Making the right catch
Texarkana teen to compete in national bass tournament
TEXARKANA, Ark. — Hayden Adams is checking off one of his life-long dreams at the age of 17. Adams won the Arkansas state championship of the Big Bass Junior Championship in its inaugural season with a bass he caught on Millwood Lake.
Hayden, a senior at Trinity Christian High School, will be one of 46 contestants representing their state in the BBJC nationals this week.
The Big Bass Junior Championship national tournament, will be held Saturday on Lake Pend Oreille in Sandpoint, Idaho. The participants will compete for a new Bass Cat Margay as well as over $350,000 in scholarships and prizes.
“It’s crazy (making it to the national final); I’ve never got to do anything like this,” Hayden said. “Growing up bass fishing my entire life, watching my dad, tournament fishing and when I wasn’t fishing, watching BassMasters on T.V., I’ve always wanted to compete on a national level. So it’s like a dream come true; it’s really cool.”
The BBJC was started by hall of fame bass fisherman Bill Siemantel after he came up with the idea for a format near the end of 2018.
Youth bass fishermen were able to qualify from Jan. 1 through August 15 in their own state — or any state for that matter — and has grown with the help of big sponsors, including Bassin, Bass Cat, Bethel University
— which is giving away five $28 thousand scholarships — and many others.
“The beauty of this is it’s state versus state,” Siemantel said. “After they’ve qualified in their own state, all 50 kids get to come back to go to an event to see who is the U.S. champion. When it’s all laid out on the line, who’s going to catch the biggest fish in that tournament?”
There were four state champions whom opted out of participating in the national tournament.
Hayden fished in both Texas and Arkansas, and he won the Arkansas title with a bass he pulled in while prefishing for a Rod Bender’s tournament he competed in with his dad. Hayden is the son of Greg and Angela Adams.
“Hayden started fishing tournaments with me when he was 12 or 13; he started fishing long before then,” Greg Adams said. “He’s surpassed the teacher in a lot of ways.
“We participate in our Rod Bender’s tournaments around here, and we finish in the top five all the time. A lot of it has to do with what he does when we’re fishing. I’m real proud of him.”
In preparation for the national tournament, Hayden has been studying the lake in anticipation for when he will control the boat. Along with an adult to drive the boat, competitors will have two people per boat.
The event will be eight hours long, and each fishermen will have four hours to direct the boat on the lake.
“I’ve been staring at Google Maps and charts (for the lake), trying to map out where I want to go, when I’m running the boat and where I want to fish,” Hayden said. “I’ve been tweaking my tackle, to make sure I have everything I’m going to need for that eight hours of fishing.”
The official weigh-in will be at 3 p.m. PST and will be live streamed on the Big Bass Facebook page.
Hayden uses all different rods and reels, although he grabs for his Falcon rod with a Lew’s Reel more often than not. For tackle he uses a plethora of lures.
Upon hearing word of his win in Arkansas, Hayden went through a number of emotions.
“I was scared,” Hayden said. “I didn’t know if we were going to get to go, for sure, to Idaho (for the national tournament). I was praying, ‘Please Lord, let me be able to get up there.’
“It was kind of scary, but we got through it and raised the money.”
The Adamses started a Facebook page as part of a grassroots GoFundMe campaign to help with the cost of the trip. They raised the money for the event.
“The neat thing about Hayden is that he was one of the first ones, months ago, to jump on with what we were doing,” Siemantel said. “Kids like Hayden, you see their demeanor, their professionalism, their attitude, and it’s inspiring to see at such a young age. A lot of that comes from the parents and the way they were raised.”