DUBLIN, Va. (May 23, 2017) – The Madison County High School duo of Connor Hughes of Brightwood, Virginia, and Brian Canterbury of Madison, Virginia, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 9 pounds even to win the 2017 Bass Pro Shops FLW High School Fishing Virginia Open tournament on Claytor Lake. The win advanced the team to the 2017 High School Fishing National championship, held June 27-July 1 at Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama.
According to post-tournament reports, the duo caught their fish targeting bedding fish and rocky banks in the mid- to lower-end of the lake with a Yamamoto Senko.
A field of 14 teams competed in the no-entry fee, tournament which launched from Claytor Lake State Park in Dublin. In FLW/TBF High School Fishing competition, the top 10-percent of teams competing advance to the High School Fishing National Championship.
The top team on Claytor Lake that advanced to the 2017 High School Fishing National Championship was:
1st: Madison County High School, Madison, Va. – Connor Hughes, Brightwood, Va., and Brian Canterbury, Madison, Va., (five bass, 9-0)
Rounding out the top 10 teams were:
2nd: New Kent High School, New Kent, Va. – Tyler Colgin, New Kent, Va., and Justin Bostic, Providence Forge, Va., (five bass, 6-14)
3rd: Broadway High School, Broadway, Va. – Austin Knicely, Harrisonburg, Va., and Anthony Lookadoo, Rockingham, Va., (five bass, 6-13)
4th: Pulaski County High School, Dublin, Va. – Landon McDaniel, Dublin, Va., and Paul Southern, Pulaski, Va., (five bass, 6-11)
5th: Tunstall High School, Dry Fork, Va. – Sean Gunter and Landon Siggers, both of Danville, Va., (five bass, 6-10)
6th: Buckeye Boss Hawgs – Briar West, Newport, Ohio, and Wyatt Oliver, Newport, Ohio, (three bass, 5-1)
7th: Dan River High School, Ringgold, Va. – Andrew Turner, Sutherlin, Va., and Ezra Johnson, Keeling, Va., (four bass, 4-7)
8th: New Kent High School, New Kent, Va. – Bryce Henley, Lanexa, Va., and Edward Davis, West Point, Va., (one bass, 3-8)
9th: Franklin County High School, Rocky Mount, Va. – Peyton Brown, Rocky Mount, Va., and Timmy Massey, Moneta, Va., (three bass, 2-11)
10th: Tunstall High School, Dry Fork, Va. – Chance Richie, Dry Fork, Va., and Evan Frazier, Dry Fork, Va., (two bass, 2-11)