PARIS, Tenn. — Aaron Reed and Austin Hamner were among the last boats to leave the dock this morning, and the Alabama teens returned with the heaviest catch of the first round of the Bassmaster High School Championship tournament on Kentucky and Barkley lakes. The two anglers from Tuscaloosa, Ala., caught five bass weighing 20 pounds, 3 ounces, to lead high school bass fishing’s national championship, underway this week.
“We had a good practice, catching mostly 3-pounders, and carried it over into today,” said Hamner.
“Being in the last flight of boats to leave didn’t hurt us, and we know that our takeoff time tomorrow will be earlier,” added Reed. “Our fish bite best in the morning.”
Reed and Hamner are members of the Northside High School Fishing team in Tuscaloosa. They are among 348 teen anglers from 175 high school teams competing for the national title after qualifying through a series of state and regional tournaments.
Not far behind the leaders with 19-6 are Samuel and Matthew Vandagriff, brothers fishing for Warren County High School in McMinnville, Tenn. Cody Stahl and Tate VanEgmond, of CrossPointe Christian Academy in Georgia, hold down third place with 19-4. Zach Vielhauer and Remington Wagner, fishing for Kickback High School in Kansas, are fourth with 18-13. And in fifth place with 18-6 are Bobby Bauer and C.J. Guest of Carson City High School in North Carolina.
The leaders are following a familiar fishing pattern on the lakes impounded by the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. During summer the bass gravitate to Kentucky and Barkley lakes’ offshore ledges. Those border the river channels and two of the bass’ key needs: food and comfort.
Cooler water is there, and so are schools of baitfish for sustaining their diet. The bass follow the food, making success hinge on the angler being at the right place at the right time. Hamner and Reed are fishing early in the morning with topwater lures to catch actively feeding bass in shallow water. As the water temperature increases with the sunlight, the anglers are moving into deeper water.
“We have separate areas for catching limit fish and big bass,” explained Reed. “It’s a combination of being there when they are feeding.”
The anglers can weigh five bass per team measuring a minimum of 15 inches in length. The leaders are confident they can repeat the feat on Friday.
“We didn’t catch our limit until 10:30, but that was because of the late takeoff,” added Hamner. “We have four or five really good spots to try tomorrow.”
Like the leaders, the Vandagriff brothers are beginning the day shallow and then moving deeper.
“We culled up to bigger bass from our initial limit,” said Samuel. “We should be able to do it again tomorrow.”
The Vandagriffs caught their limit by 8:30 a.m. and then were able to cull those smaller bass with bigger ones that added up to the weight they brought to the scales.
“We only have two key areas, but that’s all we need,” added Matthew. “We didn’t need to fish the second area, it was that good.”
Fifth-place anglers Guest and Bauer are following the leaders by technique, fishing shallow early and then moving to deep water.
“We’re cranking ledges just like everyone else,” said Guest. “It’s all about being there at the right time and tomorrow we swing for the fences.”
That will be a good idea. After Friday, the field is cut to the Top 12 for the final day of fishing and to determine the national champion.
A coach, whose role is mentoring the anglers, accompanies them in the boat. Teams must take a 15-minute half-time break after four hours of fishing. One-minute timeouts are optional. Hamner and Reed landed their fifth keeper shortly after concluding the break.
Teams are eligible to win $70,250 in scholarship funds. B.A.S.S. is contributing $21,000 and sponsors are providing $9,250. The remaining $40,000 will be awarded by Bethel University in McKenzie, Tenn. The school has the distinction as the first to offer scholarships for members of a collegiate bass fishing team. Triton Boas will also provide an additional $500 scholarship to each angler through sixth place.
Cap Massey, 14, of Animas, N.M., caught the big bass of the day weighing 8-5. He declined to comment on the lure used to catch the largemouth, saying only that it came from deep water.
The anglers take off at 5:30 a.m. from Paris Landing State Park and return for the weigh-in at 1:45 p.m. Paris Landing hosts the Day 2 weigh-in, while the final weigh-in, including crowning of the national champions, will be at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in downtown Paris.
