Neumann and Olivier win South Dakota State Championship

The South Dakota High School State Championship was held on Sunday, July 12th on Enemy Swim Lake in Webster, SD.

The day started off calm and warm. Most teams immediately began to concentrate on Largemouth Bass up shallow. They had great success but reported the big ones just weren’t biting good. Most teams then moved offshore and began to target Smallmouth Bass and quickly began to cull out those smaller largemouth .

Taking 1st place was Cody Neumann and Ashton Olivier, Chester Area Flyers, with 16lb 2oz.

Coming in 2nd place was Taylor Feenstra and Kane Knudson, Corsica Stickney Jaguars, with 12lb 2oz.

And in 3rd place was Ashton Helseth and Ty Brinkman, Roosevelt Roughrider, with 12lb.

The offshore bite was basically in 10-12ft with dropshots and tubes. Later on in the day the largemouth bite picked back up and the Team of Nathan Moon and Max Miller caught a 4lb 15oz toad. The biggest Smallie weighed in was 4lb 1oz. It was a great day to be on the water. All the teams brought 5 fish limits to the scales.

All the contestants had a great time. We will have many returning teams next year and a few Jr Teams coming up into the High School ranks. The sport of Bass Fishing is growing at a record pace. On Saturday, July 11th, we had 9 Jr. Teams fish for the Jr State Championship which was an all time high for us.

Thank you to all the anglers, boat captains, and volunteers for making this a great event!

Gramling and Veronee Win SAF High School Fishing World Finals

June 27, 2020—Stoddard, WI— Tucker Veronee and Landon Gramling of Lexington, South Carolina, weighed in a 9-pound, 6-ounce limit to win the 11th annual Student Angler Federation (SAF) 2020 High School Fishing World Finals on Pools 7, 8 and 9 of the Mississippi River.

Representing the Gilbert Bass Club, the pair topped a hard-fishing field of 312 two-person teams from 39 states to claim the coveted title.

“We’ve been friends a long time and it means a lot to us to win this together,” said Veronee.

“Our dads are boat captains and they put everything into supporting us,” added Gramling. “I can’t thank them enough.”

The team overcame a series of challenges on the road to victory lane. “It started out rough, but we put our heads down and kept fishing,” said Veronee.

“In practice we hit a wing dam and busted up our skeg,” explained Gramling. “We got that fixed but then our trolling motor quit on us an hour and a half into the first day of the tournament. With all the current, that was really tough. Without our shallow-water anchor I don’t think we would have caught anything.”

Persistence paid off, however. They eventually earned a spot in Friday’s semi-final round, where they topped the competition with an 11-pound, 9-ounce limit.

Although they fished a variety of areas, they report that a main river breakwall with a slight current break was particularly productive. Drop-shot and Texas rigs were their weapons of choice in anywhere from 1 to 20 feet of water.

The win earned Veronee and Gramling a variety of lucrative scholarship offers, including a $56,000 scholarship offer from Bethel University in Tennessee, $120,000 scholarship offer from Simpson University in California, $100,000 scholarship offer from Kentucky Christian University in Kentucky, and $12,000 cash back-up Scholarship offer from The Bass Federation (TBF) to any college or trade school of their choice should they choose not to accept any of the above offers.

In all, the World Finals payout included $3.2 million in scholarships and a bevy of other prizes, including $8,000 in Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s gift cards. SAF officials report that the purse was the richest in SAF High School Fishing history and likely the largest ever posted in all levels of competitive bass fishing.

“What a great event from start to finish,” said SAF Tournament Director Randy Sullivan. “The young anglers enjoyed exciting competition, meeting new friends, and many took home potentially life-changing scholarships. We’re grateful to the parents and other supporters who encouraged them, the sponsors who made the event possible, our local hosts in La Crosse and Stoddard, Wisconsin, and our volunteers for stepping up to help everything run safely and seamlessly from beginning to end.”

Hot on Gramling and Veronee’s heels, a pair of teams sacked 9-pound, 3-ounce limits. Ryan Thomas and Cole Holloway of Madison, Georgia, won the tiebreaker to claim second place. “We’re doing great right now,” said Holloway. “We feel like we could have done better but we’re happy with our finish,” added Thomas.

“We caught a lot of fish today, just like every other day,” said Holloway, explaining that they targeted shallow water, mainly with frogs, square-billed crankbaits and shaky-head rigs.

Austin Fleming and Ben Brockwell of Ouachita, Arkansas, landed in third, also with 9 pounds, 3 ounces. “It’s awesome to finish third in this event, I’m thankful,” said Brockwell. “It’s a blessing to be here fishing with everybody,” added Fleming, noting that the team finished fifth in the 2019 SAF World Finals.

“We got our big bites when it was cloudy this morning,” he continued. “We fished frogs the whole event,” said Brockwell, adding their go-to fishing spots were, “thick grass with open holes in 2 to 3 feet of water in the Pool 9 backwaters.”

