Rural Missouri - July 2012 - (Page 20)

Right: Andrew Guilliams pulls in a 4-pound largemouth bass as teammate Brian Pahl admires the catch. The two placed second in this year’s TBF high school tournament at the Lake of the Ozarks. Below: To catch the biggest ﬁsh, high school anglers must take into account the weather, clarity of the water and location before they select their lures. For this reason, the ﬁsherman carry a wide assortment of options and a full tackle box. requirements is kept alive in the boat’s livewell before being released back into the water at the end of the competition. A dead ﬁsh awn broke cool and calm over Lake of the deducts 8 ounces from the Ozarks. As the sun rose above the horizon, team’s overall score. a light mist moved sluggishly over the Carol Lindner, youth murky waters. It’s an hour few rise early and conservation direcenough to see, save for the dedicated anglers venturtor for Missouri TBF, and ing out before tourists and residents transform the her husband, Dave, the lake into a recreational playground. group’s president, headed Cutting the stillness like a knife was the roar of the event. “It takes a lot of a bass boat as it sped past the shoreline, its driver education to go out here, letting loose a cry of exultation that signaled the and a lot of study,” says launch of the second annual TBF Missouri High Carol, a Cuivre River ElecSchool State Fishing Championship. Seven more tric Cooperative member boats followed suit — each carrying anglers eager from Warrenton. “They have to stake out the most promising territory — before to study the water, study the allowing the silence to reclaim the morning. temperature, know their lures Near Bagnell Dam, hidden within the recesses of (and) what they need to use.” the lake’s many inlets, Brian Pahl, 17, of Wildwood gave before the event. While most teenagers might choose to spend and Andrew Guilliams, 18, of Spring“Mentally, you got to pay attention to details, their free hours out with friends, Andrew and ﬁeld threw their ﬁrst casts of the day. you got to keep reading your environment and Brian devote much of their time to practicWhile Brian uses a 3/16-ounce jig to changing with the ﬁsh, ’cause the ﬁsh are gonna ing on the water for their next competiwork the bottom of the lake, Andrew change all day,” says the professional angler. tion. Veterans of the sport, the pair has prefers a heavier one with faster fall, creLake Ozark However, despite long hours on the water and participated in numerous tournaments, ating a formidable combination that won • busy schedules, the thrill of achievement keeps experience that has taught them the them last year’s championship. Andrew and Brian coming back for more. importance of preparation prior to a “They’re both the kind of kids that like competition. to do puzzles, and that’s what this sport is, More lines in the water “There’s some luck, but most of it’s just ﬁguring out a puzzle,” says Larry Pahl, Missouri’s ﬁrst high school bass ﬁshing state just increasing your odds of catching Brian’s father who also took part in the competition championship came to fruition through the efforts something,” says Andrew. as the team “coach.” of the TBF national board, youth director and presiThe day before launch, Andrew and Brian familiarized themselves with the TBF casts for kids lake, which plays as much a role In its second year, The Bass Federation (TBF) tourin the tournament as the comnament attracted high school anglers from across petitors. With more than 1,000 the state where teams of two competed to advance miles of shoreline, Lake of the to the next level of competition at the conference Ozarks, though one of the best championship. Eight teams were part of the Federaﬁsheries in Missouri, presents a tion’s effort to make competitive bass ﬁshing more unique set of challenges. accessible to the country’s youth. “There’s more docks here Paving the way for competitive youth bass ﬁshthan anywhere I’ve ﬁshed,” says ing in Missouri, TBF hosts tournaments and castAndrew. ing competitions to spread the word and get kids Adapting to each lake’s parinterested in ﬁshing and conservation. Through TBF ticular characteristics and buildYouth, the Federation has a number of initiatives to ing the “mental toughness” involve kids and young adults including the Student required to maintain focus durAngler Federation for high schoolers. ing the long hours under the “The problem with ﬁshing is that a lot of people elements can make competitive would do it but don’t know about it,” says Andrew, ﬁshing extremely difﬁcult. who ﬁrst started ﬁshing competitively after going to Brian Maloney of Osage a casting competition at a Bass Pro Shops store. Beach, recent winner of the As the teams scoured the water for their quarry of Walmart BFL All-American tourthe heaviest catch possible within the ﬁve-ﬁsh limit, nament on the Potomac, also a boat captain, or “coach,” is responsible for angler emphasized the sport’s chalsafety and operating the boat. Pro bass angler Brian Maloney chats with the Hollister High School team at the lenging nature during a talk he Any ﬁsh caught that meets the minimum length Missouri High School State Fishing Championship at Lake of the Ozarks. D by Katie Alaimo kalaimo@ruralmissouri.coop photos by Kyle Spradley Reeling in the High school anglers get a c 20 WWW.RURALMISSOURI.COOP http://WWW.RURALMISSOURI.COOP

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - July 2012

Rural Missouri - July 2012
Contents
Comments
Columns
A peach of a place
Quilting for a cause
Outdoors
Corralling the faithful
Out of the Way Eats
Platte City’s jewel
Reeling in the competition
Hearth and Home
News Briefs
Rita & Little Ollie
Around Missouri
Marketplace
Neighbors
Just4Kids

Rural Missouri - July 2012