Monterey Anglers At Strike King Bassmaster High School Championship

Monterey High School Anglers J.W. Holloway and Jeffery Stewart will compete with teams from around the nation at the Bassmaster National Tournament that begins Thursday.

Holloway said he was sure they could bring in the limit every day but he was not sure they would be able to catch the tournament size fish for the win.

Holloway said regardless of whether they win or not, they always take come home with new  experiences from the fishing community.

“Out here in the fishing community on the water we all try to be nice to each other and help each other and respect each other’s boundaries,” Holloway said. “A lot of people help you out. It’s definitely been a team effort to get to this point. The big takeaway is everything in life is a team effort.”

Stewart said having no experience on Lake Hartwell was a disadvantage. He said they did not know the locations for the best catches or the types of lures the fish would be eating this time of year.

Holloway said regardless of the situation, they started every day the same.

“Every morning of the tournament whenever we go to launch and go out to our fishing spot, Jefferey and I do a little handshake and we say shake and bake baby,” Holloway said. “That’s from Ricky Bobby, Taladega Nights.

The Strike King Bassmaster High School Championship tournament takes place at Lake Hartwell South Carolina Thursday through Saturday with kickoff at 6:20 a.m. daily.