MINNEAPOLIS (Nov. 9, 2017) – Fishing League Worldwide (FLW) and The Bass Federation (TBF) announced Thursday the 2018 High School Fishing schedule, including 29 Student Angler Federation (SAF) High School Fishing State Championships, 24 Bass Pro Shops FLW High School Fishing Opens, seven state high school athletic association sanctioned tournaments and three SAF High School Fishing Challenge tournaments, plus the most anticipated events of the year, the High School Fishing National Championship and World Finals on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama.

“High School Fishing is the perfect recruitment, retention and reactivation program,” said FLW President of Operations Kathy Fennel. “Since its introduction in 2010 with the inaugural High School Fishing World Finals, we’ve seen how effective it is at getting new anglers and lapsed anglers on the water while retaining existing anglers who often serve as mentors for school teams. You need to look no further than the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2016 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation that shows an 8 percent increase in fishing participation since 2011 to see the program’s effectiveness. While several factors undoubtedly play into this growth, High School Fishing is certainly a leading contributor. We are creating a whole new generation of anglers and providing them with a connection to their schools and the outdoors.”

The more than 20,000 anglers that participated in the TBF/FLW High School Fishing program this year will have 72 tournaments in which to compete in 2018.

“As the sport’s leading youth organization, we are proud to have FLW as our partner in providing more fishing opportunities for more high school students across North America than anyone else,” said TBF President Robert Cartlidge. “Together TBF and FLW are laying the foundation on which our sport will continue to build, and we look forward to another incredible season working with schools from New York to California and into Canada to provide unprecedented opportunities for students and their families.”

2018 High School Fishing World Finals/National Championship:

June 26-30                  Pickwick Lake Florence, Ala.

 

2018 Bass Pro Shops FLW High School Fishing Opens:

Jan. 13                        Lake Mitchell Open                           Clanton, Ala.

March 3                       Columbus Pool Open                           Columbus, Miss.

March 10                     Douglas Lake Open                           Kodak, Tenn.

March 17                     Truman Lake Open                           Warsaw, Mo.

April 7                          High Rock Lake Open                           Lexington, N.C.

May 5                          Mississippi River Open (Wis.)                           La Crosse, Wis.

May 12                        Lake O’ the Pines Open                           Jefferson, Texas

May 13                        Clear Lake Open/Calif. State Championship             Lakeport, Calif.

May 20                        Smith Mountain Lake Open                           Huddleston, Va.

June 3                         Whitefish Chain Open                           Crosslake, Minn.

June 9                         Raisin River Open                           Monroe, Mich.

Sept. 8                         Rend Lake Open                           Whittington, Ill.

Sept. 15                       Kentucky Lake Open                           Gilbertsville, Ky.

Sept. 22                       Raystown Lake Open                           Hesston, Pa.

Sept. 29                       Wheeler Lake Open                           Decatur, Ala.

Oct. 6                          Lake Monroe Open                           Bloomington, Ind.

Oct. 13                        Lake Murray Open                           Prosperity, S.C.

Oct. 20                        Grand Lake Open                           Grove, Okla.

Oct. 27                        Mosquito Creek Lake Open                           Cortland, Ohio

Nov. 3                          Dale Hollow Lake Open                           Burkesville, Ky.

Nov. 10                        Ouachita River Open                           West Monroe, La.

Nov. 17                        Lake Hamilton Open                         Hot Springs, Ark.

Dec. 8                          Lake Seminole Open                           Bainbridge, Ga.

Dec. 15                        Lake Okeechobee Open                           Clewiston, Fla.

 

2018 SAF High School Fishing State Championships:

Feb. 10                        Georgia State Championship – West Point Lake                            LaGrange, Ga.

Feb. 24                        Florida State Championship – St. John’s River                                                        Putnam County, Fla.

March 10                     Texas State Championship – Lake Palestine                                                           Flint, Texas

March 24                     Louisiana State Championship – Cross Lake                                                           Shreveport, La.

March 31                     Kentucky State Championship – Lake Cumberland                                                 Somerset, Ky.

March 31                     Kansas State Championship – Wilson Lake                                                             Russell, Kan.

April 7                          Mississippi State Championship – Tenn. Tom Waterway                                        Columbus, Miss.

April 8                          Illinois State Championship – Clinton Lake                                                              Weldon, Ill.

April 14                        Virginia and North Carolina State Championships – Kerr Lake                                    Henderson, N.C.

April 28                        New Hampshire State Championship – Lake Winnipesaukee                                     Gilford, N.H.

April 29                        South Carolina State Championship – Lake Murray                                                Prosperity, S.C.

