Photo by Ronnie Moore/B.A.S.S.
They were given a second chance to compete in the finale of the Costa Bassmaster High School National Championship and both Georgia and New York earned their seats.
Michael Arndt and Ryan Hujar of Syracuse, N.Y., and Cody Stahl and Tate VanEdmond of Williamson, Ga., will join the Top 10 teams on Kentucky Lake Saturday to determine high school bass fishing’s top anglers.
The teams qualified after taking the Top 2 spots in a competition held Friday on Carroll County Thousand Acre Recreational Lake. The 11th through 50th place teams were eligible to compete. By the rules, only the best two bass caught by each team counted toward the qualifying weight.
New York’s B.A.S.S. high school state champions Arndt and Hujar caught a largemouth weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces. Stahl and VanEdmond, representing Crosspointe Christian Academy in Williamson, caught a bass weighing 7 pounds, 1 ounce to qualify for the finals.
Both teams caught their bass on jigs fished along dropoffs on the lake.
“We’ve beat up all our spots on Kentucky Lake, so we plan to change our strategy,” Stahl said. “Hopefully, with only 12 boats in the tournament, we can catch up.”
“We have one area, so it was good for us to give it a rest,” said Fred Blom, coach of the New York team.
The second chance contest coincided with Day 1 of the B.A.S.S. Youth Nation Junior Championship, also held on Carroll County Thousand Acre Recreational Lake. Leading the tournament with 12-12 are Austin Brewer and Jacob Bruener of Douglas High School in Nacogdoches, Texas.
The highlight of the day was the largemouth weighing 11 pounds, 14 ounces, caught by Bruener. The fish stands to break the current lake record weighing 9-2.
“It was amazing, and every other boat on the lake probably heard us when it came aboard,” said Bruener, 14, a sophomore. His previous personal best bass weighed 8 pounds.
Bruener caught the fish on a shaky head jig. He was fishing the lure on the bottom of an underwater ridge tapering from 12 to 14 feet deep.
Teams are competing for $75,000 in scholarships and prizes. Schools participating in the B.A.S.S. Nation High School Nation program were eligible to qualify two-angler teams to the championship. Teams also qualified through B.A.S.S. regional events and sanctioned affiliate tournament trails.
The main campus of Bethel University hosts the final championship weigh-in on Saturday beginning 1:45 p.m. CT.
Official hosts are Paris-Henry County, Carroll County, Northwest Tennessee Tourism and Bethel University.
2015 Bassmaster High School Title Sponsor: Costa
2015 Bassmaster High School Presenting Sponsor: TNT Fireworks
2015 Bassmaster High School Premier Sponsors: Toyota, ABU Garcia, Berkley, Carhartt, GoPro, Huk Performance Fishing, Triton Boats, Yamaha
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), social media programs and events. For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series presented by Allstate, Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation events, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Costa Bassmaster High School Series, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro.
Costa Bassmaster High School Series presented by TNT Fireworks – NC Second Chance
7/24/2015 – 7/24/2015
Carroll County 1,000 Acre – Recreational Lake – Huntingdon, TN
STANDINGS BOATER DAY 1
Today’s Activity
# Fish Lbs – Oz
Accumulative
Name # Live # Fish # Live Lbs – Oz
1 Michael Arndt – Ryan Hujar New York HS Club 1 0 7-10 1 0 7-10
2 Cody Stahl – Tate VanEdmond Crosspointe Christian Fishing Club 1 1 7- 1 1 1 7- 1
3 Taylor Cox – Ben Muse Carrollton High School 1 1 6-15 1 1 6-15
4 Carter McNeil – Tucker Smith Abbeville High School 1 1 6-13 1 1 6-13
4 Nathan Walley – Caleb Parker Heidelberg Academy 1 1 6-13 1 1 6-13
6 Trevor Yates – Evan Wahpekeche LIttle Axe Bass Club 1 1 6- 7 1 1 6- 7
7 J T Russell – Jared Turnbloom Briarwood High School 1 1 4- 9 1 1 4- 9
8 Connor Edwards – Braden Lovely American Christian Academy 1 1 2- 9 1 1 2- 9
9 Michael Duarte – Richie Martin Sparrows Point HS 1 1 2- 7 1 1 2- 7
10 Blake Albertson – Jordan Mullis Southside Anglers 1 1 1-11 1 1 1-11
11 Will Moffett – Kyle McCormick Franklin County High School 1 1 1- 5 1 1 1- 5
12 Ryan Shields – Austin Hale Hazel Green High School 1 1 1- 3 1 1 1- 3
13 Dailus Richardson – Trevor McKinney Benton High School 1 1 0-15 1 1 0-15
13 Keaton Zarr – Michael Yarger Susquehanna Valley Fishing Club 1 1 0-15 1 1 0-15
15 Bailey Fain – Justin Selvidge Lenoir City High School 1 1 0-12 1 1 0-12
16 Max McQuiade – Conner Foley MA High School 1 1 0- 9 1 1 0- 9
17 Justin Barnes – Sutton Black Monroe Student Bass Anglers 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Jeremy Bates – Joshua Holden Bishop Brady HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Dylan Berry – Chase Berry Madison Anglers 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Grayson Cook – Bryson Galloway Windsor High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Hunter Courvelle – Alex Erickson Sam Houston High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Josh Dugger – Jake Dugger Pottsville HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Tyler Eagan – Jason Thompson Lees Summit West Fishing Club 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Garrett Enders – Nick Osman Susquehanna Valley 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Zeke Gossett – Hayden Bartee Pell City High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Zach Hingson – Tyler Benedict Arthur Levington Atwood Hammond 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Kyle Ingleburger – Kyle Palmer Grundy County HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Luke Jasper – Tommy Rimbo Lemont High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Fischer Keel – Auburn Anglers 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Dillon King – Kody Kelly Livingston Parish Bass Masters – 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Nathan Kmiecik – Cole Luetkenhaus Bishop Neuman HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Julius Mazy – Thomas Sendek Arizona High School Club 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Matt Miller – Adrian Stafford Southside Anglers 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Bryson Mort – Gabe Litterell Idaho Trophy Bass Hunters 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Connor Nimrod – Trevor Watts Desoto Bass Team 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Ben Riggs – Nick Ratliff Hardin/LaRue 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Cole Schmucker – Chandler Cornelius George Jenkins HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Matt Shirley – Cade Barnes Tuscaloosa County High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Brennan Swanson – Adam Hutmacher Chamberlain HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
17 Tristan Thomas – Dakota Crumely East Hall Anglers 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
Name City,State Lbs-Oz
BIG BASS
Day
1 Michael Arndt – Ryan Hujar North Syracuse, NY 7-14
Day # Live Lbs-Oz # Limits
TOTALS
# Fish
1 16 15 58-10 16
Today’s Activity
# Fish Lbs – Oz
Accumulative
Name # Live # Fish # Live Lbs – Oz