North Texas high schools score big at bass fishing competition
SANGER, Texas (KXII) - Bait the hook, cast your line, reel, and repeat.
“You prepare all year, your whole life,” said Tyler Atnip, the head bass fishing coach at Sherman High School. “They spend time over the summer, off-season, a lot of its sitting at home, practicing casting in your backyard.”
Many North Texas students have spent years, if not decades, practicing for competitions like Saturday and Sunday’s bass fishing competition.
“I pretty much fell in love with it,” said Libby Cernero, a student competing for Sherman High School.
More than 187 teams floated on Lake Ray Roberts, hoping to catch the winning bite.
And several students in high schools along the red river had all that hard work pay off, including Van Alstyne’s Taylor Thompson, who caught the biggest bass on Sunday, weighing 8.75 pounds.
“Beyond excitement, I can’t explain it,” said Thompson. “I’m pretty speechless, but I’ve been dreaming about this for a long time, and it finally came true.”
The Sherman High School girls team placed fourth Saturday.
“It feels pretty good to be one of the top girls in a male-dominated sport and like dominating it for us,” said Addey Kuhn, a student competing with Sherman High School.
And a Sherman boys team took home 500 dollars in scholarships for what they reeled in.
“Feeling good, it was a long day on the water, but we went through it and got third place,” said Creed Dobbs, a student competing with Sherman High School.
But they said the weekend’s competition isn’t just about fishing.
It’s about hooking themselves on to a better future.
“They can also build something they’ll do for the rest of their lives,” said Atnip. “It is more than just going out and trying to catch fish. It builds character and team-building also.”
Next, they’ll head to regionals in April in their own backyard at Lake Texoma.
NORTH TEXAS COMMUNITY NEWS
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