(Okoboji, IA) – The Southwest Iowa Fishing Teams competed against 65 other teams in the 2024 Strike King High School and Junior Bass Fishing Iowa State Championships on Saturday while braving through the unfavorable weather conditions. Out of those 65 teams, there were 45 high school teams and 20 junior division teams.
This was the second straight year that the State Championships were held on the Okoboji’s and it favored very well for the juniors and the high schoolers. Starting with the juniors, the Atlantic Trojan team of Colton Anderson and Holden DeVore had a five-fish limit weight of 16.11 pounds. DeVore also hauled in the second-biggest fish of the tournament weighing in at 5.97 pounds. The other teams in Southwest Iowa’s fishing team were fourth-place finishers Timothy Donovan and Talan Vanisrsdol with 12.52 pounds. Griswold’s Colton and Caden Frieze came in fifth with a weight of 12.19 pounds. The top two teams will be going to the Junior World Championships from July 23rd through the 26th. Atlantic’s Grayson Molgaard and Owen Miller will be going in July to compete as well.
In the high school division, Nolan Ponstein and Cole Carstens led the way with a five-fish limit that weighed 20.60 pounds and included a 5.7-pound kicker fish. Coming in second were Noah Franken and Brody Boogerd with 18.68 pounds, Ethan Timmerman and Ty Timmerman earned third with 16.86 pounds, and fourth place was Gavin Lindstrom and Blake Schwartz with 16.69 pounds. All four teams earned their spot in the National Championships in South Carolina from June 19th through the 22nd. Atlantic”s Joaquin and Jake Wailes and CAM’s Owen and Brentyn Hoover will be joining those teams in South Carolina.
As SAF director Bob Harris began the weigh-in, he began with “Wow! That’s all I can say! What a day, what strong competition, and what a fishery! We are so excited to be here. Thanks to all our teams, boat captains, parents, the many sponsors, and the volunteers. They all make this tournament the success that it is.”
Speaking of moments that made Harris go “wow,” the largest bass in the High School Division weighted-in at 7.39 pounds was caught by Rowen Oostra and Isaiah Van Maamen.
