The Oak Hill High School fishing duo of Keaton Potter and Mitchell Hale, both of Oak Hill, Ohio, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 9 pounds, 11 ounces to win the 2018 TBF/FLW High School Fishing Ohio State Championship on Alum Creek.
A field of 56 teams competed in the no-entry fee tournament, which launched from Alum Creek State Park, Galena Ramp in Comumbus. In FLW/TBF High School Fishing competition, the top 10-percent of teams competing advance to the High School Fishing National Championship.
The top five teams on Alum Creek that qualified for the 2018 High School Fishing National Championship were:
1st: Oak Hill High School, Oak Hill, Ohio – Keaton Potter and Mitchell Hale, both of Oak Hill, Ohio, five bass, 9-11
2nd: Bishop Hartley High School, Columbus, Ohio – Isaac Black, Croton, Ohio, and Lucas Wildman, Delaware, Ohio, five bass, 8-15
3rd: S.S. Minnows – Cameron Smith, Columbus, Ohio, and Jacob Blackburn, Ashville, Ohio, five bass, 8-7
4th: Oak Hill High School, Oak Hill, Ohio – Hunter Fleming and Collin Hammond, both of Oak Hill, Ohio, four bass 7-12
5th: Oak Hill High School, Oak Hill, Ohio – Noah Donley and Isaac Morgan, both of Oak Hill, Ohio, five bass, 7-3
Rounding out the top 10:
6th: Oak Hill High School, Oak Hill, Ohio – Austin Kidd and Triston Diltz, both of Oak Hill, Ohio, three bass, 6-12
7th: Cincinnati Youth Bass – Gabriel Fishlock, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Austin Bredek, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 6-7
8th: Renegades Perry County Anglers – Kobe Thompson, New Lexington, Ohio, and Jagger Lindell, Roseville, Ohio, four bass, 6-3
9th: Bishop Hartley High School, Columbus, Ohio – Jaydin Long and Mikey Abbot, both of Plain City, Ohio, three bass, 6-2
10th: Shelby County Junior Bassmasters – Shane Smith and Mitchell Francis, both of Troy, Ohio, five bass, 5-14
Photos from the event will be posted on the Student Angler Federation Facebook page at Facebook.com/hsfishing.
The 2018 TBF/FLW High School Fishing Ohio State Championship 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 on Pickwick Lake, in Florence, Alabama, June 26-29. 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 on Pickwick Lake. 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. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
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
