The Osceola High School duo of Bailey Chisholm and Cole DePuy, both of St. Cloud, Florida, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Sunday weighing 17 pounds, 5 ounces, to win the 2017 TBF High School Fishing Florida State Championship tournament on the St. Johns River in Putnam County, Florida. The win advanced the team to the 2017 High School Fishing National championship, held June 27-July 1 at Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama.
A field of 57 teams competed in the no-entry fee tournament, which launched from the City Dock Launch Ramp in Palatka. 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 the St. Johns River that advanced to the 2017 High School Fishing National Championship were:
1st: Osceola High School – Bailey Chisholm and Cole DePuy, both of St. Cloud, Fla., (five bass, 17-5)
2nd: Okeechobee High School – Kaitlyn Williams and David Daniel, both of Okeechobee, Fla., (five bass, 15-13)
3rd: Fort Meade High School– Tyler Bazemore, Mulberry, Fla., and Shane Schmucker, Lakeland, Fla., (five bass, 15-9)
4th: First Coast High School – James Brooks, Inverness, Fla., and Matthew Sorrells, Middleburg, Fla., (five bass, 15-3)
5th: Seminole County Junior Anglers – Fisher Omans and Steven Steinard, both of Oviedo, Fla., (five bass, 14-15)
Rounding out the top 10 teams were:
6th: Bartow High School – Jeremy Morgan and Joshua Johnson, both of Bartow, Fla., (five bass, 14-4)
7th: Keystone Heights High School – Coy Givens and Madison Givens, both of Keystone Heights, Fla., (four bass, 13-10)
8th: Seminole County Junior Anglers – Joey Bloom, Winter Springs, Fla., and Dylan Westhelle, Sanford, Fla., (five bass, 13-4)
9th: Seminole County Junior Anglers – Logan Wright, Oviedo, Fla., and Colin Blanton, Winter Springs, Fla., (five bass, 12-15)
10th: Seminole County Junior Anglers – Noah Napolitano and A.J. Alameda, both of Longwood, Fla., (five bass, 12-8)
The 2017 TBF High School Fishing Florida 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 state of Florida. 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 2017 High School Fishing World Finals, held in conjunction with the National Championship. At the 2016 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 2017 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 274 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. 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
