DAYTON, Tenn. — Over 300 of the country’s best bass fishing teams will converge on Chickamauga Lake for the 2021 Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School National Championship presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors July 29-31. In addition to a national title, anglers hope to reel in their share of a prize purse worth more than $20,700 and $600,000 in college scholarships.
Competition days will be July 29-31 with daily takeoffs from the Dayton Boat Dock at 6:45 a.m. ET. Weigh-ins will take place at Point Park at 2:45 p.m.
Student anglers qualified for the championship through four High School Opens held on Florida’s Harris Chain of Lakes, Kentucky’s Lake Cumberland, Michigan’s Saginaw Bay and Alabama’s Lay Lake.
Among those vying for the National Championship are eight members of the 2021 Bassmaster High School All-American Fishing Team presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors: 2020 Bassmaster High School National Champion Hayden Marbut of Vestavia, Ala., Alexis Grandstaff of Headland, Ala., Tyson Verkaik of Eustis, Fla., Mitchell Straffon of Fenton, Mich., Cole Moulton of Enfield, N.H., Carter Doren of Las Vegas, Nev., Hunter Keller of Morganton, N.C., and Turner Hart of Ashland, Va.
Each two-angler team is accompanied by a coach who runs the boat and can give advice on fishing techniques and patterns.
“They are the best of the best among 13,000 high school B.A.S.S. members representing more than 1,300 high school fishing clubs nationwide,” said Hank Weldon, High School & Youth Series senior manager. “We are thrilled to give these high school anglers an opportunity to tackle Chickamauga — a fishery with a reputation for producing giant bass — as they compete for a national title.”
2021 will mark the first time the Bassmaster High School National Championship has been decided on Chickamauga Lake, which has previously hosted four major B.A.S.S. tournaments.
The Bassmaster High School Series debuted in 2013 and has grown immensely since its inception. The program emphasizes sportsmanship, academics and conservation while giving young anglers a chance to improve and test their fishing skills in competition among their peers.
The Bassmaster High School Series National Championship tournament is being hosted by the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council, Bryan College and Fish Dayton.
