HUDDLESTON, Va. (May 22, 2018) – 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 Sunday weighing 16 pounds, 2 ounces to win the 2018 Bass Pro Shops FLW High School Fishing Smith Mountain Lake Open in Huddleston, Virginia. The win advanced the team to the 2018 High School Fishing National championship, held June 26-30, on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama.
According to post-tournament reports, the duo caught their limit fishing down-lake points with a lot of chunk rock in 10 feet of water with a Carolina rig.
A field of 25 teams competed in the no-entry fee tournament, which launched from the Parkway Marina in Huddleston. In FLW/TBF High School Fishing competition, the top 10-percent of teams competing advance to the High School Fishing National Championship.
The top two teams on Smith Mountain Lake that advanced to the 2018 High School Fishing National Championship were:
1st: Madison County High School, Madison, Va. – Connor Hughes, Brightwood, Va., and Brian Canterbury, Madison, Va., five-bass, 16-2
2nd: New Kent High School, New Kent, Va. – Bryce Henley, Lanexa, Va., and Joshua Chaffin, Quintin, Va., five bass, 12-10
Rounding out the top 10 teams were:
3rd: Madison High School, Marshall, N.C. – Ransom Boone, Marshall, N.C., and Russell Moore, Burnsville, N.C., five bass, 12-7
4th: Tunstall High School, Dry Fork, Va. – Colin Bennett, Axton, Va., and Bryan Scarce, Dry Fork, Va., four bass, 10-12
5th: Holston High School, Damascus, Va. – Mason Steele and Parker Newton, both of Damascus, Va., five bass, 10-0
6th: Junior Greenhorn Anglers – Jason Saulsberry and Aidan Kerlin, both of Chesapeake, Va., three bass, 9-10
7th: Pulaski County High School, Dublin, Va. – Landon McDaniel, Dublin, Va., and Paul Southern, Pulaski, Va., five bass, 9-0
8th: Orange County High School, Orange County, Va. – Gavin Haley, Locust Grove, Va., and Ewing Minor, Charlottesville, Va., four bass 7-13
9th: Franklin County High School, Rocky Mount, Va. – Peyton Brown and Ryan Shelton, both of Rocky Mount, Va., four bass, 7-12
10th: Eastern Alamance High School, Mebane, N.C. – Alden Patterson and Nathan Willis, both of Mebane, N.C., Texas, five bass, 7-10