5/6/11 (Lake Powell, UT) – The Weber High Warriors high school fishing team from Clinton and Sandy, Utah, Ryan Mezenen and Seth Hausman were named the 2011 Utah High School Fishing State Champions. They caught a limit of bass that weighed 9 lbs 7 oz. Their coach/boat captain was TBF Member Scott Hausman who is a member of the Big City Bass of Utah club in the Utah Bass Federation.
The inaugural Student Angler Federation Utah High School Fishing State Championship was held at Lake Powell’s, Bull Frog Marina just outside of Lake Powell, Utah. The state championship is a two person team event for students in grades 9-12. The high school anglers and their “coach” work together to bring a five fish team limit into the weigh-in.
Another unique feature of this SAF sanctioned event is the “angler testing” component. All participants were given the opportunity take a free online test at HighSchoolFishing.org about boater safety, conservation and angler ethics, which makes them eligible for contingency awards at their state championship. “It’s an industry first by TBF and a tremendous way to emphasize the importance of education to these student anglers,” Mark Gintert, TBF Youth Director commented. “The Federation is driven by our desire to promote education through fishing and the testing component 
is designed to do exactly that.”
The state champions will also advance to an FLW Outdoors/TBF High School Fishing Regional Championship held in conjunction with a National Guard FLW College Fishing Regional Championship hosted on a college campus this fall. They will receive travel allowances to help offset expenses and use of a Ranger boat for the event. The winners from each regional will advance to the FLW Outdoors/TBF High School Fishing National Championship held on a college campus in conjunction with the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship in the spring of 2012. National Champions will each receive a $5,000 scholarship to use at the university of their choice.
Each team that competed is now qualified to enter the 2011 High School Fishing World Finals held in July in Russellville, Ark., with no entry fees.
TBF and SAF would like to thank the Utah TBF Federation and Lake Powell Resorts to help bring this event to Utah and all the volunteers who helped make this event happen. And a huge thank you to all the parents, mentors, teachers, coaches and boat captains for getting your students involved with high school fishing! Thank you all! We couldn’t do this without you.
