It was a day with no school, but many Italy ISD students woke up before dark hoping to feel the jerk of a line from a big fighting bass in the 1st Annual Gladiator Bass Club Land Tournament on Monday, April 16. It was a perfect day for fishing with sunny skies and temperatures reaching 80 degrees. Anglers in two age divisions competed for sponsored prizes by fishing from banks only, measuring fish for length and taking a photo as proof.

In the senior age division for Italy students in 7th thru 12th grade, Hunter Hinz came out on top winning a Lew’s rod and reel for 1st overall with a total of 92.75 inches measured from his best 5 fish. He also tied for single longest catch. Isaac Garcia also won a Lew’s rod and reel for 2nd overall with 84.5 inches in top 5 fish. Garcia also tied for single longest catch of 20 inches. The remaining order of finish was 3rd place Reese Janek, 4th place Garrett Janek, 5th place Jay Copeland, 6th place Colby Hampton and 7th place Colton May.

In the junior age division for students pre-K through 6th grade, Gavin Ramirez nabbed 1st place overall with a total length of 87.75 inches of best 5 fish and longest catch of 21.75 inches. Right on his tail with a total of 87.5 inches of best 5 fish, Austin Cate placed 2nd overall junior. Garrett Lennon caught the most fish in juniors with 12 and finished 3rd place overall with 73.5 inches. Hunter Copeland was 4th and Adella Garcia 5th.

The Gladiator Bass Club members would like to thank their sponsors who donated the prizes and drinks for the contest: Lew’s, Consulting Investigation Services, BHB Feed & Supply, Lights Out Lure Company, Line Cutterz, and Janek Farms.

Club members would also like to thank Kevin Janes organizer of the Line Cutterz Junior Division for personally delivering his prizes and talking to the club members about his sponsorship program and competitive fishing on the high school level.

Gladiator Bass Club was formed in the fall of 2017 and is open to any Italy Junior High or High School student with a passion for fishing. Club members competed in Central Texas High School Tournament Trail and Student Angler Federation bass tournaments this year. Two teams from Italy have qualified to the CTHSTT Championship to be held at Lake Waco on April 29.

For information about joining the bass club, or sponsoring the club please email the club’s parent advisor Julie Hinz at [email protected] or Italy ISD advisor Coach Jennifer Reeves at [email protected]. The kids must pay for all of their own fishing gear, jerseys, boats, gas and entry fees for high school competition, so sponsorships are very much needed and appreciated.