REBOUNDING KENTUCKY LAKE TO HOST JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Kentucky Lake will play host to the TBF Junior World Championship beginning July 27 . Cartlidge estimates between 60 and 75 boats will compete this summer in Paris , Tennessee . The winning team will earn a $ 10,000 scholarship and prizes .
Cartlidge admits that Kentucky Lake has endured a lull in recent years , but he , the TBF staff and others believe that the fishery is on the upswing .
“ The fishery at Kentucky Lake is coming back from a few down years ,” Cartlidge said . “ The local anglers that fish Kentucky Lake every day are giving us great feedback that the lake just keeps getting better with time . We wanted to highlight that lake and to show that it ’ s coming back , and it deserves to host top-tier events like this one .”
The Junior Angler Program was started by four state federations in 1994 and has since grown to a massive nationwide operation . The format of the World Championship was changed in 2021 by popular demand , and now gives more teams a chance to compete as well as more days competing .
“ There used to be only one team of anglers 16 years old or younger that was allowed to compete from each state ,” Cartlidge said . “ Now we allow students eighth grade and under to compete and the top 10 percent of teams from each state can compete . For example , if a state has 30 junior teams , the top three teams in that state qualify . If there ’ s 50 teams , the top five qualify , and so on .”
Each team will consist of two anglers and a boat captain , and all competitors will be allowed to fish out of their own boat . Practice days are July 25 and 26 with the three-day competition running from July 27-29 .
2021 Junior World Champions Cullum Brown and Dylan Sorrells .
JUNE-JULY 2022 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 93