Update On Missing High School Team in Tennessee

As many of you know there is a High School Team missing from a Saturday trip to Pickwick Landing State Park. Obviously, this is close to our hearts and we have spoken to TWRA several times since they were reported as missing Sunday evening.

At this time, they (TWRA) have the resources they need on the water right now and do not need more boats.
We all want to be there and help as our hearts ache for the anglers and their families, but this is the time to follow the plan laid out by the professionals, they know what they are doing.

Officials have assured us they will ask if more help is needed and we will get the word out ASAP if that happens.

What each one of us can do is to say a prayer for the missing anglers that they are found safe, for their families that god will comfort them, for all the members of their local fishing club and for the Search and Rescue and Law Enforcement, first responders who are out there doing what they always do, which is going above and beyond.

Kershaw & Konrad Win It All at Lake Hartwell

Kershaw & Konrad Win It All at Lake Hartwell

If you have been around fishing tournaments very long, you have probably heard this statement. No matter how tough the weather or water conditions, someone will find the fish! That rings true from the South Carolina State Championship this past weekend at Lake Hartwell in South Carolina. Mother Nature threw everything she had and yet these young High School anglers still caught plenty of fish. In the days leading up to the event, the weather went from sunny and quite warm, to lots of rain, then a mix of rain and snow, to temps in the mid-20’s by takeoff on Saturday morning, to an hour fog delay, back to near 60 degrees by weigh-in on Saturday afternoon. But even with all those challenges, the South Carolina anglers hit the water Saturday morning excited to see what the day would hold for them.

The team of Mark Kershaw and Chance Conrad needed a wheelbarrow to take home all of their awards after the conclusion of the event. The YCHSA team received the BOOYAH BIG BAG Award for the heaviest sack of the day which stopped the scales at 15-10 pounds. Included in their limit was the Lew’s Big Bass Award for a giant largemouth that weighed 8-15 pounds. They took home the first-place trophies and a qualifying spot in the High School Fishing National Championship, coming up in June at La Crosse, Wisconsin. Quite a good day for Mark and Chance!

 

Just ounces behind them, finishing second, was the Crescent High School team of Jacob Butts and Collin Sutherland with 15-04 pounds.

Third place belonged to Seth Jenkins and Avery Jackson, from Wren High School, with 13-13 pounds.

Rounding out the top five spots were Jack Hunt and Aiden Luper, from Pendleton High school with 12-10 pounds and the Broome High School team of Colton Wells and Parker Sullivan with 11-02 pounds.


With the water being muddy, most of the winning teams reported that they had to go out deep to catch their fish. Several teams brought in bags of spotted bass that they said came anywhere from 20-40 feet of water. Carolina rigs with soft plastics, Ned Rigs, Drop Shots, Shakey Heads and Alabama Rigs were all good baits on Lake Hartwell.
Full results can be seen at www.highschoolfishing.org and all the pictures from the event are on the SAF Facebook page.

Two Great Student Angler Federation Events Held at Toledo Bend

It was a great weekend for the Student Angler Federation, as a total of 162 teams came to Toledo Bend Lake to participate in the Louisiana Junior Championship and the Louisiana High School State Championship, pout of San Miguel Park.  It was great to see such a good turnout by both the Junior program and the High School group.  There was a total of 42 Junior teams and 120 High School teams competing for trophies and a lot of great prizes.

Taking home the big trophies on the Junior event was the team of Hagen Carter and Guage Struben from the West Ouachita Chiefs.

They brought in the only limit of the day that tipped the scales at 11.01 pounds.  Second place belonged to the Stanley Middle School team of Dalton Temple and Rylan Temple for their four fish that weighed 9.15 pounds.

Taking third place and Big Bass honors was the Northwoods Fishing Team of Cole Nichols and Kade Houston.  They weighed a total of 7.03 pounds and most of it was from the big bass which weighed 5.05 pounds.

Most of these young anglers reported catching their fish on Rattletraps, Spinnerbaits and Square Bill Crankbaits.

At the High School weigh in, Tripp Bowman and Matthew Nesbitt, from Haughton High School, sealed the win with a nice limit of fish that pushed the scales to 17-05 pounds.  The second-place team, also from Haughton High School, was Jase White and Cole Golden whose limit weighed 12-08 pounds.

As in the Junior event, the Lew’s Big Bass award went to the third-place team of Joseph and Nathan Coffman from Captain Shreveport High School.

Their limit weighed 12-05 pounds and their Big Bass locked in at 4-15 pounds.  The Coffman boys each got a nice Lew’s Reel for their Catch.

The High School anglers reported catching their fish on a variety of lures as well.  Crankbaits, Texas Rigged Worms, Swimbaits, Flukes, Shakey Heads, and Jigs were all good producers.  Most of the bigger bags of fish were caught on Carolina Rigs with soft plastics out on main lake rocky points in anywhere from 12-25 feet of water.

With 120 teams participating, we qualified the Top 12 teams to advance to the upcoming High School Fishing National Championship at La Crosse, Wisconsin coming up June 24-27, 2020.

Pictures and full results can be found on our results page.