The Coloma High School duo of Matthew Davis and Ryley Watson brought a five-bass limit to the scale Sunday weighing 15 pounds, 3 ounces, to win the 2015 TBF/FLW High School Fishing Michigan State Championship on the Detroit River. The win earned the team the title of state champions and qualified the team to compete in the High School Fishing Central Conference championship on Lake Carlyle in September.
The top five teams on the Detroit River finished:
1st: Coloma High School – Matthew Davis and Ryley Watson, five bass, 15-3
2nd: De La Salle Collegiate High School – Michael Lipinski and Mathew Burns, five bass, 15-1
3rd: Lakeland High School – Nathan Stec and Tyler Leggat, five bass, 14-15
4th: Hartland High School – Gunner Wilson and Zach Manneback, five bass, 14-9
5th: Mason High School – Brad Wilton and Jacob Komm, five bass, 14-1
The 2015 TBF/FLW Michigan State High School Fishing Championship was a two-person (team) event for students in grades 7-12. The top 10 percent from each TBF/FLW state championship field will advance to a High School Fishing conference championship along with the top three teams from each of the seven TBF/FLW High School Fishing Opens held this season. The top 10 percent of each conference championship field will then advance to the High School Fishing National Championship, coinciding with the TBF National Championship and an FLW Tour stop in the spring of 2016. The High School Fishing national champions will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship to the school of their choice.
In addition to the High School Fishing National Championship, all High School Fishing anglers nationwide automatically qualify for the world’s largest high school bass tournament, the 2016 High School Fishing World Finals. At the 2015 World Finals more than $20,000 in scholarships and prizes were awarded. Visit HighSchoolFishing.org for details.
ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2015 over the course of 240 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.
ABOUT THE BASS FEDERATION
The Bass Federation Inc., (TBF) is a member of the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. TBF is owned by those we serve and dedicated to the sport of fishing. The Federation is the largest and oldest, organized grassroots fishing, youth and conservation organization there is. TBF, our affiliated state federations and their member clubs conduct more than 20,000 events each year and have provided a foundation for the entire bass fishing industry for more than 45 years. TBF founded the Student Angler Federation and the National High School Fishing program in 2008 to promote clean family fun and education through fishing.
By: Joe Opager, Director of Public Relations
