ON TOUR
FLW HIGH SCHOOL FISHING
STUDENT ANGLER FEDERATION ’ S 2017 GRAND FINALES
PICKWICK LAKE HOSTS HIGH SCHOOL ’ S BEST FOR NATIONAL CHAmPIONSHIP , WORLD FINALS
By Colin Moore
high school teams from Arkansas and Tennessee were the big winners in the Student Angler Federation ’ s High School Fishing World Finals and National Championship on Pickwick Lake in late June , but all of the 332 teams that participated got a piece of the prize pie . more than $ 170,000 in scholarship money , fishing equipment , and assorted electronics and gift cards were presented to the teams .
The National Championship , which ran concurrently with the World Finals , featured 142 teams that qualified through a series of tournaments that began at local levels and advanced through state championships and open events . Those teams were included in the World Finals event , which was open to all SAF competitors .
Hunter Davis and Tyler Allenbrand of mount Ida ( Ark .) High School won the National Championship with a three-day total of 53-06 , while Cal Culpepper and mason Waddell of Harris County ( Ga .) High School were second with 51-08 . In the World Finals , Jon David Bedford of nearby Lawrence County High School and Walker Brown of Loretto High School , also in Lawrence County , Tenn ., won with a final-day sack of 24-09 . Hayden Reed and Brandon Johns of Summit High School in Spring Hill , Tenn ., were runners-up with 22 pounds .
moving targets
Ledge roulette was the routine for most of the teams from 33 states that competed in the two events . Local stick Randy Haynes ’ pre-tournament observation that Pickwick ’ s ledge fishing might be “ on again , off again ” because of a temporarily altered generation
schedule at the dam proved to be prophetic . Though some current was flowing during the early afternoon each day , it wasn ’ t certain or sustained . Likewise , the weather was unsteady , characterized by passing showers and
Tyler Allenbrand ( left ) and Hunter Davis
cloudy weather that seemed to make bass less likely to stay in place .
For the mount Ida Lions and the Tigers of Harris County , Ga ., it eventually amounted to whose supply of fish held out the longest . Late on day two , Davis photo by aNDy haGEDoN
108 fLWfIshIng . cOm I OctOber 2017