STANDINGS BOATER DAY 1
Kentucky Lake - Paris Landing State Park - Paris, TN
8/4/2016 - 8/6/2016
Bassmaster High School Series National Championship
Today's Activity
# Fish Lbs - Oz
Accumulative
Name # Live # Fish # Live Lbs - Oz
1 Austin Hamner - Aaron Reed AL-Northside High School 5 4 20- 3 5 4 20- 3
2 Samuel Vandagriff - Matthew Vandagriff TN-Warren County 5 5 19- 6 5 5 19- 6
3 Cody Stahl - Tate VanEgmond GA -Crosspointe Christian Fishing Club 5 4 19- 4 5 4 19- 4
4 Zach Vielhauer - Remington Wagner KS- Kickback High School Club 4 3 18-13 4 3 18-13
5 Bobby Bauer - CJ Guest NC-Carson High School 5 5 18- 6 5 5 18- 6
6 Ben Abraham - Dane Humbles LA-Alexandria Senior High School 5 5 17-13 5 5 17-13
7 Ean Davis - Grayson Hanson AL-Pell City High School 5 5 17- 1 5 5 17- 1
8 Colton Didion - John Hutson OH-Hartley Hawgs 5 5 17- 1 5 5 17- 1
9 Dailus Richardson - Trevor McKinney IL-Benton High School 5 5 16-13 5 5 16-13
10 Hunter Baird - Nick Davenport KS- Capital City 5 4 16- 9 5 4 16- 9
11 Sutton Black - Justin Barnes AL-Monroe Student Anglers 5 5 15-15 5 5 15-15
12 Ethan Stone - Nolan Minor VA- OCHS Anglers 5 5 15-13 5 5 15-13
13 Cap Massey - Adon Hernandez NM-Mesilla Valley Bass Anglers 5 5 15-11 5 5 15-11
14 Luke Farley - Owen Hawker NC-NC Highschool Anglers 5 5 15-11 5 5 15-11
15 Tommy Floyd JR - James Gibbons SC-South Florence High 5 5 15- 4 5 5 15- 4
15 Justin Watts - Alex Heintze LA-Livingston Parish Bassmasters 5 5 15- 4 5 5 15- 4
17 Drake Boyd - Daelyn Whaley SC-Abbeville HS 4 3 15- 4 4 3 15- 4
18 Caleb Dupre - Garret Smith Sulphur High School 5 5 15- 0 5 5 15- 0
19 Ryan Wood - Turner Mason CO- Front Range Bass Club 5 5 14-10 5 5 14-10
20 Wesley Gore - Blake Davenport AL-Jemison HS 5 5 14- 3 5 5 14- 3
21 Parker Davis - Aaron Stephens AL-Mortimer Jordan HS Bass Club 5 5 14- 2 5 5 14- 2
22 Justin Kanute - Josh Wissinger AL-Hayden High School 5 4 13-12 5 4 13-12
23 Jarrett McMillan - Scout Suddeth GA-Bremen High School 5 5 13- 2 5 5 13- 2
24 Buck Burns - Clint Dailey AL-Sipsey Valley High School 5 5 12-14 5 5 12-14
25 Bryson Mills - Luke Byerly TN- Brentwood HS 5 3 12-14 5 3 12-14
26 Oakley Connor - Hunter Harrison SC-Travelers Rest HS Devildog Anglers 5 5 12-12 5 5 12-12
27 Eric Noyes - Mikey Reiss OK-Broken Arrow Fishing Team 5 5 12-11 5 5 12-11
28 Jarrod Willbur - Garrett Tyrell MI- Walled Lake Central 5 5 12- 8 5 5 12- 8
29 Logan Stensrud - Devon O'Neil MN- Rogers HS 5 5 12- 8 5 5 12- 8
30 Caleb Gatwood - Cayden Soberoski MS- Oak Grove HS Warrior Bass Club 5 3 12- 7 5 3 12- 7
31 Keaton Greenawald - Tanner Cheeseman IN- Southside Anglers 5 5 12- 6 5 5 12- 6
32 Cole Drummond - Piercen Lynch SC- South Florence High 5 4 12- 0 5 4 12- 0
33 Steven Deason - Blake Handley AL-Hayden HS 4 4 12- 0 4 4 12- 0
34 Clay Torson - Jacob Maloney Cedar Rapids Jr Bassmasters 5 5 11-13 5 5 11-13
