tBF
WHAt’S MAKING NeWS IN tHe BASS FeDeRAtION
By Dan Johnson
SOUTHERN SAF HIGH SCHOOL FISHING STATE
CHAMPIONSHIPS GET SETTLED
E
ven as northern venues were
locked in ice, the Student Angler
Federation’s action-packed 2017
High School Fishing State Championship
and Challenge schedule was kicking into
gear in the South.
Florida State Championship
First, the Sunshine State was in the
spotlight as Bailey Chisolm and Cole
DePuy, representing the Osceola Anglers,
topped the 57-boat field competing in
98
Bailey Chisolm (left) and Cole DePuy.
the Florida State Championship Feb. 26
on the St. Johns River.
Chisolm and DePuy put together a five-
fish limit weighing 17-05 to take the crown.
Kaitlyn Williams and David Daniel of the
Okeechobee High School Brahmans were
second with a 15-13 limit, followed by
James Brooks and Matthew Sorrells of the
Fort Meade Fighting Miners in third with
five bass and 15-9. Coy and Madison
Givens of the Keystone Heights High
School Indians claimed big bass honors
with an 8-14 behemoth, earning them a
pair of high-performance reels.
Most of the anglers focused on fish-
ing 3 to 6 feet of water, with a mixture
of jerkbaits, finesse worms and vibrat-
ing swim jigs accounting for many of
the bites. A total of 138 bass weighing
323 pounds, 6 ounces came to the SAF
scale, including 21 limit catches. Five
teams advanced to the High School
Fishing National Championship.
Georgia State Championship
On Feb. 12, Cal Culpepper and
Mason Waddell rose to the top of a 79-
team field on West Point Lake to win
the Georgia State Championship.
Representing Georgia’s Harris County
High School, Culpepper and Waddell
sacked a 12-10 limit. Hunter Parker
and Daniel Parnes of Pickens High
School were hot on their heels in sec-
ond place with a 12-2 limit anchored
by a 6-2 beauty that earned them the
Big Bass Award. Greenbrier High
School’s Jacob Blumling and Coleman
Johnson finished third with an 11-11 limit.
Bass were plentiful, but catching
fish over the 14-inch minimum size
requirement proved challenging. Still,
195 fish weighing a cumulative 330
pounds, 5 ounces crossed the stage,
and 25 limits were recorded. A total of
seven teams earned berths in the
national championship.
FLWFISHING.COM I MAY-JUNE 2017