Teen Anglers Tournament held at Stockton Lake

The Republic High School team of Kade Dawson and Kade Houchin won both the largest fish of the tournament, with a 5 pound 9 ounce largemouth, as well as the highest weight total catch of 12 pounds 7 ounces.

Ken White/Special to the Daily Mail

After the two-day Teen Anglers Tournament held last weekend on Stockton Lake, J.P. Sell, Springfield president of Teen Anglers said, “I think it was absolutely amazing, We ended up having kids from four different states, 271 teams and 206 boats on the water and at least half of the young anglers weighed fish.”

Sell continued: “We were blessed with the turnout, we had more than 2,700 people in attendance. We are thankful that Stockton supported us and brought us in with open arms and welcomed us. This was our third year of being here and (we’re) looking (at) coming back here again.”

Although the lake was high, the youngsters caught lots of fish, mainly by fishing in the flooded trees and brush. Several of the anglers I visited with said they had fished in high water before and knew the bass would be in cover along the bank of the flooded water.

The winners of both the largest bass caught and total weight of their catch were the team of Dawson and Hochin from Republic High School. The largest bass weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces while the total catch weigh-in was 12 pounds, 7 ounces.

Stockton High School, who hosted the tournament, had its team of Hayden Fidler and Coltin Johnson place 48th in the field of 206 high school teams. There were 91 middle schools whose limit was three fish, while the high schoolers had a limit of five fish.

The weather was bright and sunny, which made everyone happy. Larry Stephens, Springfield, came to see the weigh-in and said, “I was impressed with the way the tournament went and I was also surprised that the kids were able to catch all the fish that they did. You could tell they will be fishermen for life. It’s a good sign for the future of bass fishing. I was glad to see Stockton host the tournament since I fish the lake often.”

Teen Anglers is a nonprofit organization designed for enhancing the multi-state middle school and high school fishing programs to help promote the sport of bass fishing to the young anglers of today.

(Note: According to White’s article in the Springfield News-Leader dated May 10, approximately $50,000 in scholarship money was awarded.)

A registered boat captain was in each boat. The captain must supervise all participants, and he is the only one to operate the motor during tournament hours. He must have knowledge of CPR and first aid training. The boat captain cannot fish or cast a line.

Some of the 2,700 persons that attended the weigh-in at the Teen Angler Tournament.

Ken White/Special to the Daily Mail

The Teen Anglers hold three qualifying tournaments. The next tournament will be held on Mark Twain Lake in June. The “Bass Pro Team of the Year” will be determined by the most points accumulated over the three qualifying tournaments, place of finish, weight of catch and participation.

Charles Davis, Joplin, was at the weigh-in and said, “I was impressed with the results of the kid’s tournament. I will be pushing for some teams in Joplin. I think Stockton put on a great show for the kids, parents and others.

Davis added that these kids are the “future of bass fishing.”