Jasper, TX- Mar. 28 Warm Spring temperatures and warming high water greeted over 350 teams from 40+ high schools across Southeast Texas as they participated in the third of five qualifying events on the Ford/Skeeter SETX HS Fishing Association trail this past Saturday. After two weeks of downpours in East Texas, the lake known as “Big Sam” in the bass fishing world was even bigger as the lake was nearing 5 and a half feet above normal pool. What was high and dry just 3 weeks prior, was now inundated with 5+ foot of water and the “new lake” created several challenges to the young anglers. But as always, someone always figures them out and that is just what the Bridge City team of Trey Lee and Randy Underwood did as they brought nearly 17lbs of Big Sam bass back to the Umphrey Family Pavilion on Saturday.

1st place - Bridge City/ Trey Lee-Randy Underwood/ Boat Captain- Rowdy Slaughter

A mid morning move from the lower end of the lake to mid lake depths of 4-5 feet proved to be the winning formula for the team from Bridge City. Even the loss of a feisty 4-5 lb fish that would have filled their limit did not dampen their spirits as they soon filled their bag with another quality fish to fill out their 5 fish limit. Captain Rowdy Slaughter said “a mid morning move and strong mid day bite” was the key as the team probed the 4-5 foot ranges with Senko’s to capture their nearly 17 lb bag and their 1st place finish. The team would like to thank Ms Nicole Harris for all of her hard work with the Bridge City Fishing Team. They also want to thank Mr Craig and Lori Dijon at Needmore Tackle for the discounts they offer to all of the SETX kids and the great information that they pass on as well. Also a big thank you to all of the SETX sponsors who make SETX HS Fishing possible.

2nd place - Center/ Jared Wiggins-Brett Clark/ Boat Captain- Scooter Clark

Quality not quantity was the key on Saturday for the Shelby County team of Wiggins and Clark. ”The kids did not get a lot of bites and had to work hard for their fish, said Captain Scooter Clark. “When they did bite, the kids capitalized with solid fish” he continued. The team from Center flipped brush hogs and beavers into mid lake bushes in the 4-6 ft range to gather their solid 16.45 lb stringer. The team would like to thank Lynn Standford for all of the hard work, thank you to their parents, Wiggins Farms, Center Glass, 4-C Electric, and the Good Lord for the opportunity to fish.

3rd place - Corrigan Camden/ Hank Bostock-Calvin Burks/ Boat Captain- Jim Bostock

After their initial plan of flipping trees failed to produce any quality bites near an upper lake point in the first hour of the tournament, the team from Corrigan backed out into some deeper grass edges in 4-6 feet of water to find a nice surprise waiting on them. “It was about a 10-15 minute flurry of action that really got the kids going today” said Capt Jim Bostock. Chatter baits and Alabama Rigs were the baits of choice that helped the team from Polk County continue to steadily catch fish and upgrade their creel throughout the day. The team wishes to thank SETX and its sponsors for making HS fishing possible in Southeast Texas.

The rest of the top ten are as follows:

4th place- Darian Landry-Konnor Landry/PNG/15.52lbs

5th place- Dillan Metreyeon-Monty Poe/Lumberton/15.38lbs

6th place- Colton Nick-Justin Cook/Hudson/15.25lbs

7th place- Kagen Nevills-Bayley Roland/Hudson/14.92lbs

8th place- Logan Wood-Josh Rowe/Nederland/13.96lbs

9th place- Stephen Davis-Chris Talley/Splendora/13.92lbs

10th place- Chandler Hayes-Andrew Kidda/George Ranch/13.38lbs

The next SETX event is scheduled for April 11- Sam Rayburn

With the backing of sponsors like South Texas Ford Dealers Association and Skeeter Boats, the SETX HS Fishing Association has emerged as the largest HS fishing trail in the country. A huge thank you goes out to the SETX HS Fishing Association Sponsors for 2014-2015: These are the companies that make all of this possible for the kids of Southeast Texas. Please thank them at every opportunity and support these businesses whenever possible because they support the kids of SETX.

Lews, Costa Del Mar, Coastal Field Services, Academy, Lowrance, Rattletrap, Gopher Industries, West LTD, Bass King Clothing, Kick N Bass, Clark Reehm and the Elite Angler Academy, Lake Fork Tackle/Rod Sox, Gator Guards.

For full results or more information about our sponsors, please visit www.setxhighschoolfishing.com or visit or face book page at https://www.facebook.com/setxhighschoolfishing

Story submitted by Jet Donovan