TBF
DAVIS WINS TBF JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
A
rkansas’ Fisher Davis finished strong to win the 2016
The Bass Federation Junior World Championship
Aug. 5-6 on Alabama’s legendary Lake Guntersville.
Hosted by the City of Scottsboro and the Greater
Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, the no-entry-fee
championship pitted 11- to 15-year-old TBF Junior State
Champions from 37 state Federations against one
another to compete for top honors and more than
$10,000 in prizes and scholarships.
Davis, of Mount Ida, claimed a $2,500 scholarship to
the school of his choice, plus a $250 Cabela’s gift card for
his efforts.
On day one of the two-day event, which coincided with
the Forrest Wood Cup held on nearby Wheeler Lake, the
young competitors fished against anglers from their own
TBF divisions for a chance to advance to the final round.
Undaunted by brutally warm weather, which saw the
heat index soar to nearly 100 degrees, Davis topped his
seven Central Division rivals with four bass weighing 10
pounds on day one.
Kyler McKie of North Augusta, S.C., and the Southern
Division sacked the heaviest bag of the day with four fish
weighing 13-2 to lead the day overall.
Arizona’s Isaiah Rios of Phoenix led the Western
Division with four bass for 11-4. Cameron Rhodes of
Warwick, R.I., sacked a five-fish, 10-3 limit to capture the
Eastern Division title, while Scott Sledge of Greenwood,
Ind., claimed Northern Division honors with a five-fish, 9-
10 bag.
Competitors representing the Mid-Atlantic Division
struggled to land fish of legal proportions. As a result,
the division title was settled by a tiebreaker that gives
final-round qualification to the oldest angler, which was
Jacob Ferrell of Vernon Hill, Va.
TBF zeroed the weights on Saturday, putting all six
finalists in the hunt. As he had on day one, Davis relied
on Texas rigging junebug-colored soft baits. Bites were
few and far between, but the son of successful touring
bass pro Mark Davis stuck to his guns. He knew patience
and persistence were his best allies in the final battle on
Guntersville.
“I was worried, real worried,” says Fisher, “but I didn’t
change a thing.”
The strategy paid off with six bites. Fisher converted
all six, culling one bass and bringing the rest to the scale
for a 12-15 total. Sledge also sacked a limit, but fell just
short with 11-3 to finish second. Ferrell finished third
Fisher Davis, son of veteran bass
pro Mark Davis, won the 2016
TBF Junior World Championship
at Lake Guntersville.
with 7-14, followed by Rhodes with 5-06, McKie with 3-05
and Rios with 2-15.
The finale capped a week of pre-fishing and other fun
activities planned for the competitors and their families.
Adding to the excitement, all participants had the oppor-
tunity to cross the FLW weigh-in stage prior to the start
of the Forrest Wood Cup day three weigh-in.
TBF National Youth Director Mark Gintert credited
local site hosts for making the championship a rousing
success.
“We were excited to work with the City of Scottsboro
and Greater Jackson County to provide a first-class expe-
rience for this group of state champion anglers,” says
Gintert, who announced his retirement from the nation-
al scene with TBF at the Junior World Championship.
For more details about the event, visit bassfedera-
tion.com, or call TBF national headquarters at
580.765.9031.
“I was worried, real worried, but I didn’t change a thing.”
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— Fisher Davis
FLWFISHING.COM I OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2016