FISHING FOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Cole Koenig and Kyle Mann reeled in success from a boat on the East Coast recently.
The two Lodi High sophomores, who are members of the Lodi High bass team, competed at the Student Angler Federation’s 10th annual High School Fishing World Finals and National Championship Combined Event at Lake Pickwick in Florence, Ala. toward the end of June, where they took 104th place. Koenig and Mann had a combined weight of 17 1/2 pounds of bass between both of them, which advanced them to the finals.
“The boys are able to bring in their three heaviest fish; their three heaviest bass,” said Nick Welton, who is the team advisor/coach. “Those fish are weighed and carried over into the next day.”
This was the first time in the program’s existence that the Flames placed on the national level. There were 388 teams, with each squad having two students fishing, competing. The teams came from all over the United States.
During the three-day run, each teams are allowed to fish during eight hours each day.
Here’s the catch — pardon the pun: The bass have to be alive at the time the young fishermen bring in their bass at the end of each day.
“The bass are kept in an aerated livewell until weighed-in,” Welton said.
Then the bass are released back into the lake after weighin.
The top 31 teams that had the heaviest bass after two days advanced to the third day. The winning weight on the final day was 16 pounds, 6 ounces from a
Pavelski produced a goal and an assist in his return to spark a series-opening win over Colorado. “I still look at that goal, and coming back, it was emotionally,” he recalled. “The adrenaline I had skating out in warmups was real, and scoring that goal is one I will cherish. It was special.”
The Sharks’ championship hopes eventually were extinguished in the Western Conference finals, and so was Pavelski’s tenure.
“It’s tough to leave a team when you believe they have a chance to win as well, but we found a great home in Dallas,” Pavelski said.
His mangled mouth from that playoff-opening goal serves as a reminder of his grit as the Sharks’ captain.