Lay Lake –February 21, 2014 – Brianna Tucker, Mitchell Gowen and boat captain Norman Brown are the student angler team from the Alabama Student Angler Student Angler Association representing the Decatur Heritage Christian Academy Fishing Eagles and a B.A.S.S. High School Chapter Club in the 2014 B.A.S.S. High School Exhibition Tournament. The event is being staged at the same time as the Bassmaster Classic out of the Birmingham-Jefferson County Convention Center (BJCC) on February 20th – 23rd. The 20 student angler teams will fish on Lay Lake Saturday while the pros are fishing on Lake Guntersville. Both the high school student anglers and the Bassmaster pros will transit back to the BJCC for the weigh-in on Saturday afternoon.
With the boat captain watching the weather on his iPhone, Brianna and Mitchell hit the water on Lay Lake out of Beeswax Landing
Brianna Tucker shows a nice bass caught during practice. -Courtesy photo
on Thursday morning for a day and half of pre-tournament fishing before the scheduled 2014 B.A.S.S. High School Exhibition Tournament on Saturday. Thursday was a good day for bass fishing with partly cloudy skies followed by a partial clearing. The high during the day was 74 degrees with winds 15 to 25 mph out of the south. Humidity was 62% and sunrise at 6:20 am. Thunderstorms and showers moved through the area during Thursday night with heavy rainfall in the evening with some storms with damaging winds.
Friday, the temperature high was 63 with an overnight low of 38 degrees. The wind was 11 mph out of the northwest and sunny skies. Saturday is forecast to be 69 degrees after a 47 degree overnight low and partly cloudy with winds out of the east southeast at 5 mph.
Southern Fishing News (SFN) has been following the progress of Brianna and Mitchell in this event and we ask them for their thoughts upon completion of the day and half of practice fishing on Thursday and Friday:
SFN: Do you think there is a lot of value in pre-fishing before a scheduled tournament?
Brianna: Everytime you get on the water it’s valuable.
SFN: Did you find the bass?
Mitchell: It was tough. We looked at a lot of water instead of fish a lot in places we hope they are going to be
Mitchell Gowen also had some luck finding some bass on Lay Lake during practice. – Courtesy photo
at Saturday
SFN: How did the weather Thursday and today affect your practice fishing and do you expect it to affect the bite on Saturday?Brianna: The weather is always changing and it is a possibility that it will affect Saturday, the wind was out of the north today which threw a curve in our plan I hope it doesn’t blow like that on Saturday.
SFN: Did you note a lot of the other high school and college anglers on the lake where you fished?
Mitchell: Yes
SFN: How was the water temperature and clarity?
Brianna: The water temperature ranged from 45 to 60. The water looked stained but not heavy.
SFN: What do you do now to further prepare for the tournament tomorrow?
Mitchell: We have a game plan now. It’s time to hit the water Saturday and execute it. Always keeping the door open to adjust to the weather if needed
SFN: Do you think your chances are good for a tournament win tomorrow?
Brianna: We have been taught that every time we get on the water we have a chance to win. If you don’t have that mindset you might as well stay home!
SFN: What is your prediction of weight for the five (5) bass limit to win the tournament Saturday?
Mitchell: 24 lbs.
2014 B.A.S.S. High School Exhibition Tournament Teams
Decatur Heritage High School (Alabama): Mitchell Gowen, Brianna Tucker
Pell City High School (Alabama): Zeke Gossett, Hayden Bartee
Plainview High School (Alabama): Austin Brown, Baily Dukes
Tuscaloosa County High School (Alabama): Tanner Jones, Clay Teague
Gallia Academy High School (Ohio): Jarrett Martin, Billy Powers
Wabash Valley Bassmasters (Indiana): Beau Ashcraft, Shawn Zellers
Obion County High School (Tennessee): John Garrett, Peyton Lyons
Clinton High School (Tennessee): Ryan Winchester, Justin Burris
Clinton High School (Tennessee): Jake Lee, Jacob Mashburn
Dixie High School (South Carolina): Ben Stone, Christopher Bensel
Check back as Southern Fishing News follows up with Brianna, Mitchell and Norman at the 2014 B.A.S.S. High School Exhibition Tournament Weigh-in on Saturday:
Tournament Lake: Lay Lake
Ramp for Launch: Beeswax Landing – Hwy 145
Launch Time: First Safe Light (6:10 am)
Weigh-In: 3:00 pm
Weigh-In Location: Birmingham-Jefferson County Convention Arena – BASSMASTER Classic stage
Time: 3:00 pm
Story by Don Gowen, SFN Field Reporter