35 Jackson Elder - Drake Montgomery AL-American Christian Academy 5 5 11-10 5 5 11-10
35 Kyle Ingleburger - Kyle Palmer TN-Grundy County HS 5 5 11-10 5 5 11-10
37 Adam Isler - Bemjamin Statly MI-Hartland HS 5 5 11- 8 5 5 11- 8
37 Grayson Whicker - Andrew Lear NC - Carson HS 5 5 11- 8 5 5 11- 8
39 Gavin Hessler - Tucker Nauss WI- St. Croix Central 5 5 11- 7 5 5 11- 7
40 Garrett McWilliams - Dalton Jones MS-Discovery Christian School Lions 4 3 11- 6 4 3 11- 6
41 Jake Beihoffer - Bailey Faires TN-Soddy Daisy HS 5 4 11- 5 5 4 11- 5
42 Will Sigmon - Luke Doughty WV- Carver Career Center 4 4 10-15 4 4 10-15
43 Dax Ewart - Andrew McDaniel AL-Tuscaloosa County High School 5 5 10- 9 5 5 10- 9
43 Ethan Greene - Cody Lynn AL- Lakeside Chiefs 5 5 10- 9 5 5 10- 9
45 Ethan Mally - Cole Housley NE-NHSB 5 5 10- 8 5 5 10- 8
46 Bryson Glenn - Laython McLean SC- Dixie HS 4 4 10- 5 4 4 10- 5
47 Glenn Banaszak - Alec Berens IL-Minooka Anglers Club 5 5 10- 4 5 5 10- 4
47 Will Garrett - Fischer Keel AL-Auburn Anglers 5 5 10- 4 5 5 10- 4
49 Noah Winslow - Shane Powers Nonnewaug HS 5 5 10- 2 5 5 10- 2
50 Dustin Benefield - Adam Higgins AL-Arab Fishing Knights 4 4 10- 1 4 4 10- 1
51 Logan Henderson - Steven Swann AL-Springville Anglers 5 5 10- 0 5 5 10- 0
52 Lake Norsworthy - Blaine Fulton MS- Brandon HS 3 3 9-15 3 3 9-15
53 Stephen Whitlow - Jared Young FL-Sarasota High School 5 5 9-14 5 5 9-14
54 Taylor Gilliland - Charlie Baker AL-American Christian Academy 5 5 9-13 5 5 9-13
55 Evan Bramhill - Teddy Peznola Mass Bass Nation HS 5 5 9- 6 5 5 9- 6
56 Jason Felter - Anthony Mello Idaho Trophy Bass Hunters 4 4 8-13 4 4 8-13
56 Lucas Lindsay - Logan Parks Auburn Anglers 4 4 8-13 4 4 8-13
58 Will Dewey - Cameron Kidd SC-York County HS Anglers 4 4 8-11 4 4 8-11
58 Harmon Marien - Michael John WI-Northland Pines HS 4 4 8-11 4 4 8-11
60 Jonathan Suttle - Gavin Deshotels LA-Sulphur High School 3 3 8-11 3 3 8-11
61 Tyler Feddersen - Ben Dodson TN-Lenior City HS Bass Club 4 4 8- 6 4 4 8- 6
62 Cuyler Duke - Bryson Arthur GA-Bainbridge HS Basscats 3 3 8- 4 3 3 8- 4
63 Craig Wilson - Trevor St John TN-Campbell Co HS Cougars 4 4 8- 1 4 4 8- 1
64 Jacob Kennom - Kaden Knoch OK-Central OKC 2 1 7-15 2 1 7-15
65 Joey Koller - Boyd Johnson IN-Martinsville 4 4 7-14 4 4 7-14
66 Dawson Sturgis - Austen Willard AL-Athens Anglers 4 3 7-13 4 3 7-13
67 Jeremy Bates - Josh Holden NH- Bishop Brady HS 4 4 7-11 4 4 7-11
68 Drew Gunter - Chase Watson TN-Rhea County 3 3 7-11 3 3 7-11
69 Grant Bourque - Ethan Smart LA-Ascension Anglers 3 3 7- 9 3 3 7- 9
70 Gunner Wilson - Zach Manneback MI-Hartland HS 3 3 7- 8 3 3 7- 8
71 Austin Adcox - Wyatt Hamner AL-Sipsey Valley High School 2 2 7- 6 2 2 7- 6
72 Nathan Hardin - Preston Williamson GA-Bremen High School 3 3 7- 5 3 3 7- 5
73 Will Moffett - Spencer Higginbotham MS-Franklin County High School 3 3 7- 4 3 3 7- 4
