Britt & Chapman Win GAPPS event at Lake Lanier

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 20th.  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.

Decker and Smith Win on Neely Henry

The Student Angler Federation held its 2021 Alabama High School State Championship on Neely Henry this past weekend at Coosa Landing.  The sweeping cold front and rainy weather made it a challenge on most all of the anglers.

Joshua Decker and Liam Smith of Vestavia Hills High School made every bite count as they won the event with 5.15 pounds.  They caught a couple of active fish early in the morning on a crankbait in 2-5 feet of water and then had to switch to a Finesse Jig in a little deeper water to catch the rest of their fish.

The Fort Payne Wildcat team of Ethan Meadows & Tucker Smith finished a close second with 5.01 pounds.  They said they spent all of their day just dragging a jig around in anywhere from six to ten feet of water.  Third place was 4.10 pounds and went to the team of Nicholas Foster and Aiden Smith of Spring Valley High School.  They fished both shallow and deep to catch their fish.  Some came as shallow as five feet on a square bill crankbait and the rest came in about twenty feet of water on an Alabama Rig.

For full results CLICK HERE. You can find the pictures on our Student Angler Federation High School Facebook page.

South Carolina State Championship and OPEN Event Reschedule to April 11 due to travel conditions.

The South Carolina State Championship and Open event set for Feb 20th in Lake Hartwell has been cancelled due to road and travel conditions.  Teams from at least five (5) state were registered to attend and with a major ice and snow storm event hitting the surrounding states west and north of South Carolina travel for the anglers is unsafe at this time.  Additionally, the forecast for the local weather Saturday morning is well below freezing making ramps and lots slick and hazardous and the tournament staff who had to travel more than 10 hours cannot get trailers and equipment there due to road conditions and state road closures in their home area’s.  All that being said safety is always our number one priority so we reschedule the event for April 11th on Lake Hartwell the big fish bite should be on then and the anglers will have a great time!

Registration for that April 11th event will open Monday, Feb 22 at HighSchoolFishing.org  all registrations will be forwarded to that April 11 event unless otherwise instructed by the teams. Be safe out there and we will see you soon!