April 29                        Tennessee State Championship – Kentucky Lake                                                   Birdsong, Tenn.

May 5                          Idaho State Championship – C.J. Strike Reservoir                                                  Mountain Home, Idaho

May 6                          Arkansas State Championship – Lake Dardanelle                                                   Russellville, Ark.

May 12                        Ohio State Championship – Alum Creek Reservoir                                                 Columbus, Ohio

May 13                        California State Championship/Clear Lake Open                                                     Lakeport, Calif.

May 19                        Alabama State Championship – Lake Neely Henry                                                 Gadsden, Ala.

May 20                        Iowa State Championship – Mississippi River                                                          Davenport, Iowa

May 27                        Oklahoma State Championship – Fort Gibson Lake                                                Wagoner, Okla.

June 2                         Tri-State Championship (Conn., Mass., R.I.) – East Brimfield Lake                                    Sturbridge, Mass.

June 2                         Indiana State Championship – Brookville Lake                                                        Brookville, Ind.

June 17                       Minnesota State Championship – Mille Lacs Lake                                                   Isle, Minn.

July 7                           South Dakota State Championship – Lake Henry                                                    TBD

July 8                           Quad State Championship (Pa., Del., Md., N.J.) – TBD                                           TBD

July 21                         Nebraska State Championship – Missouri River                                                      Niobrara, Neb.

July 28                         Michigan State Championship – Gull Lake                                                               Kalamazoo, Mich.

Aug. 5                          Wisconsin State Championship – Bay of Green Bay                                               Oconto, Wis.

Sept. 16                       New York State Championship – Great Sacandaga Lake                                        TBD

 

2018 SAF High School Fishing Challenges:

Feb. 18                        Lake Hartwell Early Bird Challenge                                                                          Anderson, S.C.

June 24                       New England Challenge – Lake Winnipesaukee                                                      Gilford, N.H.

Sept. 16                       Minnesota Open Challenge (Walleye) – Lake Bemidji                                             Bemidji, Minn.

 

2018 State Athletic Association Events:

March 17                     GICAA Georgia State Championship – TBD                                                            TBD

May 20                        IHSA Illinois State Championship – Carlyle Lake                                                     Carlyle, Ill.

April 21                        KHSAA Kentucky Regional Championship – Lake Barkley                                      Kuttawa, Ky.

April 21                        KHSAA Kentucky Regional Championship – Lake Cumberland                                    Somerset, Ky.

April 21                        KHSAA Kentucky Regional Championship – Green River Lake                                    Campbellsville, Ky.

April 21                        KHSAA Kentucky Regional Championship – Cave Run Lake                                    Morehead, Ky.

May 11-12                   KHSAA Kentucky State Championship – Kentucky Lake                                         Calvert City, Ky.

 

Additional SAF High School Fishing State Championships are being added. For the latest SAF High School Fishing State Championship and Challenge tournament schedule, visit HighSchoolFishing.org.

Complete rules are available at FLWFishing.com and HighSchoolFishing.org.

Registration for the 2018 season opens December 4, 2017, for the Lake Mitchell Open. Registration for all other events will begin Jan. 3, 2018. For SAF High School Fishing State Championships, each team must compete in the state in which their school is located. Teams from all states can compete in FLW High School Fishing Open tournaments and SAF High School Fishing Challenge events. Entries for State Championships and Challenge events should be made at HighSchoolFishing.org or by calling TBF at (580) 765-9031 and entries for Opens should be made at FLWFishing.com or by calling FLW at (270) 252-1000. There is no limit to the number of teams accepted into a tournament from each school or club.

All FLW and TBF High School Fishing tournaments are free to enter. The tournaments are two-person (team) events for students in grades 7-12 and open to any SAF-affiliated high school club. The top 10 percent of teams competing in each event held prior to June 10 will advance directly to the 2018 High School Fishing National Championship, held in conjunction with the pinnacle event in all of High School Fishing, the 2018 High School Fishing World Finals, June 26-30 on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama. Qualifiers in tournaments held June 10 or later will advance to the 2019 High School Fishing National Championship. The High School Fishing National Championship awards the winning team a $10,000 scholarship ($5,000 per student).

All SAF High School Fishing members automatically qualify to compete in the industry’s most prestigious high school bass tournament, the 2018 High School Fishing World Finals. At the 2017 High School Fishing World Finals more than $170,000 in scholarships and prizes were offered to 332 teams from 33 states and Canada.

For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow High School Fishing on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and Facebook.com/HSfishing. Visit FLWFishing.com and HighSchoolFishing.org for more information on how to sign up or to start a club at your school.