Today’s high school students earn money for many things, some earn money to go out with their friends or out on a date, others save up money for that new video game, well there is a growing number of kids today saving up money for fishing gear.
The number of growing opportunities that a high school student has to get involved in fishing and specifically tournament bass fishing continue to grow and with these opportunities comes a competitive drive by the anglers to do well in these events, just as if they were on the football field or ice rink competing against a rival school.
“Being a high school angler in Minnesota is very competitive, many of our tournaments have 150 to 200 boats and our held on lakes that aren’t extremely large, add in the pressure from other anglers, and you have some tight lipped bass,” stated G. Weedman, a Minnesota high school bass angler. “Any advantage I can get over the other anglers really makes a difference and the Witch Doctor Tackle Rods give me that. I can be more efficient than other anglers while on the water and feel the bites that they aren’t feeling.”
What is also great about these high school fishing programs is that many times it is a family affair and blends students from all grades. G’s younger brother C fishes in the program as well and is get a first hand look from fishing with his older brother in events.
“I like the Witch Doctor rods because there are so many different kinds, and actions. For example, let’s take the Surman 50G, we dedicate that rod to jerkbaits as it is bends all the way through, giving the jerkbaits a perfect action,” explained C. Weedman. “My personal favorite is the Oracle, because with it’s crazy amount of backbone we can rip the fish out of the weeds!”
Another member of this very competitive fishing team is D. Slaughter, him and his partner took the win at the Student Angler Tournament Trail (SATT) event on Lake Minnetonka the other week. They did this by thinking outside the box and putting their Witch Doctor Tackle Rods to use. “The conditions were cloudy and around 57 degrees in the morning. During this time of the year the bass should be moving deep and being kind of lethargic,” explained the angler. “But this has been a weird spring up here in Minnesota and my partner scanned some of our deeper spots and saw almost no fish out there.”
So instead of panicking, the anglers put their heads down and just went fishing! “We came to the conclusion that the bass were still up shallow chasing after bluegills which were still on beds. The biggest part that helped me win was my 6’10 Surman 50G series rod, this was THE only rod that I picked up whole entire day. Not only can I feel every water molecule with the Surman, I can feel every weed, every rock, and most importantly every fish that hits the end of my line. During this event I was throwing a Spro Mike McClelland McStick 110 with 12 pound Sunline Assassin FC. The fish were hovering over deep weeds on main lake flats and small ledges. If it were not for my amazing rod it do not think I would have done nearly as good.”
We want to congratulate D and his partner on the win and wish the Weedman brother’s the best of luck throughout the 2019 season!
