The Bolivar Fishing team had their last regular season tournament Saturday, May 6, and Sunday May 7, on Table Rock Lake. There were three teams fishing in the PTA tournament on Saturday and six teams in the high school and junior tournaments on Sunday.
“Saturday our teams made a solid showing against a field of 144 boats,” said Coach Erin Branstetter.
Logan Welch with captain James Brown, finished 23rd with a weight of 10.68 pounds. Colin Ames and Ryder Hall with captain Chris Ames finished in 27th with a weight of 10.35 pounds.
“On Sunday we had a couple of trophies to take home,” said Branstetter. Logan Welch finished 3rd with a weight of 13.81, only .07 lbs away from 1st place! Ryder Hall and Colin Ames finished in 8th place with a weight of 12.27 pounds.
In the junior division, Fisher Williams and Cooper Kennedy finished in 16th out of 120 teams with a weight of 7.97.
The Bolivar Fishing team started their spring tournament season with a bang.
The first tournament for the National Youth Fishing Association took place on March 11 and 12 on Lake of the Ozarks.
On Saturday, March 11, three teams fished in the PTA tournament, which allows the students to fish with their captain. Two of the teams placed in the top 20, with Logan Welch and John Campbell placing first and Colin Ames and Chris Ames placing 5th.
On Sunday, March 12, two teams fished in the junior division and three fishing in the high school division. Logan Welch and Remi Manes placed 14th, and Colin Ames and Ryder Hall placed 20th against over 200 teams in the high school division. Fisher Williams and Cooper Kennedy placed 18th out of a field of 112 teams in the junior division.
The team's second tournament for NYFA took place on April 1 and 2 on Bull Shoals Lake in Arkansas. Three teams fished in the PTA on April 1, with Welch and Campbell placing 5th in that tournament. Two junior teams and three high school teams fished on April 2, with Welch coming in 14th and Ames and Hall placing 33rd against a field of 250 boats.
“We have two teams that are fishing in the Missouri B.A.S.S. Nation league, with their 3rd tournament of the season taking place on Bull Shoals Lake in Arkansas,” said Branstetter. “They had one last regular season tournament on Lake of the Ozarks, where Brock Davis and Kaine Smith finished in 2nd place.”
Next up for the two junior qualifying teams is the championship, which will take place on Saturday, May 13, on Stockton Lake.
“We also had two teams competing in the Major League fishing qualifying tournament on Lake of the Ozarks on Saturday, March 18,” said Branstetter. One of those teams, Logan Welch and Colin Ames, qualified for the World Fishing Championship with a 6th place finish. This championship will take place in LaCrosse, Wisconsin in June.
