Kale Temple and Luke Schnell of Georgia’s Hart County Junior Anglers have won the 2023 Bassmaster Junior National Championship at Lake Hartwell with a two-day total of 21 pounds, 12 ounces.
Photo by Logan Crumley/B.A.S.S.
July 22, 2023
Temple and Schnell come from behind to win Bassmaster Junior Championship on Lake Hartwell
ANDERSON, S.C. — Kale Temple and Luke Schnell were only 4 ounces out of the Day 1 lead at the 2023 Bassmaster Junior National Championship, so they knew a good finish on Lake Hartwell might lock up the tournament title for them.
It did.
Temple and Schnell, who compete for the Hart County Junior Anglers just across the state line in Georgia, closed the gap with authority on Saturday, catching a three-bass limit of 10 pounds, 15 ounces. Coupled with their 10-13 limit on Friday, the boys posted a two-day total of 21-12, which was nearly 4 pounds more than their closest competitors.
The duo topped 123 teams from 32 states for the win on Lake Hartwell. They earned $2,000 in scholarship money, as well.
Being on their home water didn’t hurt their chances, but Temple and Schnell had to work from behind to win the derby. Their early bites on Saturday weren’t exactly the best, either.
“The water levels today were about 2 feet low,” Temple said. “We knew the shallow bite wouldn’t work, so we went offshore all day. Still, we only had about 5 pounds until about 11:30 or 12 o’clock. That’s when the fish started schooling and we were able to get a 4-pounder and a couple of 3-pounders.”
The boys said a bright and busy Saturday brought additional boat traffic to Hartwell, which actually helped their cause.
“There was a poker run today with about 400 pontoon boats,” Temple said. “All the boats stirred the bait up and the bass started coming up.”
Temple and Schnell, both 14, fished in anywhere from 10 to 35 feet of water, but the sweet spot was between 20 to 30 feet on Saturday. They threw Zoom Fluke worms (smoke/blue and disco ball) to boat their best bass.
“We’d fished this spot before,” Schnell said. “There’s a lot of shallow timber and the fish were in the tops of the trees … It’s amazing to win because we didn’t think we’d accomplish it with what we had at 11 o’clock.”
Isaac Temple, Kale’s dad and the duo’s boat captain for the tournament, said the teens put the work in to win the national title.
“They fished nonstop, including all the weekends that weren’t off limits,” he said. “They won Junior Anglers of the Year for the state of Georgia, so being on their home lake, I knew they’d be contenders.”
Colton Hembree and Tyson Browning of Kentucky’s Bluegrass Junior Bassmasters finished second with 18-2 and won $1,000 in scholarship money.
Tristan Stewart and DJ Johnson III, in first place after Day 1, wound up third with 17-10 and collected $500 in scholarship money. The duo is part of the Mt. Pleasant (Tenn.) Junior Bass Team.
Anderson Mesplay and Kelby Conrady, of the Mid-Kansas Kastmasters, also caught 17-10 and placed fourth after tiebreakers. The boys earned $400 for their showing and also split the $200 Big Bass Award for the 6-7 largemouth they caught on Saturday. That whopper easily topped Hembree and Browning’s 4-14 which led the Day 1 Big Bass standings.
Teams qualified for the championship through state competitions and four different Junior Opens held earlier this year on Florida’s Harris Chain of Lakes, Alabama’s Lay Lake, Tennessee’s Chickamauga Lake and the Red River in Louisiana.
Visit Anderson hosted the Bassmaster Junior National Championship.
2023 Bassmaster Junior National Championship 7/21-7/22
Lake Hartwell, Anderson SC.
