WORD FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WELCOME GHSA BASS FISHING FANS
Welcome to the 2025 GHSA Bass Fishing State Championships! Todayʼs event is sure to be exciting as all of the schools represented are looking forward to their team achieving the title of “Champion”. However, we all know that all of our teams are outstanding and are defi nitely winners. This has been an outstanding season and this yearʼs championships will include familiar faces as well as teams that have worked hard and peaked at just the right time. Our congratulations are in order for all of the teams, coaches, administrators, students and parents who have supported the athletes through this yearʼs journey to the state championships.
I would also like to thank you for your support of high school bass fishing throughout the season. Your support is integral to the success of high school athletics and for the team and anglers you are here to cheer on. Good sportsmanship is expected from our athletes, and I urge you to be positive in your support of all of our teams. Letʼs work together to make todayʼs event a great experience for all involved.
To put on an event of this magnitude takes many volunteers who have worked tirelessly to provide a “fi rst-class” event. The GHSA staff has been working for weeks to ensure a special event for all involved.
Finally, I would like to thank our corporate sponsors who make it possible to put on these championships. Their advertisements can be seen throughout this guide and I encourage you to support them whenever possible. The GHSA wants to thank these exemplary companies for their involvement, we appreciate their support!
Thank you for your support and I know you are going to enjoy the best high school bass fishing anywhere!
Dr. Tim Scott Executive Director
The 2025 Georgia High School Association Bass Fishing Championship Guide is published by Score Media, a division of Score Atlanta, in conjunction with the GHSA. The guide was designed by Laura Grieve, and edited by Craig Sager II, Seth Ellerbee and Graham David.
BASS FISHING CHAMPIONSHIP MAKES TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO LAKE LANIER
The state of Georgiaʼs most prestigious high school bass fishing tournament is upon us. The GHSA State Championship tournament is making its triumphant return to the waters of Lake Sidney Lanier for the first time since the tournamentʼs inaugural year in 2021.
A UNIQUE CHALLENGE
Lake Lanier is the largest lake located within the state of Georgia and will pose a challenge that has not yet been seen on this yearʼs tournament schedule. The 37,000-acre lake is unlike most other large lakes in the state. The lake fishes more like the small mountain lakes of Northeast Georgia than the large lakes of Middle and South Georgia. The lake most similar to Lanier, Lake Hartwell, was not on the schedule this year, having been moved off to make room for Lanier.
Lanier is also known for its unique fishing. While most lakes in the state and country are known for largemouth bass, Lanier is known for its massive spotted bass, which are some of the biggest in the world, and their unique behavior. In most lakes, the spotted bass donʼt get as big as the largemouth and tend to spawn and live in very similar places. At Lanier, the spots live very differently. They both live
and spawn in deeper water and must be fished for very differently. Over the years, most tournaments have been won with just a few big spots.
THE CHALLENGERS
This year, there were only three qualifying tournaments, unlike most years, when there are four. This
is because the Lake Seminole tournament was canceled due to a winter storm. As a result, an extra 26 boats qualified during the other three tournaments. The first tournament to be held was the annual event at Lake Oconee, where 29 boats quali-
BY HAYDEN GILBERT
fied. The pair of Hoyt English and Jake Grantham, out of Coffee High School, dominated the tournament by almost two pounds with a five-fish bag that weighed 17 pounds, 10 ounces.
The second tournament, at the former championship location of Clarks Hill Lake, saw multiple massive bags weighed in, over 18 pounds. The winning bag, weighed in by the South Forsyth duo of Maddox Ferrell and Finley Edwards, came in at an impressive 19 pounds, 3 ounces, the heaviest bag so far this year. Along with them, 28 other boats qualified for the state tournament.
The last qualifying tournament was held at West Point Lake. The final weigh-in was not even close, with the team of Nolan Holloway and Ben Lanford bringing in a bag that missed being the biggest of the season by just one ounce, 19 pounds, 2 ounces, nearly three pounds more then second place. Along with them, the final 28 boats qualified for the finals.
The 111 boats that qualified for the championship will now be looking to become the fifth team to win a GHSA Bass Fishing State Championship. The unique challenges will push the anglers to their limits, and the best will surely rise to the top, joining the short and prestigious list of champions.
