Louisiana High School Team Takes 10-Pound Lead In National Championship

July 23, 2015

Louisiana High School Team Takes 10-Pound Lead In National Championship

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PARIS, Tenn. — Alex Heintze and Justin Watts claim an obscure technique for their nearly 10-pound lead going into the championship round of the Costa Bassmaster High School National Championship presented by TNT Fireworks.

What they are doing on Kentucky Lake will surprise local experts and touring pros alike. With one day remaining, the details are incomplete and yet to come.

After two days of fishing, the Livingston Parish Bassmasters team has a total weight of 43 pounds, 14 ounces. The score is anchored by Thursday’s catch of 23-4 that ranks as heaviest of the tournament. In second place with 34-7 are Cole Moore and Casey Haymon of Anacoco High School in Port Arthur, La.

Heintze hinted about what they are not doing, which goes against the textbook summertime tactic for which the lake is known.

“Kentucky Lake is the No. 1 ledge fishing lake in the nation,” said Heintze, a 16-year-old junior from Baton Rouge. “That’s what just about everyone else is doing this week.”

Fishing the lake’s signature main-river channel dropoffs is not remotely part of their strategy. Take a cue from their south Louisiana roots.

“We don’t fish ledges back home because they don’t exist,” added Watts, 15, a sophomore from Baton Rouge. “We only fish in shallow water, and that’s what is working for us here, too.”

You’d never believe that after hearing the team has 10 areas where they fish, which is how the summertime rotation of ledge fishing works. The team has never explored the ledges, only making casual stops after filling limits of five bass.

“We had our limit today and yesterday by 9:30 a.m.,” Heintze admitted. “We haven’t even been to any of the other areas.”

The tactic of sticking to what works at home is paying off for another top team from Louisiana. Cade Fortenberry and Braden Blanchard of St. Amant High School, also near Baton Rouge, are in third place with 34-1.

The team caught a five-bass limit by noon, based on the strength of fishing shallow water.

“The heavy rain overnight made our water dirty, but it should improve by Saturday,” Blanchard said. “What will help is sunshine.”

They will have plenty of that on Saturday. The forecast calls for sunny skies with a high of 91 degrees.

Friday the Top 10 teams have the day off. Teams ranked 11th through 50th places will fish at Carroll County Thousand Acre Recreational Lake. The two highest finishing teams from Friday will join the Top 10 for the final day Saturday on Kentucky Lake.

The championship is the culmination of seasonal qualifying events. A record of 134 teams representing 37 states and Ontario are competing in the High School National Championship.

Teams are competing for $75,000 in scholarships and prizes. Schools participating in the B.A.S.S. Nation High School program were eligible to qualify two-angler teams for the championship. Teams also qualified through B.A.S.S. regional events and sanctioned affiliate tournament trails.

High school championship week also includes the B.A.S.S. Youth Nation Junior Championship. Friday and Saturday, the 26 teams will compete on Carroll County Thousand Acre Recreational Lake.

The weigh-in begins at 2:30 p.m. Friday in downtown Huntingdon, Tenn. The main campus of Bethel University hosts the final championship weigh-in on Saturday.

Official hosts are Paris-Henry County, Carroll County, Northwest Tennessee Tourism and Bethel University.

