The Karns High School duo of Josh Lee and Mason Cizek, both of Knoxville, Tennessee, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 17 pounds, 13 ounces to win the 2018 Bass Pro Shops FLW High School Fishing Douglas Lake Open tournament. The win advanced the team to the 2018 High School Fishing National championship, held June 26-30, on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama.
A field of 42 teams competed in the no-entry fee tournament, which launched from Mountain Cove Marina in Sevierville. 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 Douglas Lake that advanced to the 2018 High School Fishing National Championship were:
1st: Karns High School, Knoxville, Tenn. – Josh Lee and Mason Cizek, both of Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 17-13
2nd: Elizabethton High School, Elizabethton, Tenn. – Blaine Poiroux and Hunter McClaskey, both of Elizabethton, Tenn., five bass, 13-8
3rd: Sullivan East High School, Bluff City, Tenn. – Braden Perry and Justin Potts, both of Bluff City, Tenn., five bass, 13-8
4th: Hazard High School, Hazard, Ky. – Kaden Hillman, Hazard, Ky., and Jacob Frazier, Cornettsville, Ky., five bass, 12-14
Rounding out the top 10 teams were:
5th: Gilmer High School, Ellijay, Ga. – Caleb Waddell and Grant Ledford, both of Ellijay, Ga., five bass, 11-15
6th: Southwest Virginia Junior Anglers – Matthew Gobble, Abingdon, Va., and Reed Samuel, Bristol, Va., five bass, 11-14
7th: Lake Cumberland Bass Club – Austin Bray and Jackson Lockard, both of Somerset, Ky., five bass, 11-8
8th: Lake Cumberland Bass Club – Jackson Prather and Seth Bennett, both of Somerset, Ky., five bass, 11-4
9th: Cornerstone Christian Academy, Shelbyvile, Ky. – Doug Jesse, Shelbyville, Ky., and Jake Thornbury, Finchville, Ky., five bass, 10-3
10th: Lake Cumberland Bass Club. – Blake Stringer and Ragan Burton, both of Somerset, Ky., five bass, 10-2
The 2018 Bass Pro Shops FLW High School Fishing Douglas Lake 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 High School Fishing National Championship. 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 2018 High School Fishing World Finals, held in conjunction with the National Championship. At the 2017 World Finals more than $60,000 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: Joe Opager, Director of Public Relations
