LACONIA, N.H. — The Junior Bassmasters program was well-represented in the state’s first New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA) Bass Fishing Championship, Oct. 5, at Lake Winnisquam.
Thirteen schools and 46 anglers advanced to the state championship after fishing an NHIAA qualifying event at Lake Winnipesaukee last May. Five of the teams in the championship included New Hampshire Junior Bassmasters members Wyatt Stockman, Cam Sterritt, Connor Farrington, Bryan Farrington, Jeremy Bates, Jack Albert, Brandon McGirl and Ben Landry.
Stockman and his partner Cody Symonds represented Prospect Mountain High School and won the event with seven fish weighing 21.18 pounds. Connor Farrington and Sterritt were on the Exeter High School team that finished second with seven bass weighing 15.17.
Ray Meyer, New Hampshire B.A.S.S. Nation youth director, noted seven of the 13 schools in the championship are registered with the B.A.S.S. Nation High School program.
“We had a pretty good showing,” Meyer said. “We have been trying to push the information to the kids about B.A.S.S. and the registration of their teams if they wanted to move on to the B.A.S.S. national competition.”
The Prospect Mountain anglers will be members of the New Hampshire B.A.S.S. Nation state team at the 2014 Eastern Divisional, and the Prospect Mountain and Exeter teams are eligible to compete in the first B.AS.S. Nation High School Championship.
Meyer and John Foster, New Hampshire B.A.S.S. Nation president, coordinated the launch and weigh-in at the state championship as well as at the qualifying event in spring. Meyer estimated that half of the championship field was captained by New Hampshire B.A.S.S. Nation volunteers.