Today’s Activity# Fish Lbs – OzAccumulativeName # Live # Fish # Live Lbs – Oz1 Alex Heintze – Justin Watts Livingston Parish Bassmasters 5 5 23- 4 10 10 43-142 Cole Moore – Casey Haymon Anacoco High School 5 5 16- 0 10 9 34- 73 Braden Blanchard – Cade Fortenberry St Amant High School 5 5 16- 6 10 10 34- 14 Hunter Silverstrim – Nathaniel Burris Queen City High School 5 5 17- 4 10 9 33-105 Lucas Lindsay – Logan Parks Auburn Anglers 5 5 19- 9 9 9 30- 36 Taylor Ashley – Chase Kanute Hayden High School 5 5 13-13 10 10 29-107 Casey Trosclair – Levi Areno Sulphur High School 5 4 14- 1 10 9 28- 88 Josh Wissinger – Justin Kanute Hayden High School 4 4 12- 7 9 9 28- 79 Trevor Huff – Logan Meredith Pacific Bass Anglers 5 4 18-12 8 6 28- 310 Hunter Bouldin – Samuel Vandagrif Warren County 4 4 12- 6 9 8 28- 011 Tyler Eagan – Jason Thompson Lees Summit West Fishing Club 5 3 13-10 10 8 27- 012 Connor Nimrod – Trevor Watts Desoto Bass Team 5 4 14- 8 9 8 26-1013 Garrett Enders – Nick Osman Susquehanna Valley 5 5 16- 3 10 10 26- 514 Josh Dugger – Jake Dugger Pottsville HS 5 5 14- 4 9 9 26- 315 Nathan Kmiecik – Cole Luetkenhaus Bishop Neuman HS 5 4 11- 2 10 9 26- 116 Taylor Cox – Ben Muse Carrollton High School 3 3 6-12 8 7 25-1217 Hunter Courvelle – Alex Erickson Sam Houston High School 3 3 12- 4 8 7 25-1118 Matt Shirley – Cade Barnes Tuscaloosa County High School 2 2 5- 9 7 7 25- 919 Cody Stahl – Tate VanEdmond Crosspointe Christian Fishing Club 5 4 11- 0 10 9 25- 320 Bryson Mort – Gabe Litterell Idaho Trophy Bass Hunters 3 2 12- 6 8 6 25- 121 Michael Arndt – Ryan Hujar New York HS Club 4 3 12- 4 9 7 24- 422 Grayson Cook – Bryson Galloway Windsor High School 5 5 13-14 8 8 23-1123 Ryan Shields – Austin Hale Hazel Green High School 5 5 12- 9 10 10 23- 624 Carter McNeil – Tucker Smith Abbeville High School 5 5 10-10 10 9 22- 225 Brennan Swanson – Adam Hutmacher Chamberlain HS 1 1 4- 7 6 6 21- 326 Zach Hingson – Tyler Benedict Arthur Levington Atwood Hammond 5 4 13- 9 8 7 20-1527 J T Russell – Jared Turnbloom Briarwood High School 1 1 3-15 6 6 20- 928 Ben Riggs – Nick Ratliff Hardin/LaRue 5 5 10-12 9 9 20- 529 Zeke Gossett – Hayden Bartee Pell City High School 5 5 10- 2 10 10 19- 930 Jeremy Bates – Joshua Holden Bishop Brady HS 2 2 5-11 6 6 18-1231 Cole Schmucker – Chandler Cornelius George Jenkins HS 4 4 11-15 7 7 18-1132 Tristan Thomas – Dakota Crumely East Hall Anglers 2 2 7- 4 5 5 17-1033 Max McQuiade – Conner Foley MA High School 5 5 14- 6 6 6 17- 434 Bailey Fain – Justin Selvidge Lenoir City High School 5 5 14- 0 6 6 16-1335 Nathan Walley – Caleb Parker Heidelberg Academy 1 1 3- 7 6 5 16-1136 Kyle Ingleburger – Kyle Palmer Grundy County HS 2 2 5- 8 5 5 15-1537 Michael Duarte – Richie Martin Sparrows Point HS 5 5 10- 1 8 8 15-1438 Matt Miller – Adrian Stafford Southside Anglers 5 5 14-11 5 5 14-1139 Blake Albertson – Jordan Mullis Southside Anglers 2 2 7- 2 4 4 14- 940 Justin Barnes – Sutton Black Monroe Student Bass Anglers 5 4 12- 4 6 5 14- 141 Luke Jasper – Tommy Rimbo Lemont High School 3 3 10- 1 5 5 13-1242 Will Moffett – Kyle McCormick Franklin County High School 4 4 9- 0 5 5 13- 943 Trevor Yates – Evan Wahpekeche LIttle Axe Bass Club 4 4 11- 6 5 5 13- 744 Julius Mazy – Thomas Sendek Arizona High School Club 2 2 4- 3 5 4 13- 745 Fischer Keel – Auburn Anglers 5 5 11-12 6 6 13- 546 Dylan Berry – Chase Berry Madison Anglers 1 1 2- 0 4 4 13- 247 Dillon King – Kody Kelly Livingston Parish Bass Masters – 0 0 0- 0 5 4 12- 848 