By Patty Lenderman, Lakecaster
In their very first event, the Southeast Texas High School Fishing Association shattered all previous participating records in the country! High School fishing has been established in many states for quite some time. East Texas got a taste of it when the National High School Sam Rayburn Open was held this past spring. It woke up this entire region. In the short months since, schools across Southeast Texas have been forming fishing clubs, and the Southeast Texas High School Fishing Association was born with 28 participating schools - so far. Their inaugural event was held on Sam Rayburn December 14, 2013 at the Umphrey Family Pavilion and over 500 young men and ladies layered up on this bitterly cold day and headed out to show off their skills.
Formatted as a team event, 262 teams were registered to fish, nearly all with boats and captains. The students were not allowed to operate their own boat. Friends, family members and a host of volunteers came out in droves to provide a platform for these kids and boats to fish from. Businesses and individuals from Houston to Port Arthur, as north as Nacogdoches and beyond provided sponsorship to the event. This is a sport that leaves no one behind. Everyone can participate in a fishing tournament.
As a note, the National High School Sam Rayburn Open had 86 participating teams. The High School Fishing World Finals in Arkansas had 131 teams participate. The numbers continue to grow, and East Texas is proud to have the current participation record.
Competitors set out on Big Sam after a morning boat check, and Mother Nature blasted them with her wintry wrath, throwing strong bitter cold winds and plummeting temperatures for these young anglers to contend with. These kids met the challenge, coming in with a lot of solid fish to weigh in.
Bryce Rambo and Trent Manuel, representing Little Cypress Mauriceville Battlin Bears hauled in the biggest limit of the tournament winning 1st place with 14.24 lbs. “It was really cold and windy out there,” the team began. “The fishing was tough. We tried a lot of spots, but it was hard to find the fish.” Using a rattletrap, they managed to put a single keeper in their livewell fairly early. “We lost a big one after that.” Continuing to various spots, at 9:30am they found one area holding the fish they needed. It was a spot with stumps and a hard bottom in 10 to 12’ of water. Trent put three in the boat right away, then Bryce followed suit switching to the same technique using Carolina rigged baby brush hogs and lizards, wrapping up their limit. “We tried other areas after that but didn’t have any more luck.” The team won a host of prizes, as well as a $2,139 check for their school organization. They would like to thank Captain Cory Rambo for taking them fishing, Miss Doyle their school fishing coach and advisor as well as Lews, Ranger, West LTD, Granger Chevrolet, Jordan Marine, Daley’s Hunt ‘n Fish and Simon Outfitters for their support.
2nd place was won by Huntington anglers Jace Weeks and Danny Mullins with 14.02 lbs. They fished deep water with brush hogs for their catch, and Danny Mullins Sr captained their boat. They earned many prizes and a check for $1,398 for their school club.
West Sabine High School anglers Hunter Muncrief and Daren Dew secured 3rd place with their 12.92 lb sack. They earned $946 for their school and took home several prizes.
Forest Gothia and Ashton Hunter of Bridge City not only won 4th place overall with 12.29 lbs. Ashton caught their kicker, weighing in at 8.75 lbs and winning Big Bass of the tournament! Their school earned $476. Captain Hunter Gothia ran the boat for this team.
The hosting schools for this tournament were Little Cypress Mauriceville, Bridge City, Deweyville and Chester. Lew’s Fishing Tackle Company provided rods, reels, and other products to the top winners as well as many other participants. Bob Sealy, CEO of the Big Bass Splash awarded free entries into his million-dollar event on Sam Rayburn to the top three teams. Rat-L-Trap, Premier Yamaha, Ann’s Tackle, Jasper Outboard, Bass N Bucks, Daley’s Hunt ‘n Fish, Buna High School, Philpott Ford, David Self Ford all provided prizes for the anglers to take home.
The top 37 teams earned checks for their school clubs and all participating teams earned points toward the championship in May.
John Salamone emceed the event with Ray Beck as the weigh master. “We are so excited and pleased with the participation in our first tournament,” Salamone began. “It was originally scheduled to take place at another location, but with the numbers of anglers signing up, we had to bring it to the Umphrey Pavilion to accommodate all of the boats and other traffic we had.” Getting students paired up with captains to fish the tournament was another obstacle that had to be addressed. “The people in the fishing industry are unmatched. We put the word out on various fishing forums of what we needed as far as boats and captains and a few other elements, and boaters came out of the woodwork to help in every way. To have our very first high school tournament be the biggest one ever in the country is huge. It shows the level of interest we have from the kids here in the biggest way. We are very proud of each and every student that braved fishing on a day like this and cannot give enough thanks to all of the volunteers and businesses that helped to make this a success. Thanks to all of the community support as well. The future of tournament fishing is in good hands.”
Lumberton High School was the first in this region to start a fishing club, headed up by fishing coach Bryan Thomas. Last year they had 44 members. It is now 81 students strong. It didn’t take long for other area students to rally for clubs of their own, and it lit up like a wildfire with 28 schools spanning the entirety of Southeast Texas coming on board to form the Southeast Texas High School Conference. Bryan along with Ted O’Dell and Paul Squire spearheaded the success of this tournament and were the main organizers of this association. They have been very helpful to other schools as they organize their clubs as well. Tom Selman played a huge part in the success of the tournament by providing the weigh in trailer and all relating equipment.
“I am truly amazed that a conversation I had with two young men last October about starting a club at Lumberton has led to SETX being a model for other areas to follow and I am excited about what the future holds for the student anglers of SETX.” – Bryan Thomas
"High School Fishing in East Texas has arrived! We are absolutely thrilled to see the progress that is being made in getting students reacquainted with the great outdoors especially in a program that stresses not only responsible angling but also fishing as a means to further a student’s education. I think this area of the country (East Texas) has become a model for our Student Angler Federation and what can be done to grow the sport of fishing. I want to personally commend everyone involved in bringing High School Fishing into the spotlight!
We always tell people that you grow High School Fishing one school at a time and one event at a time and in Texas it has never been more evident. The establishment of a 5 event tournament trail that gives students multiple fishing opportunities is exactly what it takes to build a program in any area as well as building live long anglers and that is exactly what the Student Angler Federation is all about.”
“Throughout the country High School Fishing is on the move and is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing High School Sports nationwide. When you consider the fact that we had 14 boats representing about 8 schools at our first Texas High School State Championship in 2011 and look where we are now in just over three years it is truly amazing. And the best news is that we are just getting started! Again congratulations to everyone involved and I would recommend that everyone take the time to go experience a High School Fishing event! They are truly a testament to what type of positive impact this sport can have on the lives of students!" - Mark Gintert, TBF National Youth Director This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.