Rising Freshmen Win Bassmaster High School Wildcard Tournament

Andon Goins and Blake Wheat of Rhea County Eagle Anglers out of Tennessee win the 2019 Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Wildcard presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors at Lake Cumberland out of Jamestown, Ky., with a total of 18 pounds, 3 ounces.

Photo by Andy Crawford/B.A.S.S.

June 12, 2019 

JAMESTOWN, Ky. — Fourteen-year-olds Andon Goins and Blake Wheat started the year fishing the Junior Bassmaster tournaments, but the Tennessee youths “graduated” to the high school series today — and won the Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Wild Card presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors by almost 4 pounds.

The 18-pound, 3-ounce limit of bass that put Goins and Wheat on top included a tournament big bass weighing 6 pounds, 3 ounces that fell for a Heddon Zara Spook.

The Rhea County Eagle Anglers team qualified for the event because rules allow incoming freshmen to compete with the team during the summer before they start high school, said Hank Weldon, senior manager of Bassmaster youth events.

Goins and Wheat put together a pattern focused on schooling bass during practice for the event, and they fished in and around two marinas during competition.

“We caught them in 50 to 70 feet of water,” Wheat said.

They worked the Spooks in tandem with flutter spoons to put together their catch. While their boat was over deep water, their bites came from bass holding about 6 feet below the surface.

“In the mornings, bass were active — they were blowing up — and then throughout the day we keyed in on the spoon and started catching them suspended,” Wheat said.

The lunker came in the same deep water, right off a dock. Wheat said he had just lost a 4-pounder in a dock slip, and something caught his eye swimming near the dock.

“I saw this black mark (in the water),” he said. “I just pitched to it, and I saw it turn, and it blew up on my Spook.

“I thought it had to be at least a decent fish because it was a big blow-up, and I told him to get the net.”

But neither angler paid much attention to the actual size of the bass until it was in the livewell.

“I really didn’t look at it until later, when our captain picked it up and said, ‘How big do you think this is?’” Wheat explained. “I realized it was way bigger than I thought.”

The victory qualifies the team for the Bassmaster High School Championship to be held on Kentucky Lake Aug. 8-10.

Joining them at the national event will be teams earning second through 11th places, including Asa Robertson and Matthew Vandagriff of Warren County High School, Tenn., who took second with 14-6; Kyle Workman and Pruitt Lansdale of Montgomery County High School, Ky., third with 14-5; Mackenzie Tabor and Brady Mcguire, also of Montgomery County High School, fourth with 13-14; and Drake Hemby and Gavin Totherow of Whitwell High School, Tenn., fifth with 13-6.

(BOATER) Standings Day 1
Cumberland Rivers, Jamestown  KY.
2019 Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Wild Card presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors 6/12-6/12