Dailus Richardson – Trevor McKinney Benton High School 1 1 1-13 5 5 12- 649 Connor Edwards – Braden Lovely American Christian Academy 2 2 3-13 6 6 12- 650 Keaton Zarr – Michael Yarger Susquehanna Valley Fishing Club 3 3 6- 0 6 6 11-1551 Spencer Lambert – Jeffrey Tyler West Monroe Rebel Bass Club 4 4 8- 9 6 6 11-1252 Colten Smith – Rafet White Strawberry Crest HS 5 5 9-11 6 6 11-1153 Andrew Flair – Ethan Mally Omaha Bass Assassins 1 1 3- 1 3 3 11-1154 Tyler Dunn – Matthew Shrewsbury Beddingfield Bassers 2 2 6-10 3 3 11-1155 Josh Powers – Cole Stewart Grundy County HS 1 1 5- 0 2 2 11-1056 Ryan Winchester – Jacob Mashburn Clinton High School 3 3 9- 4 4 4 11- 757 Mason Raveling – Ben Provost Prior Lake High Schol 0 0 0- 0 5 5 11- 658 Jacob Woods – Austin Winter Lenoir City 1 1 2- 2 6 6 11- 659 Ian Oldenburg – Dawson Lack Pacific Bass Anglers 1 1 3- 3 4 4 11- 260 Blake Seaton – Zack Bauer Martinsville HS 0 0 0- 0 5 5 10-1261 Nick Fulks – John Eckels Canon McMillan High School 1 1 4-14 3 3 10- 262 Joe Koon – Dozier Greer Eufaula HS 0 0 0- 0 4 3 10- 063 Austin Gaab – Jacob Jones Susquehanna Valley Fishing Club 2 2 5- 0 4 4 9-1464 Case Anderson – Grant Hodosi Grundy County HS 3 3 8- 2 4 4 9-1265 Bailey Nelson – John Justiss Hillcrest High School 0 0 0- 0 4 4 9-1066 Gil Crew – Reese Kingston Alexander HS 5 5 9- 9 5 5 9- 967 Russell Butler – Jonathan North Strawberry Crest HS 1 1 2- 1 4 4 9- 868 Cole Burdeshaw – Jacob Hartzog Headland Bass Team 3 3 6- 9 4 4 9- 869 Christian Mathews – Cole Ward North Desoto High School 1 1 2- 8 4 4 9- 370 Joseph Bruener – Jack Garner Douglass Indians 0 0 0- 0 3 3 9- 271 Sammy Camut – Griffin Barnes Beddingfield High School Club 2 2 4- 5 4 4 9- 172 Joseph Kovatch – Wade Pritsel Hartley Hawgs 3 3 8- 3 3 3 8- 373 Cole Sands – Caden Watson Walker Valley High School 3 2 5-15 4 3 8- 074 Cooper Gallant – Danny McGarry 905 HS Bass Club 1 1 2-15 2 2 7-1575 Wyatt Burkhalter – Trace Greene Team Fast & Easy 1 1 1-14 3 3 7-1176 Sam Milazzo – Nick Martens Maine South 1 1 3- 9 3 3 7-1177 Dustin Johnston – Trevor Brown Beulah Bass Team 1 1 2- 5 3 3 7- 278 Brett Avery – Drake Vines Magnolia Bass Cats 3 3 6-14 3 3 6-1479 Sean Hall – Kyler McKie North Augusta High School 0 0 0- 0 2 2 6-1480 Will Garrett – Haynes Waid Auburn Anglers 2 2 6-12 2 2 6-1280 David Gaston – John McKinney Sylacauga Fishing 0 0 0- 0 2 2 6-1282 Joe McClosky – Morgan Winegardner Southern Garrett Bass Slayers 1 1 1-14 3 3 6-1083 Christian King – Will Nichols Alexandria High School 2 2 3- 9 3 3 6-1084 Michael Scaggs – Derek Null Lawrence Co Hs 1 1 1-10 3 3 6- 485 Alex Williamson – Daniel Rodgers Windham Christian Academy 3 3 6- 2 3 3 6- 286 Allex Conner – Jeremy Reese Central Ohio School Bass Club 1 1 1-11 3 3 6- 287 Tyler Lubbat – Hunter Lubbat Buffalo Grove Bass Fishing 1 0 2- 0 2 0 5-1388 Travis Frisk – Berlin High School 0 0 0- 0 2 2 5- 889 Nick Embrey – Bryce Tucker UKV Warriors 0 0 0- 0 2 2 5- 290 Kaleb Appling – Quintin Dorough Chelsea High School 0 0 0- 0 2 2 4-1590 Colton Fountain – Brett Herrin Kirbyville Wildcat Bassmasters 0 0 0- 0 2 2 4-1592 Kreston Richardson – Dalton Askew Buna High School 3 3 4-13 3 3 4-1393 Liam Blake – Matthew Brien McQuad Jesuit HS 0 0 0- 0 2 2 4-1294 Jesse Heflin – Cameron Pappan Capital City HS Bass Club 0 0 0- 0 2 2 4- 395 Brady Frank – Alec Schmidt Eastern IA HS Club 1 1 1- 9 2 2 4- 396 Rudd Rexford – Max Bellinghiri South Burlington HS 0 0 0- 0 2 2 4- 097 Matt Hasenfratz – Trevor Owens Ponca