(BOATER) Standings Day 2
Angler Club/School Pts
1. Kale Temple – Luke Schnell Hart County Jr Anglers – GA 0
Day 1: 3 10-13 Day 2: 3 10-15 Total: 6 21-12
2. Colton Hembree – Tyson Browning Bluegrass Junior Bassmasters – KY 0
Day 1: 3 10-07 Day 2: 3 07-11 Total: 6 18-02
3. Tristan Stewart – DJ Johnson III Mt. Pleasant Junior Bass Team – TN 0
Day 1: 3 11-01 Day 2: 3 06-09 Total: 6 17-10
4. Anderson Mesplay – Kelby Conrady Mid-Kansas Kastmasters – KS 0
Day 1: 3 06-15 Day 2: 3 10-11 Total: 6 17-10
5. Hank Riley – Ty Montgomery Lone Star Jr Bassmasters – TX 0
Day 1: 3 08-06 Day 2: 3 08-05 Total: 6 16-11
6. Jake Paradis – Nolan Savage L/A Junior Bassmasters – ME 0
Day 1: 3 08-09 Day 2: 3 08-01 Total: 6 16-10
7. Zac Arnold – Ross Clark Good Hope Fishing Team – AL 0
Day 1: 3 09-06 Day 2: 3 07-00 Total: 6 16-06
8. Jaxen White – Christopher Trobaugh Clay County Anglers – TN 0
Day 1: 3 07-13 Day 2: 3 07-11 Total: 6 15-08
9. Tyler Nelson – Seth Harrell Bandys High School – NC 0
Day 1: 3 06-03 Day 2: 3 08-09 Total: 6 14-12
10. Caleb Toubia – Isaac Toubia Kickback High School – KS 0
Day 1: 3 10-07 Day 2: 3 03-15 Total: 6 14-06
11. Cody Carboni – William Reynolds Live Oak Junior High School – LA 0
Day 1: 3 10-10 Day 2: 2 03-11 Total: 5 14-05
12. Eli Ledbetter – Collin Ledbetter Jr Southwest Bassmasters-Denham 0
Day 1: 3 08-00 Day 2: 3 06-03 Total: 6 14-03
13. Ryder Milam – Colton Milam Mecklenburg High School Junior A 0
Day 1: 3 08-01 Day 2: 3 05-07 Total: 6 13-08
14. Parker Terrell – Cameron Terrell Port City Jr. Bassmasters – NY 0
Day 1: 3 06-00 Day 2: 3 07-08 Total: 6 13-08
15. Caden Hall – Kaleb Wilson Russell County Middle School – K 0
Day 1: 3 09-06 Day 2: 3 03-14 Total: 6 13-04
16. Jack Kennedy – Brentley West Mid Florida Youth Anglers – FL 0
Day 1: 3 04-15 Day 2: 3 08-04 Total: 6 13-03
17. Grayson Goodwin – Colton Baker Renegades Perry County Jr Angler 0
Day 1: 3 06-10 Day 2: 3 06-08 Total: 6 13-02
18. Wyatt North – Wylie North Marion County High School Bassma 0
Day 1: 3 06-03 Day 2: 3 06-11 Total: 6 12-14
19. Lucas Gerlach – Brayden Nickless Denver Jr. Bassmasters – CO 0
Day 1: 3 07-03 Day 2: 3 04-12 Total: 6 11-15
20. Kingston Bartley – Wade Clemmensen Denver Jr. Bassmasters – CO 0
Day 1: 3 05-15 Day 2: 3 05-15 Total: 6 11-14
21. Jack Naas – JT Cross L/A Junior Bassmasters – ME 0
Day 1: 3 07-06 Day 2: 3 04-07 Total: 6 11-13
22. Daniel Ingram – Morgan Carden Shelby County Jr Anglers – AL 0
Day 1: 2 02-09 Day 2: 3 09-01 Total: 5 11-10
23. Conley Tyler – Tripp Martin Arkansas Youth Anglers – AR 0
Day 1: 3 07-05 Day 2: 2 04-04 Total: 5 11-09
24. Brennon Davidson – Hagen Barnes Brandon High School – MS 0
Day 1: 3 06-03 Day 2: 3 05-04 Total: 6 11-07
25. Luke Stewart – Austin Craze Southern WV Jr Bassmasters – WV 0
Day 1: 3 05-02 Day 2: 3 06-04 Total: 6 11-06
26. Ty Magargle – Brady Gunkle Junior Wildcats – PA 0
Day 1: 3 06-15 Day 2: 3 04-05 Total: 6 11-04
27. Vegas Iaconelli – Maxsim Hughen NJ BASS Nation Juniors – NJ 0
Day 1: 3 04-15 Day 2: 2 06-03 Total: 5 11-02
28. Dawson Turner – Ruby Caldwell Crescent High School Jr Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 05-10 Day 2: 3 05-07 Total: 6 11-01
29. Landon Grabert – Houma Christian School – LA 0
Day 1: 3 05-14 Day 2: 3 05-00 Total: 6 10-14