Angler                                       Club/School

1.  Andon Goins – Blake Wheat                    Rhea County Eagle Anglers- TN
Day 1: 5   18-03   Total:   5  18-03
2.  Asa Robertson – Matthew Vandagriff           Warren County High School- TN
Day 1: 5   14-06   Total:   5  14-06
3.  Kyle Workman – Pruitt Lansdale               Montgomery County High School- K
Day 1: 5   14-05   Total:   5  14-05
4.  Mackenzie Tabor – Brady Mcguire              Montgomery County High School- K
Day 1: 5   13-14   Total:   5  13-14
5.  Drake Hemby – Gavin Totherow                 Whitwell High School- TN
Day 1: 5   13-06   Total:   5  13-06
6.  Mitchell Grimsley – Adrian Hooper            Towns County High School- GA
Day 1: 5   13-03   Total:   5  13-03
7.  Taylor Owens – Shelby Prather                Rehobeth High School- AL
Day 1: 5   12-15   Total:   5  12-15
8.  Jacob Damron – Hunter Palmer                 Tullahoma High School- TN
Day 1: 5   12-09   Total:   5  12-09
9.  Kurtis Blair – Cody Blair                    Madison Southern High School- KY
Day 1: 5   12-04   Total:   5  12-04
10. Ben Hester – Mason Caldwell                  Rhea County Eagle Anglers- TN
Day 1: 5   12-03   Total:   5  12-03
11. Luke Ferachi – Mason Ferachi                 Walker High School- LA
Day 1: 5   12-00   Total:   5  12-00
12. Jacob Nekvinda – Samuel Louw                 Eastern Iowa Bassmasters- IA
Day 1: 5   11-15   Total:   5  11-15
13. BJ Collins – Dawson Cross                    Chatuge Anglers-NC
Day 1: 5   11-13   Total:   5  11-13
14. Clay Christopher – Hannah Wesley             Boyle County High School
Day 1: 5   11-11   Total:   5  11-11
15. Cameron Aaron – Clay Ferguson                Russell County High School- KY
Day 1: 5   11-08   Total:   5  11-08
16. Noah Ray – Hayden Cooper                     Tullahoma High School- TN
Day 1: 5   11-07   Total:   5  11-07
17. Douglas Drake – Austin Jones                 Franklin County High School- TN
Day 1: 5   11-06   Total:   5  11-06
18. Kason Stockton – Alex West                   Wayne County High School- KY
Day 1: 5   11-04   Total:   5  11-04
19. Kyle Roy – Jesse York                        Russell County High School- KY
Day 1: 5   10-09   Total:   5  10-09
20. Allen Powe – Jonathan Combs                  George Rogers Clark High School-
Day 1: 4   10-08   Total:   4  10-08
21. Riley Christensen – Jeffrey Lotierzo         Riley’s Catch- NC
Day 1: 5   10-07   Total:   5  10-07
22. Hunter White – Garrett Smith                 North Carolina High School Angle
Day 1: 4   10-06   Total:   4  10-06
23. Ashton Smith – Jamie Roberts                 DeLand High School- FL
Day 1: 5   10-02   Total:   5  10-02
24. Kolby Holcomb – Anthony Goins                Walker Valley High School-TN
Day 1: 5   10-01   Total:   5  10-01
24. Christopher Keeble – Micah Bryant            Sequoyah High School- TN
Day 1: 5   10-01   Total:   5  10-01
26. Caleb Ferguson – Matt Bradham                Henry County High School- TN
Day 1: 3   09-13   Total:   3  09-13
27. Nick Aaron – Owen Woodrum                    Russell County High School- KY
Day 1: 4   09-09   Total:   4  09-09
28. CJ Teas – Cason Causey                       Riley’s Catch- NC
Day 1: 4   09-08   Total:   4  09-08
29. Cameron Pruitt – Zane Rousey                 Casey County High School- KY
Day 1: 5   09-04   Total:   5  09-04
30. Jason Burchfield – Ben Howard                Southwestern High School-KY
Day 1: 5   09-00   Total:   5  09-00
31. Daniel Ridenour –                            Lenoir City High School- TN
Day 1: 4   08-14   Total:   4  08-14
32. Landon Grider – Kolby Clark                  Scottsboro High School- AL
Day 1: 5   08-12   Total:   5  08-12
33. Alec Lancaster – Austin Hoover               Staion Camp High School- TN
Day 1: 4   08-11   Total:   4  08-11
34. Landon Harrington – Sam Ambrose              Berkeley Springs High School- WV
Day 1: 3   08-04   Total:   3  08-04
35. Brayden Stotler – Grainger Pollert           Bloomington South High School- I
Day 1: 5   08-03   Total:   5  08-03
36. Jacob Curry – Evan Waggener                  Collins Titans Fishing High Scho
