ANDERSON, S.C. — Mitchell Robinson and Cody Abbott outlasted intense heat, a tough summer bite on Lake Hartwell and 480 other teams from across North America to win the 2023 Strike King Bassmaster High School Championship presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors.
The 17-year-old incoming seniors from South Carolina’s Byrnes High School finished the three-day derby with nine bass weighing 33 pounds, 3 ounces. That haul included a 12-5 bag on Saturday — the second heaviest of the tournament. They were in third place after an 11-15 limit on Day 1 but dropped to fifth on Day 2 after catching 8-15.
That set them up for a rally on Saturday. It came early with a 5 1/2-pound largemouth they caught 10 minutes after takeoff.
“We knew this morning when we had that fish that we’d set ourselves up for a great day,” Robinson said. “You have to catch a kicker. If you don’t, you’re not gonna win. After that, it was a matter of just getting two more bites. We got the right ones.”
Robinson and Abbott live in the Spartanburg area about an hour up Interstate 85 from Green Pond Landing, where daily takeoffs and weigh-ins were held. They fish Lake Hartwell several dozen times a year, but the spot they frequented for some of the week’s best action was new to them.
“We were using crankbaits, a shallow-running (shad-colored Rapala) DT6,” Robinson said. “We’d throw it under bridges, on laydowns, rocks. You just had to burn it. The fish were pressured all week, so you had to make them want it.
The big one came in about 6 feet of water, but there was a deep hole near this area that was anywhere from 20 to 50 feet. The fish were suspended. We’d throw to points and drops. We call them trains because you can see them lined on the Garmin LiveScope.”
When the teens needed another reliable bite, they went to brushpiles they plotted in practice; spots that held a steady stream of 3-pound bass. They relied on a weightless Zoom Trick Worm (green pumpkin) to boat bass in the brush.
“The bluegill would grab it and the bass would swim up there and eat it,” Robinson said.
This was the fourth time Robinson and Abbott qualified for Nationals, but their first Top 12 finish (their previous best was 14th).
They said competing on the final day — and coming from behind to win — was special.
“You really can’t describe this feeling,” Abbott said. “We sat in the hot seats waiting, and I almost couldn’t see I was shaking so badly. But when we won, it was a feeling you know you might not have again. You have to cherish this with the ones you love.”
That includes Tommy Abbott, the team’s boat captain and Cody’s dad. Saturday was Tommy’s 53rd birthday, and he couldn’t imagine a better present.
“This is incredible,” Tommy Abbott said. “They wanted this so bad … To come from a 2-pound deficit with a three-fish limit is next to impossible. But today, they went to work and brought it home. I’m so proud of them.”
The victory earned the teens a $5,000 scholarship to split, part of $22,950 in scholarship money awarded to the Top 12 teams at the championship.
South Carolina’s Bryson Gurley and Ethan Evatt finished second with 32-8, followed by Georgia’s Wyatt Richards and Colby Goforth with 30-14 and Alabama’s Avery Padgett and Ethan Young with 28-10.
Virginia’s Kasey Ferguson and Jakari Thomas, the Day 1 leaders, finished with the Big Bag of the Tournament with the 12-7 limit they weighed Thursday. That earned them the Hunter Owens Scholarship, $1,000 each, in memory of the former Louisiana high school angler who died in a car accident in 2019. They finished 12th place overall with 22-15.
Tennessee’s Ty Trentham and Chase McCarter won the $200 Big Bass Award, courtesy of the 6-15 largemouth they caught on Day 1.
This marked the 10th year B.A.S.S. held a national championship high school tournament, and the second consecutive year it’s been at Lake Hartwell. A total of 481 teams from 35 states and Canada competed.
Visit Anderson hosted the tournament.
2023 Bassmaster High School Series Title Sponsor: Strike King
2023 Bassmaster High School Series Presenting Sponsor: Academy Sports + Outdoors
2023 Bassmaster High School Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2023 Bassmaster High School Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2023 Bassmaster High School Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew’s, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC
2023 Bassmaster High School Series Youth Sponsors: 13 Fishing, Seaguar, Shimano
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About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 515,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster
and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 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, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Strike King Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Team Championship, Yamaha Rightwaters Bassmaster Kayak Series powered by TourneyX, Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota.
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Media Contact: Emily Harley, B.A.S.S. Communications Manager, 205-313-0945, eharley@bassmaster.com
2023 Strike King Bassmaster High School Championship presented
by Academy Sports + Outdoors 7/27-7/29
Lake Hartwell, Anderson SC.
(BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Club/School Pts
1. Mitchell Robinson – Cody Abbott Byrnes High School – SC 0
Day 1: 3 11-15 Day 2: 3 08-15 Day 3: 3 12-05 Total: 9 33-03
2. Bryson Gurley – Ethan Evatt Palmetto High School – SC 0
Day 1: 3 11-00 Day 2: 3 10-09 Day 3: 3 10-15 Total: 9 32-08
3. Wyatt Richards – Colby Goforth Pickens County High School – GA 0
Day 1: 3 11-01 Day 2: 3 12-00 Day 3: 3 07-13 Total: 9 30-14
4. Avery Padgett – Ethan Young Zion Chapel High School – AL 0
Day 1: 3 11-14 Day 2: 3 09-08 Day 3: 3 07-04 Total: 9 28-10
5. Presley Lannom – Trevor Sanford Mt. Juliet High School – TN 0
Day 1: 3 10-07 Day 2: 3 07-08 Day 3: 3 10-04 Total: 9 28-03
6. Ty Trentham – Chase Mccarter Sevier County High School – TN 0
Day 1: 3 10-10 Day 2: 3 11-12 Day 3: 2 04-10 Total: 8 27-00
7. Chase Logue – Carter Logue Argenta Oreana High School – IL 0
Day 1: 3 11-03 Day 2: 3 08-14 Day 3: 3 05-13 Total: 9 25-14
8. Jacob Longlois – Slade Nunnally Little Cypress-Mauriceville – TX 0
Day 1: 3 09-09 Day 2: 3 09-05 Day 3: 3 06-06 Total: 9 25-04
9. Dylan Quilatan – Tommy Rust Seminole Junior Anglers – FL 0
Day 1: 3 10-01 Day 2: 3 08-01 Day 3: 3 06-13 Total: 9 24-15
10. Bryce Balentine – Bryce Dimauro Seminole Junior Anglers – FL 0
Day 1: 3 09-14 Day 2: 3 09-00 Day 3: 3 04-15 Total: 9 23-13
11. Cole Martin – Josh Bowen Lakeside High School – AR 0
Day 1: 3 10-02 Day 2: 3 07-11 Day 3: 3 05-09 Total: 9 23-06
12. Kasey Ferguson – Jakari Thomas Ringgold Bassin – VA 0
Day 1: 3 12-07 Day 2: 3 06-03 Day 3: 3 04-05 Total: 9 22-15
——————————
BIG BASS OF TOURN
Ty Trentham – Chase Mccarter Sevier County High School – TN 06-15
HUNTER OWENS BIG BAG OF TOURN
Kasey Ferguson – Jakari Thomas Ringgold Bassin – VA 12-07
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 312 1118 2048-13
2 274 1012 1803-13
3 11 35 87-00
——————————
597 2165 3939-10
