Last Saturday the Trion High School Bass Fishing Team had five teams weigh in out of ninety-five boats at a tournament on Lake Weiss, located in Alabama. Two of the Trion teams finished in the overall top three. Going in to Saturday, the Trion team was ranked fifth, but after a solid finish, they should move up considerably.
The team of Alyssa Parham and Caden Butler, middle school partners, finished second by only .02 lbs. behind a team from Lafayette.
Senior team, Cody Conner and Landyn Durham finished a close third, only .16 behind the first place finishers.
Tyler Pickle and Hunter Bradley, also a senior team, placed 41st. Noah McQuese and Tobey Deberry, juniors, placed 63rd, but could have placed better except for “the one that got away” just before the weigh in.
For those of us who haven’t had experience with competitive bass fishing, the Bass Team actually meets at approximately 3:00am in order to be on the water at “safe light” which is exactly what the term implies, the earliest time that it is actually safe to be on the water.
The team fished from safelight, which was about 6:30 eastern on Saturday, until the 2:00 pm weigh in. As official results are calculated and submitted, a big screen TV updates and presents results to teams waiting to see who will make the top five.
When all teams have weighed in, the top five teams in the tournament are recognized, and photos are taken. Trophies come to the top five at the next tournament so that personalization can be added.
On this particular Saturday, Mrs. Selena Conley, TMS teacher, hosted the team at her mother’s house on Lake Weiss for a cookout to celebrate the season and recognize the seniors. There were four seniors on this year’s team: Landyn Durham, Cody Conner, Tyler Pickle, and Hunter Bradley.
Team coach Jason Paseur, boat captains, and THS teacher Scott Petty and his wife attended the event with the team members. Mrs. Conley cooked burgers and hotdogs on the grill as the team hung out and enjoyed the night on the lake. While the team still has two tournaments left, Saturday was a great end-of-the-year celebration.
Contributing Author: Hope Thomas
