by Jason Foss
The Seminole Junior Anglers were well represented in two of the largest high school tournaments in the nation this past month. The teams of Ashton Schmitt / Zach Temperly and Joey Bloom / Colin Blanton competed in the B.A.S.S. High School National Championship held on Kentucky Lake. The teams spent four days practicing and preparing for the tournament. They found success and were ready for the event, however mother nature had other plans. Tropical Storm Cindy formed and moved in just as the tournament was kicking off. Day one of the event brought wind, rain and large waves unlike these anglers have ever faced. With the tough conditions on Lake Kentucky, the teams weren’t able to capitalize on their productive practice. Day two of the competition was postponed due to treacherous weather conditions, and B.A.S.S. Nation condensed the tournament into a two-day event. Day three brought calmer weather and improved results as both teams bettered their day one weights, and brought in solid bags of 10lbs and 11lbs, respectively. Though their results were not enough to place in the event, the anglers most importantly learned valuable lessons that will make them more prepared in future tournaments, and had a fun week in Paris, Tennessee. We are very proud of the team’s representation of Seminole Junior Anglers and the state of Florida working through these adverse conditions.
The following week kicked off the TBF National Championship and High School World Finals. These tournaments were simultaneously held on Lake Pickwick in Florence, Alabama, and consisted of over 350 teams from throughout the United States. The Seminole Junior Angler team of Fisher Omans and Steven Steinard were strong contenders in the TBF National Championship. The team qualified through the TBF State Tournament where they had a top 5 finish on the St. Johns River. Steven and Fisher had 2 strong days of fishing weighing in 17lbs on day one, and 12lbs on day two. This was enough weight to qualify them to fish in the final day of the event where the field was dwindled from 58 teams competing in the National Championship Bracket to just 10. The team ended up finishing 8th overall in the National Championship, but that wasn’t the end of their tournament run. Along with qualifying for the final day top 10 in the National Tournament, they also were given an automatic bid in to the final day of the High School World Finals. The team ended up saving their best bag for the final day where they weighed in 20lbs for a 3rd overall finish! Their final day limit was anchored by a huge 8lb bass that earned the team the final day big bass award.
This was a huge accomplishment for the team, especially that they were competing against mostly local teams from the Tennessee/Alabama area. With the 3rd place finish, they won trophies, TVs, and other prizes from TBF, FLW, and the tournament sponsors. Most notably they came home with a fishing experience, and feeling of accomplishment they will remember for the rest of their lives. This was Fisher’s final tournament as a high school angler, and we wish him the best as he graduates to the next stage of his education and fishing endeavors.
The top three teams from Seminole Junior Angler’s regular season also made the trip up to Florence to fish in the World Finals portion of the event. These teams included Dylan Westhelle / Logan Wright, Bobby Bakewell / Jake Hutcheson, and Connor Dimauro / Saxton Dearmin. All three teams arrived early to take full advantage of the practice days prior to the tournament, and worked to figure out ledge fishing and other techniques they don’t encounter on Florida Lakes. While the first 2 days didn’t produce the weights they hoped, on the elimination day, the team of Bobby Bakewell and Jake Hutcheson made a good run to make the final top 20 teams. They weighed in a limit of fish weighing 15.8lbs. This fell less than a pound short of the cutoff line to qualify for the final day. All the teams had a great time, and learned valuable lessons about fishing in a different area of the US.
Finally, we would like to recognize one of our graduating anglers, Connor DiMauro. Connor is the first angler out of the organization to earn a college scholarship to fish on a college level fishing team. Connor will be competing for Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee this coming school year. We look forward to following his accomplishments at the next level. We would also like to recognize all the other seniors who will be moving on and who have put in countless hours into the program. Thank you to our sponsors and supporters, including Instant Insurance for sponsoring our team and allowing us to share the accomplishments and experiences of these high school anglers in Orlando Coastal Angler Magazine.
