High school team headed to the Bassmaster Classic

Back in 2010 when a group of volunteers decided to build a student angler bass fishing organization in Alabama, no one envisioned it resulting in a couple of the Decatur, AL chapter club anglers, Mitchell Gowen and Brianna Tucker, walking across the Bassmaster Classic stage to weigh-in their catch just like the pros. But that is just what will happen this week as 20 student anglers participate in the 2014 B.A.S.S. High School Exhibition Tournament on Saturday,  February 22, 2014 before an estimated 20,000 – 25,000 B.A.S.S. fans for the weigh-in at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center. Southern Fishing News will be these young anglers as they represent the growing sport of bass fishing in our nation’s high schools thru practice and the High School Exposition..

Brianna Tucker and Mitchell Gowen, along with Norman Brown, their boat captain and President of the Alabama Student Angler

Bass Fishing Association, will be representing ASABFA and the Decatur Heritage Christian Academy (DHCA) B.A.S.S. High School Chapter Club. The pair will putting their bass fishing experience and skills to the test on Lay Lake on Saturday  launching with the other 18 student anglers out of the Beeswax Creek ramp in the early morning hours.

Brianna and Mitchell were members of the DHCA-ASABFA Chapter Club that won the 2010 Student Angler Championship Tournament. The DHCA club also became a Chapter Club to expand the opportunities for more competitive student angler bass fishing when B.A.S.S. inaugurated its High School Bass Fishing Program in 2013.

“Alabama is an appealing state for professional anglers and an ideal one for high school students to launch into the competitive side of bass fishing,” says Hank Weldon, head of the high school student angler program. B.A.S.S. and its partners hosted three events in 2013 to offer high school students who are members of high school bass fishing clubs a shot at qualifying for the first ever Bassmaster Classic High School Exhibition in 2014. The event will follow the same format seen in college exhibitions at past Classics with students weighing in their catches on the prestigious Bassmaster Classic stage.

The world championship of bass fishing is scheduled for Feb. 21-23 in Birmingham with fishing on Lake Guntersville..High school teams will fish Lay Lake for the exhibition, along with the collegiate teams who will also weigh-in on the Classic stage.

“Young people in Alabama have access to great fisheries year-round,” Jon Stewart of B.A.S.S. said. “A lot of these young people grow up fishing with their dads and granddads on these outstanding lakes. They reach a point where they want to fish with their buddies and peers. It’s fun for them to compete.”

Stewart credits Alabama Student Angler Bass Fishing Association (ASABFA), a grass-roots organization that recruits and promotes development of Alabama’s future anglers, with having established a strong fishing community among high school students in the state.

“We applaud the work done by the ASABFA in involving high school students in the sport of bass fishing,” Stewart said. “They’ve done a great job in creating a strong foundation among students in Alabama, and we believe our program is an excellent complement to that. This offers high school students opportunities in addition to their involvement with ASABFA. It’s another chance for them to get outdoors, compete and enjoy fishing.”

To qualify for the 2014 B.A.S.S. High School Exhibition Tournament, student anglers first had the opportunity at the Alabama

Games, a three-day Olympic-style event. On June 22, the bass fishing portion took place on Lake Logan Martin in Pell City,AL. The two first place winners from this event qualified for a position in the 10 boat field of the Exhibition Tournament. Next was the B.A.S.S. High School Invitational, July 20, on Wheeler Lake in Decatur, AL. The event was open to all high school students nationwide whose school had an existing high school bass club. Brianna and Mitchell took 1^st place honors in the invitational tournament,and they as well as the next 8 placing student anglers qualified for the 2014 B.A.S.S. High School Exhibition Tournament. November 2, 2014 the Alabama B.A.S.S. Nation staged the 2013 Alabama High School B.A.S.S. Classic. Hayden Bartee and Zeke Gosset took 1^st place honors and qualified for the exhibition tournament. Brianna and Mitchell were still on a roll and also competed in this tournament where they placed 3^rd.

Now on the eve of this big time opportunity to be featured in an event such as the Bassmaster Classic, Southern Fishing News interviewed Brianna and Mitchell for their thoughts on the upcoming event.

