DECATUR, Ala. (Oct. 1, 2018) – The Brooks High School duo of Karsten Rotten and Mason Hunt, both of Killen, Alabama, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 13 pounds, 12 ounces to win the 2018 High School Fishing Wheeler Lake Open tournament. According to post-tournament reports, the duo caught their limit targeting rocky bottoms with a green-pumpkin-colored jig near the dam.
A field of 43 teams competed in the no-entry fee tournament, which launched from Ingalls Harbor. In FLW/TBF High School Fishing competition, the top 10-percent of teams competing advance to the High School Fishing National Championship.
The top four teams on Wheeler Lake that advanced to the 2019 High School Fishing National Championship were:
1st: Brooks High School, Killen, Ala. – Karsten Rotten and Mason Hunt, both of Killen, Ala., five bass, 13-12
2nd: Cedar Bluff High School, Cedar Bluff, Ala. – Colin McCullough, Cedar Bluff, Ala., and Justin Hamlin, Fort Payne, Ala., five bass, 12-10
3rd: Union County High School, Blairsville, Ga. – William Harkins and Logan Anderson, both of Blairsville, Ga., five bass, 12-1
4th: Sylvania High School, Sylvania, Ala. – Riley Johnson, Henegar, Ala., and Drake Casey, Sylvania Ala., five bass, 8-15
Rounding out the top 10 teams were:
5th: Fairview High School, Fairview, Ala. – Levi Harris and Bryar Chambers, both of Cullman, Ala., five bass, 8-10
6th: Tuscaloosa County High School, Northport, Ala. – Kole Key and Logan Hicks, both of North Port, Ala., five bass, 8-2
7th: Tuscaloosa County High School, Northport, Ala. – Austin Sullivan, Northport, Ala., and Christian Boyd, Berry, Ala., five bass, 7-12
8th: Fairhope High School, Fairhope, Ala. – Mason Guinn and Emilie Ann Eastman, both of Fairhope, Ala., five bass, 7-7
9th: Sylvania High School, Sylvania, Ala. – Dawson Campbell, Henegar, Ala., and Andrew Smart, Pisgah, Ala., four bass, 7-3
10th: Helena High School, Helena, Ala. – J.C. Sivley and Skyler Stevens, both of Helena, Ala., five bass, 6-13