74 Matthew Arndt - Logan Ukleya NY-Oneida Lake 3 2 7- 3 3 2 7- 3
75 Colby Miller - Wesley Holt LA-Oak Hill HS Bass Club 3 2 6-15 3 2 6-15
76 Nathan Powell - Chase Cantrell TN-Whitwell High School 3 3 6-10 3 3 6-10
77 Austin Goins - Bryar Goins TN-Rhea County High School 3 3 6- 9 3 3 6- 9
78 Ryan Winchester - Jake Lee TN-Clinton High School 4 4 6- 7 4 4 6- 7
79 Max McQuiade - Ryan Richardson MA-Massachusetts HS Club 3 3 6- 6 3 3 6- 6
80 Jackson Ebbers - Tyler Witte NE-Cambridge Trojan Bass Anglers 3 3 6- 5 3 3 6- 5
81 Zach Bezak - PA-Punxsutawney Christian School 2 2 6- 5 2 2 6- 5
82 Ethan Cruze - Carlo Castiglione LA-Sam Houston High School 3 3 6- 4 3 3 6- 4
82 Cole Wood - Will Wood GA-Jefferson High School 3 3 6- 4 3 3 6- 4
84 Sean Hall - SC-North Augusta High School 3 2 6- 4 3 2 6- 4
85 Zane Loveday - Quintin Dorough AL-Chelsea Anglers 3 3 6- 3 3 3 6- 3
86 Wyatt Gabby - Drew Herrmann IL- Marion 3 3 6- 1 3 3 6- 1
87 Cal Culpepper - Parker Marshall GA-Harris County High School 3 3 5-15 3 3 5-15
88 Peyton McCord - Aaron Cherry Headland Bass Team 2 2 5-13 2 2 5-13
89 Will Delaney - Kaleb Ballard AL-Hillcrest High School 3 3 5- 9 3 3 5- 9
90 Victor Papaiz - Evan Citrigno ON- St. Catharines Bassmasters 2 2 5- 4 2 2 5- 4
91 Tucker Putnam - Blake Barrett AL-Good Hope Fishing Team 2 2 4-12 2 2 4-12
91 Tanner Ward - Evan Stiteler OH-Coshocton Bass Club 2 2 4-12 2 2 4-12
91 Jonathon Wilburn - Connor Jones AL-Guntersville High School 2 2 4-12 2 2 4-12
94 Russ Brown - Bryce Strahan MS-Oak Grove HS Warrior Bass Club 2 2 4-11 2 2 4-11
95 Nathanial Kimberling - Jakobe Atkins ID - Lake City HS 1 1 4-10 1 1 4-10
96 Hayden Pinho - Ian Doucet LA- Patterson HS 2 2 4- 9 2 2 4- 9
96 Colin Slentz - Evan Slentz SC- Abbeville HS 2 2 4- 9 2 2 4- 9
96 Brianna Tucker - Garrett Jones AL - Hartselle Fishing Team 2 2 4- 9 2 2 4- 9
99 Zach Ingram - Chase Gallaway Heber Springs Panthers 2 2 4- 8 2 2 4- 8
100 Hunter Porter - Cade Crocker Hillcrest High School 2 2 4- 7 2 2 4- 7
100 Wyatt Powell - Glen McFee WV-Wirt County Tigers 2 2 4- 7 2 2 4- 7
102 Kevin Sansom - Tucker Watts WV- Wayne HS 2 2 4- 6 2 2 4- 6
103 Michael Arndt - Ryan Hujar NY-Oneida Lake 2 2 4- 5 2 2 4- 5
103 Josh Dugger - Jake Dugger Pottsville HS 2 2 4- 5 2 2 4- 5
105 Parker Guy - Jordan Gilbert GA- Irwin Bass Anglers 1 1 4- 4 1 1 4- 4
106 Tristen Raines - Seth Johnson KY- George Rogers Clark HS Fishing Team 2 2 4- 3 2 2 4- 3
107 Isaac Duncan - Jack Kelly MS-North Pike Jaguars 2 2 4- 2 2 2 4- 2
107 Tyler Eagan - Noah Lewis MO-Lees Summit West HS Fishing Club 2 2 4- 2 2 2 4- 2
109 Shaw Sandy - Sam Bennett AL-Athens Anglers 2 2 4- 1 2 2 4- 1
110 Anthony Fazio - Grant Olsen IL-Minooka Anglers Club 2 2 4- 0 2 2 4- 0
111 Connor Ezell - Riley Kilpatrick AL-Athens Anglers 2 2 3-15 2 2 3-15
112 Kaleb Tweite - Kyler Bauer Riceville 2 2 3-14 2 2 3-14
113 Noah Belt - Lane Couch OK- Kiowa HS 2 2 3-12 2 2 3-12
