Jessieville anglers finish No. 19 in World Finals
Two Jessieville High School anglers have plenty to boast about after finishing 19th in the world at the High School Fishing World Finals in Florence, Ala., last month.
Larry Selig and Braxton Shifflett were just one of the 384 teams that descended upon Florence, Ala., for the four-day tournament on Lake Pickwick for their second-straight appearance in the World Finals.
“Pickwick was a tournament that had been on my mind all year,” Shifflett said. “It is a lake that is totally different than any lake we have here in Arkansas. It is a river system with a few creeks but it is known for its ledge fishing. My confidence was high going into the tournament; I had done a lot of research on that body of water.”
Selig admitted he was a bit nervous going into the tournament.
“I focused on trying to keep calm,” he said. “I knew this was a big tournament. I just did things like when we were at home: try and be consistent and just fish. It was nerve-wracking.”
With three days to earn the right to fish on the final day, Selig and Shifflett had a slow start, landing just 6 pounds on the first day and failing to boat any fish on the second and falling to 254th.
“We knew that we had to catch a lot to get to that last day,” Selig said, noting the top two teams from each state after the first two days advanced while the other teams had a second-chance tournament to make the finals. “The first two days, the fish and weights were combined. The third day, they cleared the weights, and we started over.”
The third day saw the duo boat five fish for 18 lbs. 1 oz., the fifth highest total of the day and putting them among the top 30 teams.
“Heading into the weigh-in we felt really good about that day,” Shifflett said. “We had stayed in one spot fishing the
same ledge all day, and it paid off big.”
Last year, the pair failed to make it to the final day, landing
16 lbs. 2 oz. in the first two days for 96th overall, but in the second chance round, they could only bring in a bag of 8 lbs. 5 oz., finishing 78th. Despite the result, they were optimistic of their chances this year.
“We knew that there would be less pressure on the water and maybe we could bring in another big bag to the scales,” Shifflett said. “Leaving out for the fourth and final day, we made a 25-minute run to our spot. Our first bite was a 3.5 pounder in the first
30 minutes of fishing. My confidence was really high, and I knew we could catch a few more good ones.”
The duo landed five fish for a day’s total of 12 lbs. 3 oz. to finish 19th.
“I have one more year to compete for a World Finals Championship, and hopefully next year will be the year,” Shifflett says.
Shifflett and Selig have fished about 20 tournaments this season, and they will wrap up the season with the Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series National Championship next month. The tournament will be held Aug. 2-4 on Kentucky Lake on the Tennessee River in Paris, Tenn.