Nania, Schultz repeat as champions
JUNCTION CITY, Kansas - It was a day of repeat championships for BASS' youth competitors last weekend in the Junior Bassmaster World Championship and the Bassmaster CastingKids Championship.
Joey Nania of Liberty Lake, Wash., claimed a second JWC title, this time in the 15-18-year-old age group at Geary County State Lake. While that was occurring, Jonny Schultz of Maumelle, Ark., defended his Bassmaster CastingKids Championship at Junction City High School.
Twelve JWC anglers qualified for the championship event, two from each of the six Federation Nation divisions. The 12 junior competitors are split into two age groups, 11-14 and 15-18. All JWC contenders will receive academic college scholarship awards, with the top angler in each age division receiving a $5,000 scholarship.
Two fish clinch it
Nania, who won the 2005 title in the 11-14 age group, brought two fish to the scales totaling 4 pounds, 1 ounce, for the title. He had three bites, with the first falling short of the 15-inch legal length by a quarter-inch.
The final two were caught in shallow water on a Spro Little John crankbait in crawdad color. The last largemouth was caught about 10 minutes before the end of the day, weighing 2-1, and that was large enough to win the Purolator Big Bass of the tournament to earn an additional $1,000 in scholarships.
"This feels good to win and has been a long dry spell," Nania said. "This was my fifth Junior World Championships. I really worked hard for this tournament."
Nania, 17, and his father drove 1,500 miles from Washington to practice and identify key spots for Saturday's tournament. The early practice paid off as Nania also won a fully rigged Triton/Mercury Alliance sponsored boat package.
"The water has dropped like 5 degrees since I first started fishing Tuesday," Nania said. "It was better fishing earlier this week. In practice I found a couple of crankbait fish. With the cold front they closed their mouths so I decided to trick them into biting the crankbait, just something to fly by them."
In the 11-14 age division of the JWC, the six-angler field battled cold and windy conditions, unable to bring any legal catches to the scales. The six contestants will equally divide $11,000 in scholarships, with each angler earning just over $1,800.
In the 11-14 age division of the JWC, the six-angler field battled cold and windy conditions, unable to bring any legal catches to the scales. The six contestants will equally divide $11,000 in scholarships, with each angler earning just over $1,800.