Day 1: 5   08-01   Total:   5  08-01
37. Dylan Nutt – Carter Nutt                     Backwoods Bassin’- TN
Day 1: 5   08-00   Total:   5  08-00
38. Kurtis Swanson – Chaney Weick                Meade County High School- KY
Day 1: 4   07-12   Total:   4  07-12
39. David Derlak – Will Travis                   Rhea County Eagle Anglers- TN
Day 1: 3   07-07   Total:   3  07-07
40. Luke Fletcher – Hunter Flynn                 Estill County High School- KY
Day 1: 3   07-06   Total:   3  07-06
41. Brandon Vanderpool – Ross Kearns             Kentucky Bassmasters High School
Day 1: 3   07-03   Total:   3  07-03
42. Avery Brown – Noah Lake                      George Rogers Clark High School-
Day 1: 3   07-00   Total:   3  07-00
43. Alek Masters – Gabe Blair                    Madison Southern High School- KY
Day 1: 3   06-10   Total:   3  06-10
44. Paxton Boldry – Justin Tate                  McCracken High School- KY
Day 1: 4   06-08   Total:   4  06-08
45. Bennett Bauer – Brayden Mueller              Carson High School- NC
Day 1: 3   06-07   Total:   3  06-07
46. Dylan Stokes – Keaton Mills                  Wilson Central High School- TN
Day 1: 2   06-06   Total:   2  06-06
47. Nathan Reynolds – Adrian Goleniewski         Backwoods Bassin’-TN
Day 1: 4   06-05   Total:   4  06-05
48. Justin Robbins – Payton Rains                Fentress County Bass Club- TN
Day 1: 3   06-05   Total:   3  06-05
49. Devan Perkins – Blake Verberne               Denham Springs High School- LA
Day 1: 4   06-02   Total:   4  06-02
50. Riley Lawson – Hunter Townsend               Montgomery County High School- K
Day 1: 3   06-01   Total:   3  06-01
51. Micah Ford – Wyatt Sauder                    Sequoyah High School- TN
Day 1: 2   06-01   Total:   2  06-01
52. Brandon Iles – Noah Varner                   Rhea County Eagle Anglers- TN
Day 1: 3   06-00   Total:   3  06-00
53. Caleb Maybrey – Kole Palmer                  Franklin County High School- TN
Day 1: 2   05-15   Total:   2  05-15
54. Zane O’Domirok – Thomas Brown                Lenoir City High School- TN
Day 1: 3   05-13   Total:   3  05-13
55. Cooper Smith – Grant Noelle                  Marion High School- IL
Day 1: 3   05-11   Total:   3  05-11
56. Clay Oberman – Will Oberman                  Garrard County High School- KY
Day 1: 3   05-08   Total:   3  05-08
56. Alyssa Taylor –                              Walker Valley High School-TN
Day 1: 3   05-08   Total:   3  05-08
58. Bryan Hayes – Garrett Smith                  Springfield High School-TN
Day 1: 2   05-08   Total:   2  05-08
59. Gage Starks – Sawyer Williams                Henry County High School- TN
Day 1: 3   05-07   Total:   3  05-07
60. Tyler Devine – Elliott Johnson               Boyle County High School- KY
Day 1: 2   05-04   Total:   2  05-04
60. Jack Swindler – Caleb Barnes                 Martha Laynes Collins High Schoo
Day 1: 2   05-04   Total:   2  05-04
62. Laindree Richardson – Cody Miles             Benton Bass Fishing-IL
Day 1: 2   05-03   Total:   2  05-03
63. Bryar Goins – Hunter Presley                 Rhea County High School- TN
Day 1: 2   05-02   Total:   2  05-02
64. Andrew Parkerson – Kaleb Moulton             Panhandle Youth Anglers- FL
Day 1: 3   05-01   Total:   3  05-01
65. Dylan Kidder – Timmy Prather                 Garrard County High School- KY
Day 1: 2   04-12   Total:   2  04-12
65. Logan Miracle – Cainaan Halsey               Garrard County High School- KY
Day 1: 2   04-12   Total:   2  04-12
67. Cole Beard – Dylan Meeks                     Casey County High School- KY
Day 1: 2   04-08   Total:   2  04-08
68. Kaden Hillman – Andrew Hunt                  Hazzard High School- KY
Day 1: 2   04-07   Total:   2  04-07
69. Connor Mills – Cameron Mills                 Southwestern High School- KY
Day 1: 2   04-01   Total:   2  04-01
70. Hunter May – Nate Wagers                     Madison Southern High School-KY
Day 1: 3   03-14   Total:   3  03-14
71. Sam Wolfe – Tyler Maynard                    Wayne High School- WV
Day 1: 2   03-13   Total:   2  03-13
72. Braden Leffew – Austin Conatser              York Agricultural Institute- TN
Day 1: 4   03-12   Total:   4  03-12
