Lewis Cass Bass Fishing Team Competes at State for First Time
The Lewis Cass High School Bass Fishing Team made school history this year by qualifying for the Indiana State Bass Fishing Competition for the first time ever! The team earned its spot by fishing in five regular-season tournaments throughout the year. “We fish five tournaments in the regular season, which gets us to state,” said Coach Mr. Temme. “This was our first state competition, so just making it there was a big deal for us.” “Things got tough once the team arrived. The water level was seven feet above normal, and there were multiple cold fronts that hit just before the tournament started. It made fishing really hard,” said Coach Temme. “The fish weren’t where we thought they’d be.” To prepare, the team spent lots of days practicing. They worked on casting, how to present bait, bait selection, and even map study. All that work helped them stay calm under pressure. The jerkbait was the bait that worked best during the tournament.

Thorpe’s Thoughts on the Competition
Sophomore angler, Landon Thorpe, said, “The competition went well considering the conditions. The fishing was a lot slower than I thought it would be, but we knew the weather would make things weird.” There was a pretty exciting moment early in the day. “About 30 minutes into the tournament, my co-angler caught a 3-pound bass,” Thorpe said. “We were lucky to get that one and weigh it in.” Unfortunately, the team’s plan did not work out quite like they hoped. “Our strategy didn’t really work, but I’m not sure what I could have done differently,” said Thorpe. “The conditions just made it really hard to fish well.”

What Wyatt O’Neil Thought
Another angler, Wyatt O’Neil, said he learned a lot from the experience. “Day to day can be really different,” he said. “One day the fish don’t bite at all, and the next day they bite all day long. You just never know what’s going to happen.” Looking back, Wyatt said he would have changed things up. “I would have thrown a ned rig into the grass and maybe caught a few more fish,” he said. “That might’ve helped us finish higher.” Even though it was tough, Wyatt had a special moment during the weekend. “The best part was hanging out with the team and catching a 5.7-pound smallmouth bass,” he said. “That fish got me 13th place out of 64. It felt great.”

Kings Compete to their Best
The team may not have won, but they gained a lot of experience and confidence for the future. “Now that we’ve been there once,” Coach Temme said, “we want to go back and do even better next time.” It was a fun and challenging weekend for the Lewis Cass Bass Fishing Team, and one they will not forget anytime soon. The team proved they belong on the state stage and will be ready to go next year. With more hard work and more practice, the team hopes to reel in an even better finish next season.