City HS Bass 1 1 1-14 2 2 3-1498 Noah Pescitelli – Chris Moody Mill Creek High School 2 2 3-12 2 2 3-1299 Nick Beers – Carter Williams Grand Haven Bassmasters 0 0 0- 0 1 0 3- 899 Dray Davis – Brandon Lawson Union County Bass Club 1 0 3- 8 1 0 3- 8101 James Graves III – Kadin Thens Madison Anglers 1 1 1-10 2 2 3- 8102 Damian Privat – David Spielberger Woodward Academy 0 0 0- 0 2 2 3- 7103 Bowdi Armstrong – Emily Pollard Mesilla Valley Bass Anglers 0 0 0- 0 1 1 3- 7103 Kameron Fox – Nathan Burrow Bryant-Conway HS 1 1 3- 7 1 1 3- 7105 Colton Haney – Noah Lindus BW Bassers 0 0 0- 0 2 2 3- 6106 Evan Bramhill – Teddy Peznola Mass BN High School Club 0 0 0- 0 1 1 3- 6107 Colton Harrell – Ryan Geraghty Riley’s Catch 0 0 0- 0 1 1 3- 4108 Ian Goff – Genry Ellison Jackson Co Homeschool 1 1 3- 3 1 1 3- 3109 Jonathon Wilburn – Connor Jones Guntersville High School 0 0 0- 0 1 1 3- 0110 Luke Brozovich – Canyon Kenny Minooka Anglers Club 0 0 0- 0 1 1 2-14111 Trace O’Dell – Lucas Sammons Buna High School 0 0 0- 0 1 1 2-13112 Nicholas Wiggins – Lane Possoit Natchitoches Central High School 0 0 0- 0 1 1 2- 8113 Eli Chambers – Hunter Herfurth Vinemont High School 0 0 0- 0 1 1 2- 4114 Jason Felter – Anthony Mello Idaho Trophy Bass Hunters 0 0 0- 0 1 1 1-13115 Adan Hernandez – Alexander Holquin Mesilla Valley Bass Anglers 1 1 1- 9 1 1 1- 9116 Sam Morgan – Eldon Posey Grundy Co 0 0 0- 0 1 1 1- 6117 Tanner Bruyninckx – Brad Wilson North Augusta Fishing Team 1 1 2- 2 1 1 1- 2118 Sam Barwick – Max Brandon Guntersville High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0118 Chris Bee – Alec Lipon Hartland Eagles Bass Club 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0118 Clayton Childs – Sawyer Stewart North Oconee Titans 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0118 Sean Cook – Tommy Zobel Joliet Central High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0118 Andrew Denton – Scotty Alexander Mustang HS Club 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0118 Reece Eddleblute – Randy Denney Buckeye State Student Anglers 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0118 Austin Eiben – Isaiah Minton Eastern IA HS Clu b 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0118 Andrew Marcantel – Cole Talbot Sulphur High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0118 Blaine Marks – Logan O’Dell Buna High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0118 Jake Mims – Noah Rega Alexander High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0118 Nick Montilino – Edina HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0118 Devin Prine – Trace Crumpton Buna High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0118 Tyler Spiers – Daniel Medvetz John Stark HS Bass Team 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0118 Seth Utt – Brian Moore Eastgate Life Academy 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0118 Noah Winslow – Doug Marino Nonnewaug HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0118 Ryan Wood – Turner Mason Front Range Bass Club 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0118 Trae Wright – Tripp Hodges Sylacauga HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0Name City,State Lbs-OzBIG BASSDay1 Jeremy Bates – Joshua HoldeCnhichester, NH 6-122 Bailey Fain – Justin SelvidgeLENOIR CITY, TN 6- 3Day # Live Lbs-Oz # LimitsTOTALS# Fish1 291 276 806- 9 272 261 247 713- 3 28

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