73. Dalton Skinner – Syrus Stewart               McCracken County High School- KY
Day 1: 2   03-12   Total:   2  03-12
74. Zechariah Canada – Devin Conliffe            United West Viginia Bass Club-WV
Day 1: 3   03-11   Total:   3  03-11
74. James Duncan – Chanler Brake                 Southwestern High School- KY
Day 1: 3   03-11   Total:   3  03-11
76. Danny Camden – Owen Linthecum                Morgan County High School- IN
Day 1: 1   03-11   Total:   1  03-11
77. Alex Lamb – Grant Harrison                   Madison Southern High School- KY
Day 1: 2   03-07   Total:   2  03-07
78. Jason Minor – Matthew Macnaughton            Gallatin High School- TN
Day 1: 3   02-15   Total:   3  02-15
79. Dalton Hibbard – Zach Holbrook               Perry County Central High School
Day 1: 1   02-14   Total:   1  02-14
80. Abigail Downey – Seth Davis                  Boyle County High School- KY
Day 1: 1   02-12   Total:   1  02-12
81. Callie Hall – Haggan Bishop                  Lake Cumberland Bass Club- KY
Day 1: 1   02-09   Total:   1  02-09
82. Jacob Burkett – Dwight Burkett               Martinsville High School- IN
Day 1: 1   02-04   Total:   1  02-04
83. Hayden Fox – Owen Chamberlain                Mt Juliet Fishing- TN
Day 1: 2   01-15   Total:   2  01-15
83. Garret Geiker – Cole Musgrave                Martinsville High School- IN
Day 1: 2   01-15   Total:   2  01-15
85. Jaden Carpenter – Caleb Williams             Rockcastle High School- KY
Day 1: 1   01-14   Total:   1  01-14
86. Caleb Allen – Tyler Thomas                   Russell County High School- KY
Day 1: 1   01-12   Total:   1  01-12
87. Keaton Smith – Jaydon Coggins                Southwestern High School-KY
Day 1: 1   01-11   Total:   1  01-11
88. Tanner Shaw – Tanner Koontz                  Mount Vernon High School- IL
Day 1: 1   01-08   Total:   1  01-08
89. Harrison Wims – Casey Briley                 Gallatin High School- TN
Day 1: 1   01-07   Total:   1  01-07
90. Autumn Belcher – William Crawford            Boyle County High School- KY
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
90. Trevor Day – Logan Hyden                     Clay County High School- KY
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
90. William Dougherty Iv – Jake Medley           Marion County High School-KY
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
90. Pete Holmes – Rachel Holmes                  McCracken County High School- KY
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
90. Cody Morgan – Riley Mccormick                Bishop Kenny High School- FL
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
90. Jimmy Oguin – Austin Oldfield                Mt. Juliet Fishing Club- TN
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
90. Wyatt Pearman – Evan Morris                  Larue County High School- KY
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
90. Dallas Robinson – Daniel McDaniel            Clay County High School
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
90. Tucker Roe – Hayden Rutledge                 Natchitoches Central High School
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
90. James Saylor – Ty Davis                      Garrard County High School- KY
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
90. Casey Shearer – Ridge Rutledge               East Jassamine High School- KY
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
90. Dylan Stringer – Branson Campbell            Russell County High School- KY
90. Hannah Tarkington – Christian Vernon         Boil County High School- KY
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
90. Kobe Thompson – Jagger Lindell               Crooksville High School- OH
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
90. Garrett White – Tanner Mcclain               Rhea County High School-TN
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
90. Kyle Wilmoth – Blaine Mattingly              Bluegrass Bassmasters- KY
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
90. Kyle Zainitzer – Tyler Scott                 Okeechobee Brahmas High School-
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00