SFN:  Brianna, what are your thoughts of being able to participate in the 2014 B.A.S.S.High School Exhibition Tournament?

Brianna:  I’m so excited to meet the professional anglers and walk across the Bassmaster Classic Stage.  I’m thankful for this opportunity to represent my school fishing team and our sponsors.  I realize this is a big step in moving me closer to my goal of becoming a professional angler.

SFN:  Brianna, when you started fishing with the DHCA Fishing Eagles did you ever dream about weighing in your bass catch on the Bassmaster Classic state?

Brianna:  I was aware of the Bassmaster Classic Tournaments but I’ve never dreamed I would be competing in one while I was in high school.

SNF:  Mitchell, are you excited about fishing in the B.A.S.S. High School Exhibition Tournament?

Mitchell:  Yes, I am proud to be representing the DHCA Fishing Eagles in this competition.  I could have never dreamed of walking across the Bassmaster Classic Stage just like the PROS. It is a life-time experience.

SNF:  What was it like for Brianna and you to win the national B.A.S.S. Inaugural High School Invitational Tournament?

Mitchell:  We were on CLOUD-9 being the top contenders on the very first B.A.S.S. High School Invitational Tournament.  It was an honor and pleasure to represent student anglers in this historic first B.A.S.S. sanctioned high school competition.  Our Decatur Heritage Christian Academy Fishing Eagles blessed and fortunate to have won the 2010 ASABFA State Championship and then for us to come back and win the inaugural was out of sight.

SNF:  Brianna and Mitchell, how long have you been involved in the sport of bass fishing?

Brianna:  It all started when I was 8 years old and my grandad (Jim Gettie) took me fishing.  We won the first tournament we fished and I have been hooked ever since.

Mitchell:  I started fishing with my dad when I was about six.  I was fortunate that he was a member of Bassmasters of North Alabama, a B.A.S.S. sanctioned adult club who were keen on having one of the best Junior Bassmaster Clubs in the state.  Dad was the BMNA Director for the Junior Bassmaster Club and I was a member until I joined the ASABFA club.  It was a great way for a kid to learn to bass fish and gain a greater appreciation of the great outdoors.

SNF:   What or who got you interested in the sport of bass fishing?

Brianna:  My grandad got me interested in it.  It was something we could do together.  I love the competition and just being outdoors on the water. Nothing beats the feeling of reeling in a big bass!!!

Mitchell:  My dad who was a member and President of the Guntersville Bassmasters and Bassmasters of North Alabama, and my grandfather who started the first bass club in Guntersville when Mr. Scott started B.A.S.S.  It has just been an “Ole Family Tradition.”

SNF:  What do you think of the idea of having student angler bass fishing clubs in high school?

Brianna:  It is a great deal!  Some people may not realize that this sport teaches kids how to prepare for events, work together as a team, and also give back to the environment.

Mitchell:  It is WONDERFUL!  Not every student is into baseball, football, or basketball and it gives us another opportunity in a sport that we really like.  If they had had bass fishing in high school when dad and grandpa were students, they would have still been in school.  I love the outdoors and for my high school to offer an outdoor sport like bass fishing is a great opportunity to fish with my classmates and other student anglers from all over the state.

SNF:  What would you recommend for student anglers in other high schools do to improve their fishing to the stage that they can earn the opportunity to complete on the level you are now doing?

Mitchell:  Develop a Chapter Club at your high school by getting a group of friends together that love to fish, talk to the administrators of the school to approve having a bass fishing club, and then come up Team Coach and boat captains to get you on the water.  It is not necessary to have school administration approval but it sure helps to have their support.

Brianna:  Get (6) student anglers together and form a high school Chapter Club.

 SFN:  Mitchell, what do you think about the strengths of your partner (fishing techniques, etc.)?  Brianna, your thoughts about Mitchell as a partner?

