The Harmony High School duo of Grady Johnson and Dawson Turner, both of St. Cloud, Florida, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 20 pounds, 1 ounce to win the 2018 Bass Pro Shops FLW High School Fishing Lake Okeechobee Open.
A field of 26 teams competed in the no-entry fee tournament, which launched from Roland and Mary Ann Martins Marina in Clewiston. 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 Lake Okeechobee that advanced to the 2019 High School Fishing National Championship were:
1st: Harmony High School, St. Cloud, Fla. – Grady Johnson and Dawson Turner, both of St. Cloud, Fla., five bass, 20-1
2nd: Union County High School, Blairsville, Ga. – Coby Thompson and Colby Elliot, both of Blairsville, Ga., five bass, 14-3
Rounding out the top 10 were:
3rd: Osceola High School, Kissimmee, Fla. – Clint Leonard and Caden McCammon, St. Cloud, Fla., five bass, 10-1
4th: Bassinators – Cayden Oltman, Richfield, Minn., and Nehemiah Glenn, Lakeville, Minn., five bass, 9-6
5th: Tioga High School, Tioga, La. – Kolton Mitchell, Dry Prong, La., and Rylon Ganey, Pineville, La., five bass, 9-3
6th: Okeechobee High School, Okeechobee, Fla. – David Daniel and Cody Wojcieszak, both of Okeechobee, Fla., five bass, 9-0
7th: Moore Haven High School, Moore Haven, Fla. – Caleb White, Clewiston, Fla., and Brice Prowant, Moore Haven, Fla., five bass, 9-0
8th: Bassinators – Conrad Couden, Fort Myers, Fla., and Solomon Glenn, Lakeville, Minn., five bass, 8-12
9th: Marion County Bass Masters – Zack Barrera, Morriston, Fla., and Alexander Cook, Ocala, Fla., five bass, 8-7
10th: Bartow High School, Bartow, Fla. – Bryson Royer, Bartow, Fla., and Dawson Troutt, Lakeland, Fla., five bass, 7-12
The 2018 Bass Pro Shops FLW High School Fishing Lake Okeechobee Open was a two-person (team) event for students in grades 7-12, open to any Student Angler Federation (SAF) affiliated high school club in the United States. The top 10 percent of each Challenge, Open, and state championship field will advance to the 2019 High School Fishing National Championship on a body of water that has yet to be revealed. 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 open high school bass tournament, the 2019 High School Fishing World Finals, held in conjunction with the National Championship. At the 2018 World Finals more than $150,000 in scholarships and prizes were awarded.
Full schedules and the latest announcements are available at HighSchoolFishing.org and FLWFishing.com.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2018 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW and their partners conduct 286 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa and Spain. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros.
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: Drew Aspinwall, FLW Fishing
