High school anglers will have the chance to fish the No. 1 bass lake in the nation during the 2016 Bassmaster High School tournament season.
Toledo Bend – the best bass fishery in the United States according to Bassmaster Magazine’s 2015 Best Bass Lakes list – will be the first stop on the 2016 Bassmaster High School Series tournament trail.
High school anglers will compete in three regional Opens tournaments in 2016, including the Central at Toledo Bend on the Louisiana/Texas border (March 12), the Southern at Lake Guntersville in Alabama (April 16) and the Midwestern at Clinton Lake in Illinois (June 5).
Following a year that saw participation numbers more than double over 2014, Hank Weldon, the B.A.S.S. High School Series tournament manager, said he expects those numbers to grow again in 2016.
“We were excited when we rolled out the additional tournaments in 2015,” Weldon said. “We were cautiously optimistic about participation in the inaugural Opens, but participation easily exceeded our expectations. As the high school platform continues to grow at exponential rates, we have high hopes for the turnout for the 2016 High School Opens.”
In 2015, more than 3,400 students from 370 schools participated in the Costa Bassmaster High School Opens. Approximately 1,500 students from 230 schools participated in 2014.
All of the high school teams will compete for a spot at the Bassmaster High School National Championship held in the summer of 2016 on a date and place to be announced. One place at the championship is made available for every 10 teams competing in the Opens.
In addition, anglers in the Top 2 spots at each Open will earn a berth in an exhibition high school tournament at the 2017 Bassmaster Classic.
Registration and tournament rules will be announced next week at www.Bassmaster.com/high-school.
