Jasper, TX- The SETX HS Fishing Association wrapped up its third regular season last Sunday at the Umphrey Family Pavilion in front of thousands of spectators. Having concluded the 6 month season, the Ford SETX HS Championship Series presented by Skeeter Boats will now start looking forward to the championship in June. "We love our qualifying tournaments, but we really look forward to our 2 day June Championship" said SETX tournament director Bryan Thomas.

"We really put a lot of effort into our championship to make sure we reward our kids with something special" concluded Thomas. When asked about the upcoming championship in June, SETX Vice President Tom Selman of Groves said this, "It's really what everyone is working toward throughout the year, the kids, the volunteers, the sponsors, it is like a year end party and we think this years will even be better than the last two. We cant say enough good things about our sponsors and what their contributions have allowed us to do for the kids of SETX" concluded Selman. Last season, SETX was able to award $75,000 in scholarships at their championship and they fully expect to be able to do at least that much this year. 

 

Tackle Addict First Place Team- 20.06 LBS/Easton Anderson and Ty Cruse/Lumberton HS/ Boat Capt. Randy Cruse

After launching their Skeeter ZX 250 at Harvey Creek in the mid lake area last Sunday morning, the team from Lumberton had a plan; "We knew we were going to focus on main lake points in the 5-10 foot depths" said Capt. Cruse. "Once on the points, we were looking for something very specific on each one, and simply duplicated that pattern throughout the mid lake area" continued Cruse. Taking advantage of the early morning shad spawn, the team quickly filled their Skeeter live wells with quality fish, including a 6.87 lb fish which anchored their 20 LB bag. "The boys actually were culling fish at 6:20, the boys fished clean and it was just an awesome morning of fishing" concluded Cruse. The team wished to thank Sixth Sense, the manufacturer of their swim jigs which were used throughout the day, Skeeter Boats, and Lews Rods and Reels. The team also wished to thank the Lumberton team sponsors of Cowboy Powersports, Coastal Field Services, and Silsbee Toyota for their continued support of the Lumberton HS fishing team. 

 

Second Place- 19.55 LBS/Matthew Anderson and Lane Anderson/Kountze HS/ Boat Capt. Roy Anderson 

Launching at the public ramp near the dam, the Father and Sons team from Kountze made their way to the southern end of Ayish Bayou and settled in on some main lake points in the Powell Park area. Captain Anderson reported that the team did not have any problems catching fish early, having put a small 8-9 lb limit together before 7 am. "Fishing was good but the quality just was not there, it was not until about 1 o clock that the boys were actually able to start culling those small morning fish with quality fish". The team was able to cull their entire live well in the period between 1 and 3 o clock. "Throwing flukes towards the matted and mixed grasses while the boat sat in 8-10 foot of water seemed to really be the key to getting those good bites" concluded Capt Anderson. The team wished to thank the the good Lord for all of his blessings, the Kountze HS Bass Team and SETX for all they do. 

 

 Third Place- 18.44 LBS/Andrew Morris and Hunter Kaemmerling/Hudson HS/Boat Capt. John Maddox

This team from Hudson are certainly no strangers to the SETX top 3. The team has made several top tens and are obviously experienced at catching Rayburn bass. Fishing above the 147 bridge and launching at Cassell Boykins, the team from Hudson also has shown their versatility throughout the season by catching fish both deep and shallow. "Most of the fish those boys caught today were on a Strike King 6xd worked in 18-20 foot of water. They did manage a couple on Texas rigged worms, but the crankbait did most of the work" said Capt Maddox. Having obtained a limit by 9 am, the Hudson duo were able to cull periodically throughout the day to get to their 18 LB mark. "They fished clean and had a great time on the water and that's the most important thing" concluded Maddox. The team wished to thank their number one sponsor, Jesus Christ for all of his blessings and for keeping everyone safe last Sunday. 

 

Rest of Top Ten

4th Place- 18.33 LBS/ Kaden Duncan and Randy Abate/ Bridge City

5th Place- 17.83 LBS/ Tony Fazzino and Justin Noe/ College Park

6th Place- 17.74 LBS/ Quinton Campbell and Dylan Balch/ Hardin

7th Place- 17.32 LBS/ Jack Tindell and Collin Currie/ LCM

8th Place- 17.23 LBS/ Justin Lee and Hunter Fant/ LCM

9th Place- 16.40 LBS/ Brock Cross and Coby Cross/ Orangefield

10th Place- 16.31 LBS/ John Bouse and Zach Martin/ Silsbee

 

Top 3 Big Bass

9.16 LBS/ Skye Ball and Justin Garcia/ Lumberton 

7.27 LBS/Tanner Gadd and Tyler Stenburg/ Deer Park 

6.87 LBS/ Easton Anderson and Ty Cruse/ Lumberton

 

With the backing and support of sponsors like the South Texas Ford Dealers Association and Skeeter Boats, the SETX HS Fishing Association has emerged as the premiere HS fishing trail in the country.

A huge thank you goes out to all of our SETX sponsors for the 2015-2016 season. The following companies are the reason SETX exists and we cant thank them enough:

Lews, Costa Del Mar, Tackle Addict, Coastal Field Services, Academy, Lowrance, 6th Sense, Livingston Lures, Minn Kota, Rat L Trap, Gopher Industries, Kick N Bass Scents, Clark Reehm and the Elite Angler Academy, Lake Fork Tackle/Rod Sox, Culprit, Big Bite Baits, Ultra Pro X Cameras, Happy Trails RV's, Cowboy Power Sports, Gator Guards, A-1 Glass, Crystal Heigley and the Allman Real Estate Team, Rayburn Country.

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

 

Story by Jet Donovan