113 Zach Martin - Cody Armstrong AL-Hayden High School 2 2 3-12 2 2 3-12
115 Kyle Mach - Luke Bludworth TX-Douglass HS Fishing Team 2 2 3-10 2 2 3-10
116 Nick Denham - Cole Baker KY- Jefferson County Bassmasters 2 2 3- 6 2 2 3- 6
117 Cole MacDonald - Kyle Calvert AL-Good Hope Fishing Team 1 1 3- 6 1 1 3- 6
118 Garrett McCrackin - Gunner Baker OK-Oak Grove HS Warrior Bass Club 2 2 3- 2 2 2 3- 2
119 Tyler Wagnon - Lucas Terry AL-East Limestone 1 1 3- 2 1 1 3- 2
120 Chris Brown - Bryce Warren DE-Milford HS 1 1 2- 9 1 1 2- 9
121 Jacob Bruener - Austin Brewer TX- Douglass HS Fishing Team 1 1 2- 7 1 1 2- 7
121 Griffin Fernandes - Joe Keller Southeastern Bass Anglers 1 1 2- 7 1 1 2- 7
123 Colton Colwell - Hunter Brady CO- Windsor HS Bass Fishing Club 1 1 2- 4 1 1 2- 4
123 Cole Miles - Dillan White Southside Anglers 1 1 2- 4 1 1 2- 4
123 Justin Mork - Nick Camarote MN- Rogers HS 1 1 2- 4 1 1 2- 4
123 Bradly Powell - Erik Van Dyke FL- Marion County HS Bassmasters 1 1 2- 4 1 1 2- 4
123 Tyler Thompson - Hunter Mims TN-Midway High School 1 1 2- 4 1 1 2- 4
128 Hunter Daniel - Brenden Farley AR-River Valley Fishing Club 1 1 2- 2 1 1 2- 2
128 Matt Miller - Tyler Moscrip IN-Southside Anglers 1 1 2- 2 1 1 2- 2
130 Kole Greer - Kyler Radford LA-North Desoto High School 1 0 2- 2 1 0 2- 2
131 Taylor Hamburger - Jack Hamburger Eagle Anglers 1 1 2- 1 1 1 2- 1
131 John Weddle - James Fry IN-Columbus East High School 1 1 2- 1 1 1 2- 1
133 Tyler McCubbins - Dalton Goble TN-Grainger HS 1 1 2- 0 1 1 2- 0
133 Jackson Staib - George Carr DE-Concord HS 1 1 2- 0 1 1 2- 0
135 Ian Boehm - Brandon Laird-Fletcher AZ- Arizona HS Bass Nation 1 1 1-15 1 1 1-15
135 Tyler Gavlick - Andrew Henry PA- Susquehanna Valley Fishing Team 1 1 1-15 1 1 1-15
137 Zachary Fones - Benjamin LeBlanc VA-Frederick County Bass Anglers 1 1 1-14 1 1 1-14
137 Evan Hughes - Jacob Gray Abbeville High School 1 1 1-14 1 1 1-14
137 Alex Rigg - Joshua Austin NM - Mesilla Valley Bass Anglers 1 1 1-14 1 1 1-14
137 Jacob Woods - Austin Winter TN-Lenoir City High School 1 1 1-14 1 1 1-14
141 Ian McGann - Riley McGann MD-Marriotts Ridge Mustangs BFC 1 1 1-12 1 1 1-12
142 Mason Moore - Logan Estes KY- Lincoln County HS 1 1 1-11 1 1 1-11
143 Austin Smith - Devan Hamrick MD- Southern Garrett Bass Slayers 1 1 1-10 1 1 1-10
144 Blake Albertson - Dylan Cobb IN-Southside Anglers 1 1 1- 9 1 1 1- 9
145 Landry Cooper - Cameron Kirkland TN-Sequoyah High School 1 1 1- 8 1 1 1- 8
146 Laney Skipper - Taylor Owens AL-Rehobeth Bass Club 4 4 0- 0 4 4 0- 0
147 Kyle Everett - Dustin Wellman LA- Dragon Bass Club 1 1 0- 0 1 1 0- 0
