The Potomac Falls High School team of Jordon Mazza and Richard Wellhouse brought five bass to the scale Saturday weighing 12 pounds, 2 ounces, to win the 2015 Virginia State High School Fishing Championship on the Potomac River. The win earned the team the title of state champions and qualified the team to compete in the High School Fishing Northern Conference championship on Lake Winnipesaukee in September.
The Potomac Falls High School team of Jordon Mazza and Richard Wellhouse brought five bass to the scale Saturday weighing 12 pounds, 2 ounces, to win the 2015 Virginia State High School Fishing Championship on the Potomac River. (FLW/TBF)
“This river is basically our home water so we are glad we did well,” said Mazza, a senior this fall.
Mazza said the duo mainly used a swimjig in grassy areas to catch most of their fish.
“We used a wide variety of colors, but darker baits seemed to be a little more effective,” said Mazza.
“We would catch a few and then they would shut off,” added Wellhouse, a recent graduate. “I think our two biggest keys to success were sticking with the swimjig and paying attention to the tide.”
The top team on the Potomac River that advanced to the Northern Conference Championship was:
1st: Potomac Falls High School – Jordon Mazza and Richard Wellhouse, five bass, 12-2
Rounding out the top 10 teams in the Virginia State High School Championship were:
2nd: Chatham High School – Bradley Gauldi and Austin Carter, five bass, 12-1
3rd: Brentsville District High School – Christopher Butler and Brian Thomas, five bass, 11-14
4th: Patrick County High School – Landon Siggers and Logan Reynolds, five bass, 10-5
5th: Broadway High School / Stuarts Draft High School – Jacob Lambert and Kile Quick, five bass, 10-3
6th: Abingdon High School – Zachary Francis and Tyler Dixon, five bass, 10-2
7th: Tunstall High School – Christian Bonar and Jacob Johnson, five bass, 9-14
8th: Patrick County High School – Dillon Bryant and Dustin Lawless, three bass, 5-10
9th: Honaker High School – Hunter Eaton and Cody Fuller, two bass, 3-14
10th: Southwest Virginia Junior Anglers – Connor Harrison and Dylan Andis, one bass, 3-2
Also held Saturday was the Potomac River OPEN, which featured out-of-state High School Fishing teams competing for entry into the Conference Championships. The top three teams in the Potomac River OPEN that advanced to the Northern Conference Championship were:
1st: Pomfret Student Bass Anglers – Aaron Dixon and Emery Kitts, five bass, 10-2
2nd: Susquehanna Valley Fishing Club – River Mertz and Brent Engleman, five bass, 9-15
3rd: Lincoln County High School – Carson Cochran and Hunter White, four bass, 7-15
The 2015 Virginia State High School Fishing Championship and Potomac River OPEN was a two-person (team) event for students in grades 7-12. The top 10 percent from each TBF/FLW state championship field will advance to a High School Fishing conference championship along with the top three teams from each of the seven TBF/FLW High School Fishing Opens held this season. The top 10 percent of each conference championship field will then 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 2015 High School Fishing World Finals, held on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama, on July 8-11. At the 2014 World Finals more than $40,000 in scholarships and prizes were awarded. Visit HighSchoolFishing.org for details.
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.
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: Brian Johnson, FLW
