By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer
garrett@thewoodrufftimes.com
It was two championships for the price of one for the Woodruff High and Woodruff Middle Schools’ bass fishing teams in the SCDNR state championship tournament on Saturday, March 2.
For the first time in the tournament’s history, the same school won both divisions. The Wolverine anglers won both the high school and middle school division championships during the annual tournament held on Lake Murray.
It is the second SCDNR bass fishing state championship for Woodruff, who took home the crown in 2018 as well.
“These boys just amaze me,” said fishing team coach Ricky Edmonds. “What they have done is a feat that has never been accomplished since the DNR (Department of Natural Resources) started the state championship back in 2014. This is a true state championship because there are no classifications, and these guys are going against much bigger 4A and 5A schools, too. To win both divisions this year is outstanding and will go down in the record books.”
The high school and middle school divisions were each split into two boat crews. The high school team consists of Lake Smith, Micah Horton, Hunter Belcher, and Chase Davis. Parker Scott, Easton Lane, Jackson Davis, and Grey Horton comprise the middle school squad.
During the one-day, winner-take-all tournament, the Woodruff anglers fished against teams from other South Carolina high schools across the state.
“One of my goals while in high school was to win a state championship, so Saturday meant a lot,” said Lake Smith, a junior. “All the time and effort we’ve put in are paying off. The fact that the middle school also won is a great accomplishment.”
Horton caught the biggest bass of all the Wolverine anglers, with a fish weighing in at 5.62 pounds. It was Horton’s first fish of the day and a good start he knew could help Woodruff bring home the championship.
“I caught our biggest one pretty early on a Shaky Head (lure) off a stump,” explained Micah. “I wasn’t sure if it was a bass or not because of how hard it was pulling, but after getting it in the boat, me and Lake knew if we had four more decent ones to go with it we would end up with a good bag.”
Edmonds makes it a point to say that the techniques used by Woodruff’s anglers require the application of practical knowledge that is learned at school and includes aspects of science and math. The anglers consider barometric pressure, moon cycles, and other environmental factors to help them find fish and coax them into biting. Even with so much studying and preparation, there is still no guarantee that the bass are going to bite.
“A lot of people think fishing is easy,” Edmonds said. “Tell that to these kids who get up at 3:30 in the morning then go fish for eight hours. If it rains, or the temperature fluctuates, these fish could shut down. These guys study, pre fish, and put in hours of work.”
Horton extended his thanks to those he credits with helping make the Woodruff fishing team’s success a reality.
“First, I’m super thankful for Ricky Edmonds and Kerry Smith,” he said. “Without them, none of this would have happened. It feels pretty good to win the state championship because we knew we had a good chance at it.”
That the middle school team also won their division championship, says Lake, is an indication that more titles could be on the way for Woodruff angling.
“I think it shows the direction and future success that our fishing program is heading towards,” said Smith.
Author: Tracy Sanders
