The Tuscaloosa County High School fishing duo of Jace McNutt and Jon Hayden Raper brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 16 pounds, 6 ounces to win the 2018 TBF/FLW High School Fishing Alabama State Championship on Lake Neely Henry.
A field of 30 teams competed in the no-entry fee tournament, which launched from the Coosa Landing in Gadsden. In FLW/TBF High School Fishing competition, the top 10-percent of teams competing advance to the High School Fishing National Championship.
The top three teams on Lake Neely Henry that qualified for the 2018 High School Fishing National Championship were:
1st: Tuscaloosa County High School, Northport, Ala. – Jace McNutt and Jon Hayden Raper, five bass, 16-6
2nd: Sylvania High School, Sylvania, Ala. – Hunter Hill and Riley Johnson, both of Henegar, Ala., five bass, 13-11
3rd: Hillcrest High School, Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Hunter Porter, Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Peyton Trimm, Northport, Ala., five bass, 13-3
Rounding out the top 10:
4th: Sand Rock High School, Sand Rock, Ala. – Colton Cash, Leesburg, Ala., and Jayce McKnight, Sand Rock, Ala., five bass 12-12
5th: Sylvania High School, Sylvania, Ala. – Andrew Smart, Pisgah, Ala., and Dawson Campbell, Henegar, Ala., five bass, 12-6
6th: Fort Payne High School, Fort Payne, Ala. – Ashton Brown, Fort Payne, Ala., and Joseph Angel, Mentone, Ala., five bass, 12-0
7th: Fort Payne High School, Fort Payne, Ala. – Lane Clark and Brandon Davis, both of Fort Payne, Ala., Mentone, Ala., five bass, 11-11
8th: Sand Rock High School, Sand Rock, Ala. – Brody Robison, Collinsville, Ala., and Levi Cox, Gaylesville, Ala., five bass, 10-11
9th: Alexandria High School, Alexandria, Ala. – Jacob Brown, Glencoe, Ala., and William Bearden, Ashville, Ala., five bass, 9-13
10th: Cherokee County High School, Centre, Ala. – Hunter Bailey and Kallie Jolly, both of Centre, Ala., five bass, 9-6
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 Alabama 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 Alabama. 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.
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