148 Zach Bauer - Levi McKinney IN-Martinsville High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Braden Blanchard - Cade Fortenberry LA-Ascension Anglers 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Austin Chism - Jackson Williams FL- Lakeland Area HS Club 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Maciek Chmielewski - Adrian Kurnyta IL-Hinsdale South HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Bransford Dean - Dustin Osborne TN-Rhea County 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Jacob Doster - Mitchell DeGraaf IL-Minooka Anglers Club 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Corey Elliott - Conner Akins KY-Corbin High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Denton Ellison - Tyler Allison MO-Lee's Summit West HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Laura Ann Foshee - Reid Connor AL-Gardendale High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Christian Greico - Sebastian Greico FL- HS Hawg Hunters 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Noah Henderson - Blake Wood AL-Cold Springs Fishing Team 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Gracie Herbold - Addison Speigner AL-Headland Bass Team 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Cade Holcomb - Chace Gregory AL-Helena High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Bryce Kiely - Johnathan Hoefer MO-Liberty North 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Spencer Kirkpatrick - Davis Miller AL-Tuscaloosa County High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Tyler Lubbat - Matt Runge Buffalo Grove Bass Fishing 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Tristan McDonald - Jake Redmond ON-K-W Cambridge HS Club 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Jordan Mullis - Adam Puckett IN-Southside Anglers 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Garrett Prenger - Zach Henry OH-Buckeye State Student Anglers 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Wil Rickenbaker - Walker Moore SC-Travelers Rest HS Devildog Anglers 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Auston Ricks - Cody Banks AL-Cold Springs Fishing Team 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Hunter Runyan - Chris Mcabee TN-Roane County High 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Braden Ryals - Tommy Beasley MS-Forrest County AHS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Austin Smith - Noah Pierce TN- Campbell County HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Wade Sneed - Tyler Price TN-Rhea County High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Noah Sowell - Trey Proctor TX-Hemphill Hornet Bass Club 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Lindsey Stevens - Clayton Scott GA- Ola HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
148 Cole Tabert - Dylan Hansen WA-Moses Lake HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
Name City,State Lbs-Oz
BIG BASS
Day
1 Cap Massey - Adon Hernandez Animas, NM 8- 5
Day # Live Lbs-Oz # Limits
TOTALS
# Fish
1 461 442 1158- 7 47
2 0 0 0- 0 0