06/27/2026
The 2026 Lake Cumberland National Championship and World Finals have come to a close. With the lake 17 feet below normal, depths of 120+ feet, and water so clear we could count the # of rocks on the bottom at 20 feet it really presented a great challenge to all of the 411 teams of student-anglers that participated. Our JHS Bass teams completed over the two and a half days of practice and 3 days of competition in the biggest high school fishing tournament in the country against the greatest young anglers.
Nick and Lakyn Saunders led the way finishing 50th out of the 237 National Championship field with 9 lbs 13 oz, The duo was 3rd out of all the 15 Ohio Teams barely missing on becoming back to back World Finals semifinalists, They finished the day 3 second chance round with 2 lbs to end up 156th out of 332 teams.
The duo of Wes Clagg and Brady Dailey with 9 lbs 11 oz was 4th out of all the 15 Ohio Teams in the 2 day qualifying round of the World Finals.
Teammates Coen Oyer and Brady Keirns had our best results in the second chance round with 3 lbs that put them in 125th place. They finished the World Finals in 185th with 4 lbs 15 oz.
Olivia Stacy and Grant Reigel weighed in 1 lb 14 oz in the second chance round for 165th. Hannah Wyant and Landon Stebelton weighed in 1 lb 11 oz good for 174th. Freshmen Shai Chambers and Jonah Armstrong despite catching a few bass that were a little than the minimum didn’t weigh a keeper.
We are so grateful for all of the support from our amazing community, sponsors, boat captains, school administration, and families of our student anglers. This was an opportunity of a lifetime for our student-anglers which wouldn’t have been possible without all of your support. So we want to give all of Jackson a great big thank you.
Our team showed great perseverance, dedication, and team work to attack a stingy Lake Cumberland this past week. The effort, research, and hours logged in practicing by our team is quite impressive. The lessons learned, friendships made, and learning how to work together will greatly benefit our team as we look toward the 2027 campaign