds.  Just ounces behind them was another Elbert County team of Nathan Hendrix and Evan Poon with 9.05 pounds.  Tom Hart and Collins Bass, from Southland Academy brought 7.05 pounds to the scales and Brook Jones and Bentley Evans from Strong Rock Christian High School finished with 7.02 pounds.

The biggest Bass of the event was caught by the team of Frisher Britt and Chase Chapman from Southland Academy, which weighed 4.06 pounds.  Second big Bass was 3.15 pounds and was caught by Nathan Hendrix and Evan Poon.  Both teams got nice prizes for their catches.

Most anglers said they caught their fish in less than ten feet of water.  Several teams reported catching them on crankbaits, jerkbaits and spinnerbaits, while other teams said most of their fish came on Jigs, Ned Rigs, and Shakey Heads in water that was more than 20 foot deep.

For Full Results CLICK HERE and the pictures can be seen on our Student Angler Federation High School Fishing Facebook page.