The 2020 SAF World Finals was held June 24-27 in conjunction with the SAF High School Fishing National Championship. The dual-event format was designed to give high school anglers from across the country and all walks of life with an equal chance at winning scholarships.

The no-entry-fee championships were hosted by La Crosse, Wisconsin, and produced by SAF under the TBF umbrella with the support of coalition of 19 sponsors and TBF partners in fishing from FLW. Take-offs and weigh-ins were held at Stoddard Ramp on the Wisconsin side of Pool 8.

Both events kicked off Wednesday, with the National Championships concluding on Friday and the World Finals wrapping up today. Lawson Losee and Kooper Tweite of Riceville, Iowa, claimed the national title with a 30-pound, 4-ounce three-day total weight.

All World Finals competitors fished the first three days, battling for coveted spots in the grand finale. Today’s field included the 10 National Championship finalists, the top 10 teams from Friday’s World Finals semi-final round, and the next 10 teams from the semi-final round and second-chance rounds combined. The winners of a special “Lucky Dog Last Chance Wildcard” drawing won a chance to compete, bringing the number of teams competing today to 31. All weights were zeroed to give everyone a fresh start.

A total of 83 bass weighing 204 pounds, 9 ounces came to the scale today and were returned to the Mississippi River in the SAF’s proven catch-and-release format. Big bass was a 3-pound, 14-ounce beauty brought in by Austin Fleming and Ben Brockwell, who received a pair of Lew’s high-performance baitcasting reels for their efforts.

For complete results and details, visit HighSchoolFishing.org.

SAF sponsors include: Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Booyah, Cabela’s, Eagle Claw, Evinrude, FacultyOfFishing.com, Favorite Fishing, FishLab, FLW, Lews, MotorGuide, Move U Performance Apparel, Pursuit Channel, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Seaguar, Shimano, Strike King, Sufix, and VMC.

Some of the scholarship offers were immediately accepted on sight and letter of intent signing ceremonies were held on site.

 

Losee and Tweite Claim SAF High School Fishing National Championship, 31 Teams Move On to World Finals Grand Finale on Saturday

Losee and Tweite Claim SAF High School Fishing National Championship,
31 Teams Move On to World Finals Grand Finale on Saturday

June 26, 2020—Stoddard, WI—Limit catches, lead changes and burly bass were the rule of the day three of the Student Angler Federation (SAF) 2020 High School Fishing World Finals and National Championship dual event.

Downpours of Biblical proportions didn’t dampen the spirits of 312 teams from 39 states fighting for a share of more than $3.2 million in scholarships and other prizes in the two events.

Running June 24-27 on Pools 7, 8 and 9 of the Mississippi River, the no-entry-fee championships are hosted by La Crosse, Wisconsin, and produced by SAF under The Bass Federation (TBF) umbrella with the support of coalition of 19 sponsors and FLW Outdoors.

Take-offs and weigh-ins are being held at Stoddard Ramp on the Wisconsin side of Pool 8. Teams are allowed to bring their best three bass to the scale each day.

The SAF High School Fishing National Championship was decided today, with the top 10 teams from Thursday’s weigh-in fishing for the national title. The remaining competitors from the national championship field fished in the World Finals’ second-chance round.

Day two leaders Lawson Losee and Kooper Tweite of Riceville, Iowa, were last to weigh in of the top 10, and rocked the stage with an 11-pound, 2-ounce limit. Anchored by a 5-pound, 8-ounce kicker, the catch catapulted them to victory with a 30-pound, 4-ounce three-day total weight.

“This is amazing,” said Losee. “Early on we were joking about winning. But after leading the second day, we talked and said we can really do this. We came out, caught some big fish and now we’re national champions. It’s awesome.”

“We went into the day expecting maybe 9½ or 10 pounds and came in with the second-biggest bag of the tournament, it’s phenomenal,” added Tweite. “It was a great day of fishing.”

All three days, the team locked down to Pool 9 to find unpressured bass. The strategy paid off handsomely, producing an 8-pound, 12-ounce day one basket and 10-pound, 6-ounce day two limit.

Heading into the World Finals finale tomorrow, they see no reason to change course. “Same game plan,” Losee smiled. “And we still have a honeyhole we haven’t touched since practice.”

Losee and Tweite’s National Championship win earned them a trio of scholarship options: a 4-year, $120,000 scholarship offer to Simpson University on the shores of legendary Clear Lake in Redding, California; an $80,000 4-year scholarship to Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, Kentucky; and a $10,000 cash scholarship from FLW to any college or trade school of their choice.

“We definitely have a lot to think about,” said Tweite.

Rounding out the HSF National Championship’s top 5 were:

2nd: Trey McKinney, Zachary Martin, 28-07
3rd: Jace Anderson, Braydon Harcrow, 26-07
4th: Ryan Thomas, Cole Holloway, 26-00
5th: Ransom Boone, Russell Moore, 25-14

World Finals Recap
In World Finals action, all teams battled for coveted spots in tomorrow’s grand finale. The teams were split into two groups: the top two squads from each state fished the World Finals semi-finals, while the remaining teams competed in a second chance round.

