The culmination of the entire East/West season for the 2021-22 North Carolina BASS High School and Junior Series was held at Lake Norman on May 21 & 22 under excellent fishing conditions! The blast-off for our 66-boat field was on a nice, clear day. The young men and women took off in search of big largemouth and spotted bass that are plentiful in these clear waters. The top twenty teams in the high school division were invited back to fish a second day in hopes of winning a State Championship!
Leading the field in the Junior Division (12 teams) were Jesse Lancaster and Fisher Lancaster from Lancaster Academy with four fish weighing 8.40 pounds. With that catch, they traveled back to Rocky Mount with State Championship plaques, Skyline Marine/Shimano gift cards, and Academy gift cards.
Finishing second were Kieran Stephenson and Grady Stanley from the Fuquay Varina team. Their limit of fish weighed 7.70 pounds won them the second-place plaques and Academy Gift Cards as well. More importantly, those top two teams secured berths into the Junior Series National Championships to be held in Carroll County Tennessee in late July!
Finishing third were Rowan County Anglers Chayd and Jacob Freeze with 6.74-pound limit. Fourth place were fellow RoCo Anglers Nathan Wyatt and Walker Wyatt who weighed in a 6.48-pound limit. And completing the Top 5 were the Wilkes Bandits’ Team of Taylor Bogard and Caleb Kelly whose limit checked in at 6.39 pounds.
In the High School Division, history was made. Rowan County Anglers Garrett Christy and Jake Ross made a huge statement Saturday when they shocked everyone by weighed in a huge limit of Lake Norman largemouth that tipped the scales over 16 pounds! They followed that up with 11.28 pounds on Day 2 to dominate the field and become North Carolina’s first back-to-back High School State Champions! They took home the high school State Champions plaques, Woods to Water bonus money, Water Wood Crankbaits, Academy gift cards, and Shimano gift certificates from Skyline Marine. They also secured berths to the National Championships on Lake Hartwell in August.
Finishing in second place and securing their berth into the National Championships, the Bandy’s team of Jon Luke Foster and Isaac Patrick followed up their day 1 catch of 11.94 pounds with another limit weighing 10.60 pounds on Sunday. Their two-day total of 22.54 pounds was enough to go home the runner up State Champions plaques, Woods to Water bonus money, Water Wood Crankbaits, Academy gift cards, and a Shimano gift certificates from Skyline Marine.
Finishing in third place, Macey Allison and Cameran Young brought in the largest day 2 limit weighing 11.52 pounds! Their catch was anchored by the big fish on day 2 which weighed 3.66 pounds. Their two-day total was 21.45 pounds. The McDowell County team secured their second top 5 finish of the year and received the third-place plaques, Academy gift cards, and Water Wood crankbaits for their hard work.
Points Champions Kaden Buchmann and Chase Wodzinski were in second place after the first day with 12.97 pounds. Having secured a trip to the Nationals, they wanted to top off a great season with a State Championship. The RoCo Anglers found the bigger fish less cooperative than the first day, but still weighed in a limit of 8.41 pounds which gave them yet another Top 5 finish in what was undoubtably a great year for the duo. They received the fourth-place plaques and Academy gift cards.
Rounding out the Top 5 was another RoCo team consisting of Caden Moore and Gavin Mincey. After day 1, they sat in 13th place after weighing 9.55 pounds. On day 1, Caden did haul in the Big Fish of the tournament that day, a largemouth that took the scales to 5.09 pounds! They started out hot on day 2 and weighed the second biggest limit at 11.33 pounds which enabled them to leap past several teams and into the top 5. They took home the fifth-place plaques, and Academy gift cards for their limit of fish.
Next, we’d like to thank all of our sponsors and volunteers for making this tournament possible that include but are not limited to: Deanna Garmon, Ashley Keller, Todd Hammond, Shane Lineberger, Academy Outdoors, Skyline Marine, Shimano Fishing, Water Wood Custom Baits, Goosehead Insurance and Woods to Water Outdoor Company. There were others who helped out during the weigh in and fish care and we certainly appreciate your help!!