Championship Angling on Lake Blackshear This Weekend
CORDELE, Ga. – Lake Blackshear will host the Houston County Student Bass Angler Tournament (HCSBAT) Championship Friday and Saturday.
HCSBAT is a tournament league comprised of student athletes devoted to the preservation of our waterways with a focus on the sport of bass fishing. This weekend, youngsters representing schools throughout the county will compete to see who can land the largest bass. “I started this program in 2014 because I saw how powerful fishing could be in the lives of young people,” said Ike Thompson, Head Coach of the Veterans High School Bass Team. “It gives student anglers an opportunity to compete, build relationships, learn responsibility, and grow in confidence while spending time outdoors.”
The first competition is the Program Championship on Friday. This will determine which school gets the legacy trophy for the 2025-2026 season. This trophy will be displayed in the school trophy case for the next school year. Schools pick four anglers who will fish from two boats. Those four anglers’ weights from six total fish will be combined. The school with the most weight at the end of this event will be crowned the HCSBAT Program Champion.
On Saturday, the traditional style HCSBAT Championship will take place. Participating anglers are those that competed in the Houston County Student Bass Angler Tournament Series, qualifying for the championships by either finishing in the Top 3 of any of the 5 regular season events or competing in the required minimum number of events. Each boat will compete against all other boats in their division. The boat that weighs in the most weight for a five-fish limit will be crowned the HCSBAT Champion for the 2025-2026 season.
The kids will also be trolling the lake for garbage as well. The idea is to not only develop fishing skills, but to preserve these environments for future anglers to enjoy. “Our last regular season event back on April 18 was titled ‘Reeling in the Rubbish,’ and in this event our anglers were required to weigh in a bag of trash removed from the lake before they could weigh in any fish. We removed 336 pounds from Lake Sinclair,” said Mr. Thompson. “We are hoping to do this on Lake Blackshear and are currently looking for partners in the initiative.”
HCSBAT is affiliated with Georgia High School Association (GHSA). GHSA hosts four regular season events and the GHSA State Championship. That Championship occurred last weekend in Milledgeville on Lake Sinclair. HCSBAT was represented by 12 anglers that qualified for the event; four of those anglers finished in the Top 25. “More than anything, it provides community while teaching teamwork, commitment, and character—lessons that will stay with them long after the tournaments are over,” said Mr. Thompson. More information about the GHSA and its student bass fishing league can be found here.