The top 10 semi-finalist teams and next 10 finishers from both groups will fish tomorrow, along with the top 10 teams from the National Championship and the winners of a “Lucky Dog Last Chance Wildcard” drawing open to one team not already qualified. All weights will be zeroed to give everyone a fresh start.

Tucker Veronee and Landon Gramling of Lakeston, South Carolina, sacked an 11-pound, 9-ounce limit of largemouths to top the semi-finals ranks. They say the Mississippi River is dramatically different from their Lake Murray home waters. “It’s not even close to the same,” Veronee laughed. “Murray has hardly any grass and it’s lots of main lake point fishing.”

“I grew up near Santee-Cooper, which has a lot of grass and trees, so that’s very similar to here and helps us a bit,” Gramling added. “We also fish a lot of rock structures back home, and there’s some of that here.”

They report consistent bites throughout the tournament but admitted that this morning was a little concerning. “We started off with small bites and 5 pounds before 7:30, then struggled until noon,” said Veronee. “Then we ran across one spot where everything changed. We were pretty excited after that.”

Gramling noted that scoring a scholarship tomorrow would be a major boost to his future. “If I want to go to college, I’ll either need a scholarship or have to get student loans, so this would be huge for me,” he said.

A 10-pound, 10-ounce limit propelled Mitch Johnson and Austin Sears of Dayton, Ohio, into Saturday’s finals. “Last year we were 9 ounces out of making the final cut in the World Finals on Pickwick Lake, so this feels really good,” said Johnson.

Accustomed to fishing Lake Erie, they quickly learned the ropes of fishing the river’s shallow grass and current, and have high hopes for day four. “The first spot we had in practice really turned on today,” added Sears. “I believe we can get the same weight or more tomorrow.”

Charlie Wright and Carter Hietala of Becker, Minnesota, scored a 10-pound, 6-ounce limit to punch their ticket to Saturday’s showdown. Although the Mississippi meanders near their central Minnesota homes, they admit the river is a different world farther north.

“We’ve fished farther downstream in Pool 4 before, though,” Wright noted. “During practice we looked for spots similar to areas that have produced for us on those waters.”

“On day one the bass just weren’t having any of it though,” Hietala added. “We switched everything up on day two and it worked out. We did the same thing today and was really slow, with only five keepers. But they were the right ones.”

Hamburg, Arkansas’ Ben Brockwell and Austin Fleming brought a 10-pound, 4-ounce limit to the stage to make the cut. “Early on we were fishing around different spots and got lucky finding one little pocket where we stumbled into fish and caught ‘em pretty quick,” said Brockwell. “Maybe we can get them again tomorrow.”

“This fishes a lot like our home waters on the Ouachita River,” Fleming said. “The Mississippi is a lot shallower and harder to get around, but otherwise it fishes the same. This is awesome and we’re glad to be here.”

Adding to the day’s fun, SAF officials presented Jeremy Toler of Wyoming County, West Virginia, with an honorary high school diploma on stage. “I missed my graduation back home to come and fish the World Finals,” said Toler, who donned a cap and gown for the ceremony. “This was a nice surprise.”

About SAF
Created to promote education through fishing and foster a love of the outdoors among high school students, SAF offers a variety of educational, conservation, community service components. SAF’s competitive venues include regional, state and national events culminating in the High School Fishing World Finals and National Championship. Launched by TBF in 2010, the World Finals is the world’s largest open high school bass tournament.

All SAF members are eligible to compete in the World Finals, while National Championship contenders qualify through state championships.

“The format of these events was designed by parents and coaches to give every high school angler in America an equal chance to win a life-changing scholarship,” said TBF President and CEO Robert Cartlidge. “The system levels the playing field and eliminates local teams from dominating an event.”

The day three weigh-in was presented by Rapala and Sufix, which presented competitors with RapTech Performance Wear caps and spools of Sufix Advance and Siege high-performance fishing lines. Spectators on site and online were treated to a total of 671 bass weighing 1,652 pounds, 3 ounces crossing the scale in the SAF’s proven catch-and-release format. Big bass was a 5-pound, 8-ounce beauty brought in by Lawson Losee and Kooper Tweite, who received a pair of Lew’s high-performance baitcasting reels for their efforts.

World Finals action continues Saturday with a 6 a.m. takeoff, and the day four weigh-in starts at 1:30 p.m. For complete results, day four qualifiers and details, visit HighSchoolFishing.org.

SAF sponsors include: Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Booyah, Cabela’s, Eagle Claw, Evinrude, FacultyOfFishing.com, Favorite Fishing, FishLab, FLW, Lews, MotorGuide, Move U Performance Apparel, Pursuit Channel, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Seaguar, Shimano, Strike King, Sufix, and VMC.