The first tournament in the second half of the year began with a bang – The FLW High School State Championship on the Harris Chain of Lakes! Seminole Junior Anglers’ teams competed against 50 other teams from around Florida trying to earn a national championship birth. The teams found conditions tough, with a cold front moving through as well as high boating and fishing pressure from a few large tournaments on the chain in recent weeks. Congratulations go to the team of Dylan Westhelle and Joey Bloom – First Place! Dylan and Joey came away with the victory with a five fish limit of 17.4bs. They will now be competing in the National Championship in Alabama in June. This team was not the only team to qualify. Grady Windham also qualified with a 5th place finish and Seminole Junior Angler teams made up a large portion of the top 15.
Another event that the organization held was the 3rd Annual St. John’s River Bash which was held on February 9th, 2019. The primary purpose of this event each year is to raise funds to help pay for entry fees and travel costs for away tournaments including the FLW High School World Finals held on Pickwick Lake, and B.A.S.S. Nation High School Nationals on Kentucky Lake. This is a great event each year with 2-person teams competing in the tournament followed by a weigh-in open to the public held at Boat Tree Marina. This year, 38 teams of tournament anglers hit the water at what seemed to be a perfect time. The anglers found spawning fish plentiful, and large bags of fish came pouring onto the stage. There were numerous 20lb limits of fish weighed in, however, it took much more than that to come away with the victory. The team of John Mullis and Earnest Watson weighed in a whopping 27.05lb bag of fish to come away with the victory. They also had big fish honors with an 8.34lb Trophy Catch. The team finishing as runners up was the Seminole Junior Anglers team of Devin Been and Noah St. Pierre. They weighed in a 24.94lb bag of fish. Finishing out the top 5 was: Dave DiMauro and Tony DiMauro, Chris Westhelle and Dylan Westhelle, And Brian Wethington Sr and Brian Wethington Jr. The tournament concluded with many great raffle prizes and had several local vendors showing their wares. Some of the raffle prizes included: Big Green Egg Grill, Kysek Cooler, Rods, Reels, Boat Cleaning Kits, Life Jackets, and so much more. Title tournament sponsors this year include returning sponsors Orlando Coastal Angler Magazine, Airport Chrysler Dodge Jeep, and KYSEK Coolers, and new sponsors AOK Networking, All Terrain Tractor Service, Inc., and All-American Excavating. Thank you to all who came out to support including Portside Marine, Rothrock Marine, Down To Fish, Bully Dog, Casting for Kids, and Orlando Coastal Angler Magazine. Special thanks to Boat Tree Marina for providing such a perfect location for the weigh-in.
Please help us say thanks to our supporters, boat captains, and sponsors including Instant Insurance who sponsors this article each month to share the accomplishments of our next generation of anglers.
