Mitchell Gowen and Brianna Tucker of Decatur Heritage outfished 65 other high school teams to win the 2013 B.A.S.S. High School Invitational on Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Ala., Saturday by bringing in 16 pounds, 15 ounces of largemouth bass. This was the first event of its kind and netted the team a spot in the 2014 B.A.S.S. High School Classic, which will be held in conjunction with the 2014 Bassmaster Classic. Gowen and Tucker will be joined in the Classic by the rest of the Top 8 finishers from the invitational.
“I just want to thank God for giving us the opportunity to fish,” said Tucker, who was responsible for four of the five fish the team weighed in Saturday. “I also want to thank our boat captain.”
Norman Brown, their boat captain, said that things did not start off with a bang, but his team stayed focus and for that he was proud of them. “Around 9 [a.m.] I think they only had one fish,” Brown said.
“Once we started catching them, it kind of happened all at once,” Tucker said.
“She caught the first three back-to-back-to-back,” Brown said.
That initial burst was triggered by water generated through Guntersville Dam. The team fished a few spots upriver from Decatur, and it wasn’t until the current arrived that the team finally found their groove. “The last two we had to scrape for,” Brown said. “We probably caught 10 fish. The biggest one they weighed in was around 4 and 1/2 [pounds] and the smallest was about 2 and 3/4 [pounds].”
Finding a consistent, quality bite helped Decatur Heritage overcome some of the bigger fish weighed in Saturday, including the 5-3 Carhartt Big Bass caught by Jake Turnbloom and JT Russell of Briarwood Christian.
The majority of the fish that Tucker and Gowen brought to the scales came on a Norman DD22 crankbait. Gowen also caught one fish dragging a big worm.
In addition to Tucker’s and Gowen’s 2014 B.A.S.S. High School Classic berth, the duo and Brown received exclusive backstage privileges for the entire 2014 Bassmaster Classic.
Joining Tucker and Gowen in the 2014 B.A.S.S. High School Classic are runners-up Jarrett Martin and Billy Powers of Gallia Academy High School, third-place finishers Tanner Jones and Clay Teague of Tuscaloosa County High School, fourth-place finishers Beau Ashcraft and Shawn Zellers of Wabash Valley Bassmasters, fifth-place finishers John Garrett and Peyton Lyons of Obion County Student Anglers, sixth-place finishers Ryan Winchester and Justin Burris of Clinton High School, seventh-place finishers Jake Lee and Jacob Mashburn of Clinton High School, and eighth-place finishers Ben Stone and Christopher Bensel of Dixie High School.
B.A.S.S. High School Invitational
7/20/2013 - 7/20/2013 Wheeler Lake - Ingalls Harbor - Decatur, AL
ANGLER ANGLER SCHOOL # Fish # Live Lbs –Oz #Fish # Live Lbs - Oz
1 Mitchell Gowen Brianna Tucker Decatur Heritage Fishing Eagles 5 5 16-15 5 5 16-15
2 Jarrett Martin Billy Powers Gallia Academy High School 5 5 15- 7 5 5 15- 7
3 Tanner Jones Clay Teague Tuscaloosa County High School 5 3 14- 5 5 3 14- 5
4 Beau Ashcraft Shawn Zellers Wabash Valley Bassmasters 5 5 13- 2 5 5 13- 2
5 John Garrett Peyton Lyons Obion County Student Anglers 5 5 13- 1 5 5 13- 1
6 Ryan Winchester Justin Burris Clinton High School 5 4 12-13 5 4 12-13
7 Jake Lee Jacob Mashburn Clinton High School 5 5 12- 9 5 5 12- 9
8 Ben Stone Christopher Bensel Dixie High School 5 5 12- 7 5 5 12- 7
9 Bailey Dutton Houston Calvert Hayden High School 5 5 11-15 5 5 11-15
10 Logan Tate Ben Whorton Southside Fishing Team 5 5 11-10 5 5 11-10
11 Lee Mattox Mason Jones Cullman High School 5 5 11- 9 5 5 11- 9
12 Daniel Hambright Ryan Michael LA Anglers 5 5 11- 1 5 5 11- 1
13 Zeke Gossett Hayden Bartee Pell City High School 5 5 10-15 5 5 10-15
14 Andrew Brackett Tallen Manis Sequoyah High School Chiefs 5 5 10-14 5 5 10-14
15 Taylor Teague Ross Springer Tuscaloosa County High School 5 5 10- 9 5 5 10- 9
