The Waunakee High School duo of Colin Steck and Nathan Lorenz from Waunakee, Wisconsin, brought two bass to the scale Saturday weighing 4 pounds, 12 ounces, to win the 2015 TBF/FLW High School Fishing Central Championship tournament on Lake Carlyle in Carlyle, Illinois. The win earned the team the title of Central Conference champions and advanced the team to the 2016 High School Fishing National championship, held next spring at a location yet to be announced in conjunction with the TBF National Championship and a Walmart FLW Tour event.
A field of 17 teams from across the Midwest competed in this tournament after qualifying via their finishes at the state championship tournaments held earlier this year. The teams battled through tough weather and constantly changing conditions, with crankbaits and spinnerbaits seeming to produce the best for the High School anglers.
The top two teams on Lake Carlyle that advanced to the 2016 High School Fishing National Championship were:
1st: Waunakee High School, Waunakee, Wis. – Colin Steck and Nathan Lorenz, (two bass, 4-12)
2nd: Colerain High School, Cincinnati, Ohio – Cole Wessner and Dan Hechler, (one bass, 3-5)
Rounding out the top five teams were:
3rd: Benton High School, Benton, Ill. – Dailus Richardson and Trevor McKinney, (one bass, 2-13)
4th: North Dakota Student Angler Federation – Chase Fernandez, Beaulah, N.D., and Hunter Wood, Hazen, N.D., (one bass, 2-11)
5th: Hurricane High School, Hurricane, W. Va. – Drew Sallada and Bailey Gordon, (one bass, 2-0)
The 2015 TBF/FLW High School Fishing Central Conference Championship was a two-person (team) event for students in grades 7-12. The top 10 percent of each conference championship field will advance to the High School Fishing National Championship, coinciding with the TBF National Championship and an FLW Tour stop in the spring of 2016. 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 2016 High School Fishing World Finals. At the 2015 World Finals more than $20,000 in scholarships and prizes were awarded.
ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2015 over the course of 240 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. For more information about FLW visit FLWFishing.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
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
