The 13th Annual High School Fishing World Finals and National Championship dual event will take place June 22-25 in Florence, Ala. on Pickwick and Wilson Lakes. Teams from most U.S. States and multiple foreign countries, including Canada, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, are expected to compete for a share of the richest prize pool in all of bass fishing – the total amount of scholarships and prizes offered the event is $3 million dollars, according to the TBF Student Angler Federation (SAF).
The student anglers pay no entry fee to compete. The World Finals portion is the largest of all national High School events, and where the bulk of the prizes and scholarships are awarded. It is also the most difficult to win.
The World Finals is open to any SAF member in the world, so all anglers attending will be competing in the World Finals. At the same time, on the dual-stage, the top 10 percent of High School teams from all SAF sanctioned events – including Major League Fishing High School Fishing tournaments – in the last year are qualified to compete in the National Championship event, with its own set of prizes and scholarships that will top $500,000. The National Championship-qualified teams are entered into both events and have a chance at both prize pools all in one trip.
Each High School team consists of three people to a boat – two High School Fishing anglers and their adult boat captain or coach. Altogether, the 2022 High School Fishing World Finals and National Championship are estimated to bring roughly 3,000 people to Florence for the week-long event.
“We are excited to be heading back to Florence, Alabama,” said The Bass Federation president and CEO Robert Cartlidge. “Florence fits this event as it has a great facility, a great fishery and many things for the families to do while in the area. And the anglers love it.
“From the start, neither the TBF /SAF, nor our partners in fishing at MLF – who were among the first to join our SAF movement and grow it side by side with us – require any entry fees for our regular High School events," Cartlidge continued. “Nor do we pay cash to kids at High School events. It is always prizes and scholarships. The result has been the explosion we currently see in High School Fishing participation nationwide, and it all adds up to a good, wholesome experience for the kids and their families, which is what we all want.”
Student anglers will launch each day at 5:30 a.m. CT from McFarland Park, located at 200 Jim Spain Drive in Florence. Weigh-ins will also be held at McFarland Park, beginning at 1:30 p.m. each day.
In addition to the college scholarships and prizes offered, the High School Fishing National Champions will also advance to the 2022 MLF Toyota Series Championship, held Nov. 3-5 on Lake Guntersville, to compete as co-anglers and a shot at the top prize of a new Phoenix 518 Pro boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit HighSchoolFishing.org.
