The Tennessee High School Fishing State Championship was held on Old Hickory Lake for the first time this past weekend.  High School and Junior anglers from all over the state came to Sandes Ferry Park to test their skills against the Old Hickory Bass.  Weather once again chose to be a main factor in the outcome.  All week long we had enjoyed above average temperatures and pretty weather.  Then on Friday things turned windy and much colder.  But that did not dampen these kids spirits one bit.  They all hit the water Saturday morning ready to catch ‘em up.

The West TN Student Bass Trail team, from Brighton, of Malachi Pearson and Tristan Henry found the right baits and reeled in the winning catch of 14-02 pounds to become the High School State Champions for 2024.  Just behind them was the Tennessee Valley team of Garrett Brewer and Benjamin Puckett who weighed 12-01 to finish in second.  Alcoa’s Jackie Hatfield and Landon Myers wrangled up 11-01 to take third place.  Barrett Newton and Brayden Huddleston captured a good 10-00 pound limit to finish fourth and three teams all tied for fifth place.  Evan McCloud and Jayden Robbins along with Luke Benson and Mason McClintock as well as Tucker Wollney and Carter Smith all brought in 8-13 pounds for the day.  The Lew’s Big Bass of the day went to Garrett Brewer and Benjamin Puckett with a solid 4-00 pound lunker which earned each tam member a new Lew’s reel.

Most of the teams reported that they were catching fish somewhat shallow.  Spinnerbaits, Drop-Shots and crankbaits seemed to be the best baits of the day.  Most teams were back in some of the shallower bays and were finding fish along rocky banks that had wood cover on them, while others targeted the back corners of boat docks and some were just fishing the ends of any of the secondary points in the creeks.

For complete results and photos of this event please CLICK HERE. 

It was a nice sunny day at Roosevelt Lake in Arizona. The youth anglers had to adjust on the fly as the tournament day conditions were opposite of the conditions they faced in practice. The anglers found fish in pre-spawn staging areas; some were already locked on beds. Most of the teams brought in sizable bags, including a handful of smallmouth, and there were plenty of fish stories about the ones they couldn’t get to go.  Trevor and Nolan were able to lock in a First-place finish and secure their spot at Nationals with a giant 6.52-pound largemouth to put them over the top. The anglers were ecstatic, and the teams chattered as they developed their plans to caravan to fish the Nationals and the Worlds. For full results CLICK HERE

Nolan and Trevor with 18.66lbs and big fish of 6.52lbs

Jack and Jack with 15.03lbs

Troy and Degan with 13.78lbs

Strong winds forced the 2024 Nevada high school state championship on Lake Mead to be rescheduled.  Once the storm passed, no wind and sunny calm weather made for a great day for our anglers.  Every team that fished was able to weigh a bag which added to the excitement of the day.  Fish were caught all over the lake with some teams making long runs and others fishing right outside of the marina.

The winning team of Landan Bellows and Ivan Peterson brought a bag of 13.48 pounds with Ivan securing big fish of the tournament at 3.73 pounds.  Just a half of a pound behind them was Rylan Garrett and Nico Skerston with a bag of 12.97 pounds. Rounding out the top three was the team of Coen Burrows and Joelton Swope with a weight of 3.28 pounds. Big thanks to our boat captains and weigh masters for being flexible with the last minute tournament date change.