Bass Fishing Aug - Sept 2021 | Page 86

THE BASS FEDERATION
HOW THEY GOT IT DONE
Jones and Underwood have been fishing together since middle school . Leaning on the guidance of their parents , they ’ ve forged a path from the outskirts of Birmingham , Alabama to one of the pinnacles of high school bass fishing . After placing fourth in the National Championship on July 2 , they were rewarded for a week of perseverance when weight totals were reset to zero for the TBF World Finals . This time , the area they ’ d had middling success in all week finally paid off .
“ I feel like today they really bit better ,” said Jones after his final day of competition . “ The other days , we didn ’ t have a limit until 10:00 a . m . Saturday morning , we pulled up to the same spot that we ’ ve been starting at all week and they were biting . We got three on the board really fast . From there , I thought we had a really good chance to win .”
“ It felt amazing ,” said Underwood . “ It feels like all of the hard work we ’ ve put into this all week really paid off .”
To boat their winning bag , the Huskies relied on a duo of topwatwer baits – the Sebile Majic Swimmer and an Evergreen Shower Blows – that coerced the bass to come up and get it from 20 to 25 feet of water .
“ We were burning topwaters over them ,” Jones confirmed . “ You had to burn it fast , and it had to be over that depth . Anything deeper and you couldn ’ t call them up . Anything shallower and they seemed to get spooked .”
When it was all said and done , Jones and Underwood outpaced a field of nearly 400 boats , with competition from as far away as California , Arizona , Utah and Zimbabwe ; not to mention numerous local teams from South Carolina and Georgia who know how to manage Hartwell in the heat of July . Now , the two high school anglers with plenty of career left will have their pick of collegiate fishing opportunities . They ’ ll also be able to add their names to the list of legendary anglers who ’ ve taken home top honors on a historic South Carolina fishery .
SAF World Finals Top 10 Teams
1 . Hewitt-Trussville High School Huskies Andrew Jones and Carson Underwood – 10-9
2 . Madison County Red Raiders Will Hart and Logan Fisher – 10-0
3 . Osceola Anglers Grady Johnson and Dawson Turner – 9-8
4 . Lake Havasu High School Knights Zachary and Brandon Verbrugge – 8-15
5 . Alhambra High School Bulldogs Luke Beaty and Emmett Gargaro – 8-9
5 . Louisa Bass Club Jacob Lycans and Nick Giompalo – 8-9
7 . Madison County Red Raiders Levi Seagraves and Blake Hooper – 8-7
7 . Lumpkin County High School Indians Cooper McDonald and Jake Barrett – 8-7
9 . Clarks Hill Youth Fishing Team Brayden Batchelor and Evan Gonsalves – 8-5
10 . Hartleys Hawgs Nathan Fiant and Brett Hill – 8-2
BRUMBAUGH AND KLOTZ WIN HIGH SCHOOL FISHING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
The day before Jones and Underwood took home the World Championship , they finished fourth to Pennsylvania high schoolers Jerry Brumbaugh and Hunter Klotz . The team from Central High School in Martinsburg , Pennsylvania won the High School Fishing National Championship with three three-fish limits totaling 28-13 .
Tallying 9-9 on the final day , Brumbaugh and Klotz edged out Will Hart and Logan Fisher of the Madison County Red Raiders , who weighed 26-15 for second place . For the win , Brumbaugh and Klotz took home $ 10,000 , berths as Strike King co-anglers in the lucrative Toyota Series Championship and several scholarships offers from colleges with fishing teams .
“ It was a grind out there ,” Klotz said . “ We learned that when it gets tough , you don ’ t always need to change things up . You just keep grinding and grinding and grinding , because there isn ’ t one perfect thing you need to do .”
National Championship Top 10 Teams
1 . Central High School Dragons Jerry Brumbaugh and Hunter Klotz – 28-13
2 . Madison County Red Raiders Will Hart and Logan Fisher – 26-15
3 . South Forsyth High School War Eagles Jacob Rogers and William Ayscue – 25-10
4 . Hewitt Trussville Huskies Andrew Jones and Carson Underwood – 25-6
5 . Clarks Hill Youth Fishing Team Brayden Batchelor and Evan Gonsalves – 24-0
6 . Madison County Red Raiders Levi Seagraves and Blake Hooper – 23-8
7 . Lumpkin County High School Indians Cooper McDonald and Jake Barrett – 21-15
8 . Alhambra High School Bulldogs Luke Beaty and Emmett Gargaro – 21-9
9 . NCA Fishing Lane King and Coleman Phillips – 21-8
10 . Hartleys Hawgs Nathan Fiant and Brett Hill – 17-10 ( 9 )
84 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021