Placing in the top 10% guaranteed them a berth at the Bassmaster High School National Championships to be held on Lake Chickamauga in early August. The team fishes local bass sanctioned trails in Arkansas such as the Ark-La-Tex Bassmaster Trail, directed by Jason Townsend, the AYBN Southern Trail, directed by Luci Johnson, and the Trader Bill’s High School Trail, directed by Melinda Mize.
This will be Willis’ third time to compete on a national level as he has qualified his sophomore, junior, and now senior year of high school. Moore will be competing on this level for the first time; he is in his sophomore year of high school. They fish for the Rattler Fishing Team out of Murfreesboro, Arkansas.
Willis and Moore pre-fished Douglas Lake on March 9, 2024. They did not have much luck during their pre-fish day. On competition day, their luck turned around though. After studying the lake, they decided to head upriver and got on some fish immediately, putting a limit of 5 fish in the boat in the first 30 minutes. They were able to spend the rest of the day looking for bigger fish and increasing their overall weight.
Bassmaster High School National normally accepts about 25 of the best high school fishing teams from Arkansas. Willis and Moore are excited to have qualified this early in the tournament season and are ready to compete against the top 500 out of 13,000 of the best youth anglers in the country.
Pate and Ryan would also like to thank their sponsors for their support and for providing them with the opportunity to fish these tournaments: Diamond City Trailer Mfg, Branch Oil Company, Pawn Kings, First State Bank, Feed Bin Café, Swaha Lodge N Marina, Bucks Maintenance, Castle Repair, Futrell Marine Nashville, J&S Auto Supply, LLC Bumper to Bumper, Staggs & Company Cabins LLC, Lovelis Refrigeration, Ole Tree Feller, Fishermans Cove, Terri’s Place, Telinga’s Mexican Restaurant Murfreesboro, Countryside Nursery, First National Insurance Agency, Jones Excavation, M&M Kustom Kreations, Peoples Pharmacy Murfreesboro, Lawrence Termite, Miles McKenzie & McKenzie Farms, Southwest Arkansas Poultry Service LLC, and 4B Logging.
