PICKENS COUNTY — The fish were biting on Lake Keowee on Saturday for the 2015 Blazer Bass Bonanza, part of the Palmetto Boat Center’s High School Tournament Trail.
Twenty-five area schools, including Easley High School, competed in the bass fishing tournament that was hosted by Greer Middle College and held at Mile Creek Park in Six Mile.
Claiming top honors from Westside High School was Thomas Hubbard and Trey Hurst, whose five catch limit weight totalled 13 pounds, 2 ounces. Dorman High School finished a close second when Charlie Guest and Michael Lyon hit 11 pounds, .58 ounces.
Rounding out the top three was Chaz Murphy and Griffin Todd from TL Hanna High School with a total weight of 10.61.
Easley High School made the top 10 with Austin Taylor and Bailey Turner turning in five bass that weighed a combined 9.56 — enough to place sixth.
In total, there were 74 teams out in force during the catch-and-release tournament. All combined, 245 fish were pulled from the Keowee waters on Saturday. It was the first of six scheduled tournaments in the area.
To participate, teams were issued a numbered key float before heading out onto the lake. The keychains were then “checked in” as anglers returned with their catch to ensure no one was left stranded out on the water. Late boats were penalized, as were teams with dead fish.
All school and South Carolina Department of Natural Resources regulations were observed during the tournament, including mandated fishing licenses. All were required to be largemouth, spotted, redeye or small mouth bass that reached a minimum of at least 12 inches in length.
Boat launch sequences were decided by a random drawing with late-comers shuttled to the end of the line.
Next up for the young fishermen (and women) is Lake Hartwell at Green Pond on Oct. 10 followed by Lake Russell off Ramp 72.
