Local News

Baker, Goodwin win Junior World Championship

WHIPPLE -- Colton Baker and Grayson Goodwin, both 13, won The Bass Federation Junior World Championship on July 28.

Baker is an incoming eighth-grader at Marietta Middle School and Goodwin is an incoming eighth-grader at Fort Frye Middle School. They qualified by winning The Bass Federation Junior State Championship in May.

Goodwin and Baker also won the B.A.S.S. Nation Junior tournament in April, which qualified them to participate in the national Junior Tournament July 21-23 on Lake Hartwell, S.C. They placed 17th out of 125 teams.

"They did really well at that tournament, but they were disappointed. I told them that's how it goes sometimes," said Glynn Goodwin, Grayson's dad.

The team didn't have much time to dwell on it, since they traveled 14 hours from Lake Hartwell to Ponca City, Okla., for the The Bass Federation Junior World Championship to start.

Contestants are allowed to navigate the lake prior to competition to get a feel for the conditions. Grayson noted the difference between the two tournaments.

"At Lake Hartwell, we got three days to practice. In Oklahoma we got a day and a half, he said."

The competition started on July 26. Since it was a junior championship, Glynn went out in the boat with Colton and Grayson.

"Since they're not in high school, they're required to have a boat captain. I drive the boat and help them navigate," Glynn said.

The weather was hotter than they expected, Grayson said.

"It was about 105 degrees every day. Even the wind was hot. Like a heater blowing on you," he said.

Grayson said since the lake was small (approximately 5,000 square miles), their competitors were easily seen.

"Every spot we fished, there were two other boats," he said.

Between two days of competition, the team caught three fish. The weight of their fish qualified them to finish in the top two of their region, which qualified them for the final day on July 28.

Grayson said he felt good about his and Colton's chances going in.

"Most people's bags were good the first day but got less the second day. I thought we could get a big bag," he said.

Before launching their boats into the water, the order was drawn by a random number. Colton and Grayson were first. They went into the water around 6:20 a.m. The boys caught two fish early on, but one proved to be a problem, causing Grayson's line to snap due to the weight.

"I thought I'd lost us the tournament," he said.

Grayson and Colton caught a couple more, which was documented by the tournament photographer, Keith Hayes of Oklahoma High School Fishing. As Hayes started to drive away, Colton told him not to leave.

"I told him, you're our good luck charm! He's like, 'I'm sorry, I need to take pictures of the other boats, too.'" he said.

The team ended up catching nine fish all together, but kept the tournament limit of five. When they docked, the leading team had brought in five fish that weighed 12 lbs and 8 oz. The team felt good about their chances, but the scale was the final say.

Grayson and Colton's final weight was 15 lbs and 8 oz. Several family members were there to celebrate the winning moment such as Colton's dad, Scott.

The team won $3,000 each in scholarships courtesy of the Bass Federation.

Glynn said he never imagined experiencing these wins when they entered the tournaments in April and May.

"When we first started this, we had no idea they would be international championships in fishing," he said. "It's amazing to think about."

He also expressed gratitude to his friend Casey Coffee for allowing Grayson and Colton to join their youth fishing club based in Perry County since one wasn't available in Washington County.

"We wanted to start one here, but it wouldn't have been able to start on time. So we joined his Renegade Bass Club. Without him, none of this would have happened," he said.