COLUMBUS – Another bass fishing tournament is heading to Columbus’ stretch of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.
This morning, the Mississippi Bass Nation High School State Championship tournament sent off more than 70 boats at the Columbus Marina for Day 1 of its two-day championship event that features some of the top high school anglers from around the state battling for the coveted state title trophy and entry into the high school national tournament. The event also coincides with the junior high tournament, happening at the same time and location.
Just like the professional Bassmaster Elite Series tournament on the same stretch of river in April, the high school anglers will set out to catch the five biggest fish they can per day to win the tournament. One difference, though, is that each school will be represented by two anglers in the boat instead of just one like in the professional circuit. Columbus has a hometown team represented in the tournament. Brooks Higginbotham and Rigg McCrary will be out on the water representing Caledonia.
Mississippi Bass Nation president Skipper Smith said there will be around 25 high schools represented on water in the tournament’s first appearance back in Columbus in almost a decade, and he’s glad to be back in the Friendly City.
“To me, Columbus has so much to offer,” said Smith, who has been leading Mississippi Bass Nation for seven years. “They have stuff for the families to do, stuff for the anglers to do. We’ve always been treated really well when we come to Columbus, plus the fishery is big enough and good enough to handle it. … To me it’s an extremely good fishery, and the fact that it has a large population of spotted bass and largemouth, so you are able to get bites a lot for the kids.”
One of the kids fishing is Zachary Tanner, a 17-year-old angler representing East Central High School. He said he has already planned out some fishing methods he’s going to use early on in the tournament. Earlier in the year, Tanner finished second place at a tournament in the South leg of the season, which automatically booked his ticket to the upcoming national tournament. That hasn’t taken away his drive to win in Columbus and he’s already mapped out a plan of attack for Day 1.
“(I’m going to be) throwing some moving baits, some worms and spinnerbaits,” said Tanner, who is joined in the boat by his cousin Cody. “I’ve been catching a good few fish on (them). … I’m very excited. I’m hoping to win.”
The weigh-ins will begin around 2:40 to 3 p.m., and Smith said he expects a two-day total of 18-24 pounds to be the winning haul.
“I expect it to be very competitive,” Smith said. “You’ll be surprised at how many good anglers there are out there, so I look for it to be very competitive and I look for the fish to bite.”
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