THE BASS FEDERATION
VERONEE, GRAMLING
WIN SAF HIGH
SCHOOL FISHING
WORLD FINALS
TUCKER VERONEE AND LANDON GRAMLING OF
LEXINGTON, S.C., weighed in a three-fish limit of 9
pounds, 6 ounces to win the 11th annual Student Angler
Federation (SAF) High School Fishing World Finals on Pools
7, 8 and 9 of the Mississippi River June 24-27. Representing
the Gilbert Bass Club, the pair topped a hard-fishing field of
312 two-angler teams to claim the coveted title.
“We’ve been friends a long time, and it means a lot to us
to win this together,” Veronee says.
“Our dads are boat captains, and they put everything
into supporting us,” adds Gramling. “I can’t thank them
enough.”
The team overcame a series of challenges – many of
which were equipment-related – on the road to victory.
“It started out rough, but we put our heads down and
kept fishing,” says Veronee.
Tucker Veronee and Landon Gramling
“In practice, we hit a wing dam and busted up our skeg,”
Gramling explains. “We got that fixed, but then our trolling
motor quit on us an hour and a half into the first day of the
tournament. With all the current, that was really tough.
Without our shallow-water anchor, I don’t think we would
have caught anything.”
Their persistence paid off, however. They eventually
earned a spot in Friday’s semi-final round, during which they
topped the competition with an 11-pound, 9-ounce limit.
Although the duo fished a variety of areas, a main-river
break wall with a slight current break was particularly productive.
Drop-shots and Texas rigs were their weapons of
choice in anywhere from 1 to 20 feet of water.
The win earned Veronee and Gramling a variety of lucrative
scholarship offers, including a $56,000 scholarship offer
from Bethel University in Tennessee, which is SAF’s longestrunning
scholarship partner. The list also includes a
$120,000 scholarship offer from Simpson University in
California, a $100,000 scholarship offer from Kentucky
Christian University and a $12,000 scholarship offer from
The Bass Federation (TBF) to any college or trade school of
their choice, should they choose not to accept any of the
other offers.
In all, the event’s total payout included $3.2 million in
scholarships and a bevy of other prizes, including $8,000 in
Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s gift cards. The purse was the
richest in SAF High School Fishing history.
“What a great event from start to finish,” says SAF
Tournament Director Randy Sullivan. “The young anglers
enjoyed exciting competition, meeting new friends, and
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FLWFISHING.COM | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING.COM | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2020