Howdy fishermen (and women)! High schools across the nation are expanding their sport repertoire to include a new activity: fishing! If you grew up in the Oklahoma Panhandle like me, this most likely wouldn’t have been an option. If you were lucky, you knew a farmer with a tailwater pit that held some channel cats and blue cats in which you could wet a line. There certainly was no fishing at Lake Optima (if you haven’t heard of it, look it up on Wikipedia; what a disaster).
Chisholm High School has started a new bass fishing club that competes in statewide tournaments. While still relatively new, Chisholm had TWO teams place in the top ten out of over 60 teams this past weekend at Keystone Lake. Gradee Adair and Kutter Smith (sophomores) placed second, and Hayden Hatchel and Kelson Hamilton (seniors) placed sixth! Hayden said more than anything he likes the competitive part of fishing tourneys (if you saw either him or Kelson play sports, you’d know why) and also the fact it brings a different group of same-aged kids together at each event. He’s hopeful to be able to compete in the state tournament in the Spring. His boat captain was his father, Glen Hatchel, (don’t tell Glen, but I’m a better fisherman than he is). Ha!
Gradee’s favorite part (other than the fishing itself) is the rush of 80 bass boats roaring off before the sun rises. Gradee has already been contacted by universities for potential college scholarships for their bass clubs (more on that in a bit.) If you know Gradee, this part won’t surprise you; he wanted to give a special thanks to Kyle Smith (Kutter’s dad) for being their boat captain and former Chisholm Superintendent (and all-around good guy) Royden Tilley for filling in when needed.
As for scholarships, most universities offer “Bass clubs,” which are club teams not sanctioned by the NCAA. That allows participants to keep their winnings as well as use sponsorships. Universities in Oklahoma that provide scholarships include Oklahoma State University, Northeastern State University, the University of Central Oklahoma (Go Bronchos!), and Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
The 2024 Oklahoma College Bass Championship will be held at Ft. Gibson in October. For more information on Oklahoma high school club tournaments, see obnhs.profishingtournaments.com.
Go get those lunkers boys!