16 Tyler Green Hunter Harris Gardendale Rockets Bass Fishing Club 5 5 10- 2 5 5 10- 2
16 Jonathan Pool Dalton Pitts Obion County Student Anglers 5 5 10- 2 5 5 10- 2
18 Ryan Shields Bradley Britten Hazel Green High School 4 4 9- 7 4 4 9- 7
19 Jay Lawson Brendan Reavis Corrigan-Camden High School 5 5 9- 0 5 5 9- 0
20 Luke Plunkett Victory Christian 5 5 8-12 5 5 8-12
21 Bronson Jones Will Hamilton Arab High School 5 5 8- 7 5 5 8- 7
22 Justin Michael Bowen Johnson LA Anglers 3 3 8- 3 3 3 8- 3
23 Jake Turnbloom JT Russel Briarwood Christian School 4 4 7- 4 4 4 7- 4
24 Davis Whitten Ben Johnson Muscle Shoals 5 5 7- 2 5 5 7- 2
25 Tyler McFall McKenzie Blair Sequoyah High School Chiefs 3 3 6-14 3 3 6-14
26 Blake Albertson Abby Albertson Bloomington High School 5 5 6-10 5 5 6-10
26 Caleb Luzader Cody Schultz Walker Valley Bass Anglers 5 5 6-10 5 5 6-10
28 Allen Wilson Matthew Lamastus Obion County Student Anglers 5 5 6- 6 5 5 6- 6
29 Andrew Calvin David Fitzgerald Tuscaloosa County High School 2 1 6- 5 2 1 6- 5
30 Marc Gotcher Brent Butler Muscle Shoals 4 4 6- 2 4 4 6- 2
31 Christian Chavez Ethan Howard Clayton Comets 5 5 5-14 5 5 5-14
31 Winston Wade Zack Blanton Gallia Academy High School 5 5 5-14 5 5 5-14
33 Matthew Cross Landen Bradley Siegel High School 5 5 5-11 5 5 5-11
33 Jacob Lawler Grant Hughes Forrest County Bass Busters 5 5 5-11 5 5 5-11
33 Andrew Ward Garrett Stevens Ola High School 5 5 5-11 5 5 5-11
36 Richard Krout Mason Wise Tuscaloosa County High School 2 2 5- 6 2 2 5- 6
37 Colton Morton Chris Wilson Bradley Central High School 5 5 5- 3 5 5 5- 3
38 Kevin Krout Matt Shiew Tuscaloosa County High School 5 5 5- 0 5 5 5- 0
39 Austin Foster Sam Fox White Plains High School 3 3 5- 0 3 3 5- 0
40 Laura Foshee Reed Elkins Gardendale Rockets Bass Fishing Club 3 3 4-15 3 3 4-15
41 Noah Pescitelli Thomas Zaczek Mill Creek Bass Masters 5 5 4-11 5 5 4-11
42 DJ Barber Reid Connor Gardendale Rockets Bass Fishing Club 3 3 4- 8 3 3 4- 8
42 Evan Isbell Jacob Jeffreys Muscle Shoals 3 3 4- 8 3 3 4- 8
44 Landon Smith Jerrmiah Hall Decatur Heritage Fishing Eagles 3 3 4- 7 3 3 4- 7
45 Gabe Cheatham Daniel Goforth Sequoyah High School Chiefs 4 4 4- 4 4 4 4- 4
46 Blake Roszell Jonathan Hollingsworth White Plains High School 2 2 4- 3 2 2 4- 3
47 Katie Krout Jesslyn McNutt Tuscaloosa County High School 5 5 4- 1 5 5 4- 1
48 Justin Payne Will Yarbrough Muscle Shoals 3 3 4- 1 3 3 4- 1
49 Tyler Power Maddox Bailey LA Anglers 2 2 3-12 2 2 3-12
50 Will Phillips Cole Phillips White Plains High School 1 1 3- 8 1 1 3- 8
51 Matt Allen Will Hannah Tuscaloosa County High School 2 2 3- 2 2 2 3- 2
52 Joseph Lacy Branna Wyatt Pell City High School 2 2 2-13 2 2 2-13
53 Grant Ray Matthew Ramey Tuscaloosa County High School 2 1 2-10 2 1 2-10
54 Evan Dodson Mason Williams Gardendale Rockets Bass Fishing Club 2 2 2- 8 2 2 2- 8
55 Austin Mize Clay Hogeland Hayden High School 1 1 2- 7 1 1 2- 7
56 Thomas Jennings Sully Jeter Briarwood Christian School 2 2 2- 1 2 2 2- 1
57 Rachel Hollingsworth Morgan Prickett White Plains High School 1 1 2- 1 1 1 2- 1
58 Jon Halston-Hill Kyle Hawkins Gardendale Rockets Bass Fishing Club 2 2 1-14 2 2 1-14
59 Jordan Dill Preston Kendrick Gardendale Rockets Bass Fishing Club 2 2 1- 8 2 2 1- 8
60 Jake Mims Chapel Hill HS 1 1 1- 7 1 1 1- 7
61 Jacob George Daxton Kirk St Clair County Saints 1 1 1- 6 1 1 1- 6
62 Jared Green Kaitlyn Michael LA Anglers 1 1 0-15 1 1 0-15
62 Taylor Lindley Jonathan Cimino Decatur Heritage Fishing Eagles 1 1 0-15 1 1 0-15
64 Colton Cox Russellville High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
64 Derek Pearson William Nall Anglers for Kids 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
64 Hunter Ward Dee White Anglers for Kids 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
BIG BASS Day School Lbs-Oz
1 Jake Turnbloom & JT Russell Briarwood Christian 5-3
TOTALS Day # Live Lbs-Oz # Limits
1 234 428- 9 33