ADD. STATE QUALIFIERS
West Laurens James Brooks Ryan Soles
Lowndes Colton Lupton
Garrett Golden
Perry Gracie Wilkes Ava Castleberry
Lee County Rigby Brown
Dawson Nesbit
East Forsyth Robbie Culbertson Sophia Lee
Lee County Dylan Arnold
Lanier Bryce Garner
Lee County Zac Eubanks
Appling County Jace Tillman
Thomas Hoey
Cooper Martin
Reilly Marshal
Jaxon Baxley
South Forsyth Samuel Harvey Coehn Mcdaniel
South Paulding Hunter Dickson
Effingham County Ezra Martin
Ware County Waylon Smith
Bowen Baxter
Marshall Davis
Kyler Mathews
Jefferson Wyatt Dunagan Lucas Bennett
Brantley County Hayden Hickox
Loganville Jack Streetman
Brantley County Saybree Niece
Houston County Conner Lopez
Benedictine Miller Frederich
Jackson Landon Skelton
Alexander Josh Hagler
Ware County Cody Gay
Lee County Weston Anderson
Brysen Chancey
Chase Ivester
Waylon Thomas
Brandt Singleton
Nolan Crouch
Kason Ingram
Pierce Gragg
Clary Kinnon
Tyler Henderson
Houston County Keegan McCullough Daemyn Jones
Appling County Daniel De La Mora Taylor “Mabry” Fannin
Ware County Grant Geiger Colt Cox
CLARKS HILL LAKE LAKE OCONEE WEST POINT LAKE
Lambert Dylan Johnson
Hart County Kason Carden
Marist Tanner Karakis
Buford Conner Thomson
South Forsyth Charles Roberts
Jack Crabtree
Kain Norris
Miller Moore
Emerson Botham
Reese Mutter
Pickens Wyatt Richards Colby Goforth
Perry James Wall
Colquitt County Hadyn Glass
Drake Fleming
Andrew Stanford
Wayne Central Tucker Chalfant Tripp Harvey
Clarke Central Bo Broderick
Greenbrier Adrien Chavez
Tift County Walton Slaven
Tift County Cole Mcdaniel
Effingham Zachary Ambrose
Brantley County Randy Johns
Mary Persons Jude McCoy
Rockmart Beau Warren
Harris County Brayden Moss
Hart County Cooper Sanders
Ridgeland Corbin Roden
North Paulding Tristan Dickerson
Whitewater Dalton Smith
Fellowship Christian Clark Brasfield
North Forsyth Olivia Coffey
Richmond Hill Griffin Spence
Skylar Magnerella
Cameron Price
Sophie Guess
Logan Cargle
Tucker Smith
Payton Hanche
Caden Price
Cooper Cole
Kason Goolsby
Clayton Segers
Elijah Roden
Wyatt Eubanks
Edward Blanchard
Gavin Smith
Evangeline Murtagh
Issac Buhles
Richmond Hill Ryan Fitzgerald Exander Erb
Peachtree Ridge Hunter Kane
Calvary Day Kaden Batts
Haydn Kane
Will Bauer SCHOOL
Coffee Hoyt English Jake Grantham
Prince Avenue Christian Luke Milner Drew Williams
Jefferson Jacob Janning Ben Wilson
South Forsyth Sam String Braeden Jones
South Forsyth Chad Dupree Roman Franks
Oconee County Churchill Harris Campbell Patterson
Newnan Gavin Martin Luke Chambless
Tift County Mason Lundy Canton Moore
Temple Chad Seagraves Rylan Daniell
Effingham County Ty Griffin Andrew Greene
Greenbrier Evan Beard Tyler Wilson
Colquitt County Hayden Hamm John Davis Sumerlin
Jefferson Kaylee Jenkins Lily Gaddy
South Forsyth Finley Edwards Maddox Ferrell
Swainsboro Maddox Robertson Lexsy Brown
Jackson Carson Lamb Gage Greene
Prince Avenue Christian Jackson Berry Conner Mitchell
Central Jonah Yates Wyatt Harmon
OLA Dominic Hibbs Skylar Spence
Greenbrier Tripp Tamasi Matthew Johnson
Newnan Tayson Harrison Taylor Duncan
Pike County Tristen Sowell John Bell
Ware County Evan Geiger Mason Tyre
Richmond Hill Owen Osden Aiden Pluff
Brantley County Benjamin Carter Carter Steed
Glynn Academy Miles Johnson Reid Graham
North Forsyth Peyton Adams Evan Frasier
Houston County Carter Gray Ashton Foiles
Greenbrier Thomas Wilson Adam Jaugstetter
Morgan County Nolan Holloway Ben Lanford
Hebron Christian Lucas Bishop Landon Lofters
Callaway Jackson Adams Tripp Glover
Lanier Bryson Dover Wyatt Andrews
South Forsyth Owen Temple Coonor Finkelstien
Prince Avenue Porter Barnett Sage Milner
Trion Rayne Melton AJ Simpson
Richmond Hill Carson Goode Jackson Hopper
Tift County Walker Kaiser Eston Brownlee
Thomas County Central Clay Croft Jack Taylor
Peach County Landon Austin Landon Latour
Jackson Rylan Valentine Josh Campbell East Forsyth Nick Mapp Hayes Wood
Lumpkin County Porter Self Wyatt Chambers
Colquitt County Brayden Bell Walker Story
Fellowship Christian Robert Ray Sam Murhy
Thomas County Central Blake Rhodes Haven Beverly
Mary Persons Kaleb Landry Benjamin Morris
Thomas County Central Finton Lane Collin Smith
Fellowship Christian Griffin Wells Jackson Young East Paulding Caysen Baggett Aiden Prusan
Dawson County Carter Cunningham Landon Glander
Buford Austin Cheek Brody Ammons
OLA Angel Landeros-Vallejo Seth Gentry
Ware County Marc Taylor Landon Walker
Central Levi Irby Cooper Lee
Marist Henry Rodrigue Forrest Briesacher
Peach County Fisher Fuller Landyn Barton