Mitchell:  Brianna is a TOP-NOTCH student bass angler in every respect.  She has studied and can read lake maps, understand the elements of the environment that affect bass fishing such as temperatures (air and water), water clarity, current and she is good on lure selection.  Besides she is the cutest partner an angler could have.  She is a hard working and focused angler and she makes me a better angler.

Brianna:  We have a good relationship on and off the water.  He is my best friend and we3 always plan and work together in our bass fishing tournaments.  Mitchell and I challenge each other to do the best we can and stay focused on our goal of winning our tournaments.

SFN:   Have your coaches, boat captains, and Chapter Club helped you develop your fishing skills?

Brianna:  We have amazing boat captains and coaches who are highly experienced bass anglers and who work really hard to teach us the techniques of bass fishing and competitive tournament activity.  They are highly disciplined and impart this trait to us.  We have training sessions where they devote their time and knowledge to help us strengthen as a team and grow individually.  They give great advice but also allow us to make our own decisions.

Mitchell:  Our coaches are great at teaching us techniques that made us better angers.  They also teach us life lessons such as confidence, honesty, hard work, loyalty and dedication.  Our boat captains provide us with the opportunity to not only to fish but about boat operation and maintenance.  They are seasoned bass anglers and can and do make a lot of suggestions for areas to fish and what lure to use.

SFN:  What are your thoughts about the B.A.S.S. High School Student Angler Program?

Brianna:  B.A.S.S. is a great program for high school kids to get involved with who want to fish.   They have had the best youth program available in Junior Bassmasters.  They have great accommodations at all of their tournaments and their high school program is run just like the PROS.  They put a lot into the tournaments to make it enjoyable to the participants and provide a great experience for young anglers.  The program also provides the student anglers in ASABFA to have an opportunity to compete at a level above our state.

Mitchell:  It is a great way for high school anglers to be a part of something that can make their dreams come true.  The B.A.S.S. High School Program also provides us with another opportunity for competitive student angler fishing.  Any program that is sponsored by B.A.S.S. has got to be good.

SFN:  I suppose you two have been on the water of Lay Lake practicing and locating bass for the tournament?  How many times and was the trips to the lake productive?

Brianna:  My grandpa and I have fished the lake some but we have not found the concentration and size of bass we believe necessary to win the High School Exhibition Tournament.  But we shall see.  Mitchell and I will give it every thing we got.

Mitchell:  Of course the lake has been off-limits since Feb. 1^st and we have not been able to pre-fish.  Prior to the lake going off limits by B.A.S.S. we pre-fished a number of times, with some long drives from Decatur.  We had one good practice on the lake but otherwise we did not have the best of results.  It has been a tough winter.

SFN:  Will you be pre-fishing before the Exhibition Tournament this week and what will you be doing and concentrating on?

Brianna:  YES, we are going down to the Lay Lake on Wednesday afternoon and pre-fish with our boat captain Norman Brown on Thursday and Friday.  WE WILL BE LOOKING FOR BIG bass.

Mitchell:  We will be fishing on Thursday and Friday morning.  We will be trying to locate staging areas for bass at this time of the year and with the water conditions.  We have a great boat captain in Norman Brown and we hope to determine a winning pattern for Saturday morning.

 SFN:  How do you think the weather, temperature, and current water conditions will affect the results of the tournament?

Brianna:  The weather has not been really good for bass fishing prior to this week but our observation of the forecasts indicate the water may be warming up somewhat and we hope it turns the bass on.

SNF:  Mitchell, are you ready to get down to the lake?

Mitchell:  YES, I’m excited to participate in this student angler tournament and get to experience the weigh-in at the Classic which is the Super Bowl of our sport. And, thank Southern Fishing News for providing coverage of the High School Exhibition Tournament!

Check back as Southern Fishing News follows up with Brianna, Mitchell and Norman after their practice days on Lay Lake on Thursday and Friday and after the 2014 B.A.S.S. High School weigh-in on Saturday:
Tournament Lake:  Lay Lake
Practice Days:  Thursday and Friday – Feb. 20-21, 2014
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 Civic Center – BASSMASTER Classic Stage

Story by Don Gowen, SFN Field Reporter