Arkansas Youth Fishing Association wins TBF High School Fishing Arkansas State Championship at Lake Ouachita

ROYAL, Ark. (May 10, 2017) – The Arkansas Youth Fishing Association duo of Jonathan Pipkins of Benton, and Elijah Luna of Cabot, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Sunday weighing 15 pounds, 7 ounces, to win the 2017 TBF High School Fishing Arkansas State Championship tournament on Lake Ouachita in Royal, Arkansas. The win advanced the team to the 2017 High School Fishing National championship, held June 27-July 1 at Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama.

A field of 115 teams competed in the no-entry fee tournament, which launched from Crystal Springs Resort in Royal. In FLW/TBF High School Fishing competition, the top 10-percent of teams competing advance to the High School Fishing National Championship.

The top 11 teams on Lake Ouachita that advanced to the 2017 High School Fishing National Championship were:

  1st:        Arkansas Youth Fishing Association – Jonathan Pipkins, Benton, Ark., and Elijah Luna, Cabot, Ark., (five bass, 15-7)

  2nd:      Smackover High School – Trenton Bailey, Stephens, Ark., and William Hill, El Dorado, Ark., (five bass, 14-9)

  3rd:       Highland High School – Spencer Wiles, Hardy, Ark., and Matt Boyd, Cherokee Village, Ark., (five bass, 14-5)

  4th:       Mountain Home High School – Jay Gore and Noah Boyett, both of Norford, Ark., (five bass, 13-8)

  5th:       Spring Hill High School – Kory England and Dylan Watson, both of Hope, Ark., (five bass, 13-8)

  6th:       Mount Ida High School – Hunter Davis and Tyler Allenbrand, both of Mount Ida, Ark., (five bass, 13-5)

  7th:       Perryville High School – Larry Thompson, Paron, Ark., and Nathan Stout, Perryville, Ark., (five bass, 12-14)

  8th:       Mount Ida High School – Fisher Bissell and Fisher Davis, both of Mount Ida, Ark., (five bass, 11-10)

  9th:       Mountain Pine High School – Ellison Caldwell, Hot Springs, Ark., and Josh Walpole, Mountain Pine, Ark., (five bass, 10-6)

  10th:     Prescott High School – Ricky Brody Pennington and Bryer Pennington, both of Prescott, Ark., (five bass, 10-5)

  11th:     Western Arkansas High School Hawghunters – Cole Trotter, Ozark, Ark., and Cody Jackson, Altus, Ark., (five bass, 10-4)

Complete results from the event have been posted at HighSchoolFishing.org.

Photos from the event can be found at the High School Fishing Facebook gallery at Facebook.com/HSFishing.

The 2017 TBF High School Fishing Arkansas State Championship was a two-person (team) event for students in grades 7-12, open to any Student Angler Federation (SAF) affiliated high school club in the state of Arkansas. The top 10 percent of each Challenge, Open, and state championship field will advance to the High School Fishing National Championship. The High School Fishing national champions will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship to the school of their choice.

In addition to the High School Fishing National Championship, all High School Fishing anglers nationwide automatically qualify for the world’s largest high school bass tournament, the 2017 High School Fishing World Finals, held in conjunction with the National Championship. At the 2016 World Finals more than $60,000 in scholarships and prizes were awarded.

Full schedules and the latest announcements are available at HighSchoolFishing.org and FLWFishing.com.

About FLW

FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2017 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 274 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW" television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.

 About The Bass Federation

The Bass Federation Inc., (TBF) is a member of the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. TBF is owned by those we serve and dedicated to the sport of fishing. The Federation is the largest and oldest, organized grassroots fishing, youth and conservation organization there is. TBF, our affiliated state federations and their member clubs conduct more than 20,000 events each year and have provided a foundation for the entire bass fishing industry for more than 45 years. TBF founded the Student Angler Federation and the National High School Fishing program in 2008 to promote clean family fun and education through fishing. Visit bassfederation.com or highschoolfishing.org and “LIKE US” on Facebook.

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