30. Nickolas Tinkle – Kaden Henderson Arkansas Youth Anglers – AR 0
Day 1: 3 03-12 Day 2: 3 06-14 Total: 6 10-10
31. Eli Herring – Hunter Lee Greene County Bassmasters – MS 0
Day 1: 3 06-15 Day 2: 3 03-10 Total: 6 10-09
32. Landon Horton – Eli Meckert Idaho Student Anglers – ID 0
Day 1: 3 07-06 Day 2: 3 03-01 Total: 6 10-07
33. Nash Parham – Jude Gibson Sumner County Jr Bass Team – TN 0
Day 1: 3 04-12 Day 2: 3 05-08 Total: 6 10-04
34. Landon Moore – Trig Mchone Meigs Middle School – TN 0
Day 1: 3 05-05 Day 2: 2 04-12 Total: 5 10-01
35. Colton Willging – Finn Boyle Dubuque Bass Club – IA 0
Day 1: 3 05-05 Day 2: 3 04-09 Total: 6 09-14
36. Fisher Butler – Landon Reel Arkansas Youth Anglers – AR 0
Day 1: 3 05-02 Day 2: 2 04-12 Total: 5 09-14
37. Mason Bush – Hayden Berryman Club Florida High School Bassmas 0
Day 1: 3 04-08 Day 2: 3 05-03 Total: 6 09-11
38. Boone Baxter – Hunter Stewart Buckeye State Student Anglers – 0
Day 1: 3 05-09 Day 2: 2 04-00 Total: 5 09-09
39. Cullen Bearden – Chance White Ark-La-Tex Junior Bassmasters – 0
Day 1: 2 03-03 Day 2: 3 06-05 Total: 5 09-08
40. Kolsyn Sollars – Dylan Barnhart Southside Junior Anglers – IN 0
Day 1: 3 05-00 Day 2: 3 04-06 Total: 6 09-06
41. Jackson Ray – TJ Murray Rhea County Eagle Anglers – TN 0
Day 1: 3 06-04 Day 2: 2 03-01 Total: 5 09-05
42. Eli Milam – Isaiah Crockett Southern WV Jr Bassmasters – WV 0
Day 1: 3 04-09 Day 2: 3 04-12 Total: 6 09-05
43. Denver Leblanc – Jackson Gomez Jr Southwest Bassmasters-Denham 0
Day 1: 3 05-08 Day 2: 3 03-12 Total: 6 09-04
44. Zeb Ates – Cameron Barham North Louisiana Jr Bassmasters – 0
Day 1: 3 05-06 Day 2: 3 03-11 Total: 6 09-01
45. Tatum Ceccorulli – Brayden Jenner St. Martin Bassmasters – MS 0
Day 1: 3 04-07 Day 2: 3 04-10 Total: 6 09-01
46. Walker Woodall – Mason Watkin Harmony Grove – AR 0
Day 1: 2 03-15 Day 2: 3 05-01 Total: 5 09-00
47. Evan Bradshaw – Gabe Browning Russell County Middle School – K 0
Day 1: 3 05-03 Day 2: 3 03-12 Total: 6 08-15
48. Kort Roberts – Katera Roberts Garfield County High School – OK 0
Day 1: 2 01-15 Day 2: 3 06-14 Total: 5 08-13
49. Brayden Tisdale – Opp Middle School – AL 0
Day 1: 1 00-15 Day 2: 3 07-12 Total: 4 08-11
50. Dominick Andux – Peyton Faber Tampa Bay Junior Bass Club – FL 0
Day 1: 3 06-02 Day 2: 2 02-09 Total: 5 08-11
51. Hudson Clark – Jackson Leath Sumner County Jr Bass Team – TN 0
Day 1: 3 05-07 Day 2: 3 03-04 Total: 6 08-11
52. Dj Broome Jr. – Shepard Crumley Tallulah Falls School Jr Team – 0
Day 1: 3 05-03 Day 2: 2 03-08 Total: 5 08-11
53. Bentley Richardson – Blake Richardson Southern Outcast Jr – NC 0
Day 1: 2 04-08 Day 2: 3 04-01 Total: 5 08-09
54. Drake Walls – Hunter Shrader Mid Florida Youth Anglers – FL 0
Day 1: 3 04-02 Day 2: 3 04-07 Total: 6 08-09
55. Landon Lynch – Colton Miller Brunswick Academy – VA 0
Day 1: 3 03-03 Day 2: 3 05-05 Total: 6 08-08
56. Mack Hardee – Jackson Smalls Conway High Anglers – SC 0
Day 1: 3 07-05 Day 2: 1 01-02 Total: 4 08-07
57. Avery Schmitt – Maddox Hanson Eastern Iowa Jr Bassmasters – IA 0
Day 1: 2 02-11 Day 2: 3 05-11 Total: 5 08-06
58. Sawyer Knickerbocker – Conner Tate Vermilion Junior Anglers – LA 0
Day 1: 1 01-08 Day 2: 3 06-10 Total: 4 08-02
59. Harrison Hobbs – Cade Speligene Franklin High School – TN 0
Day 1: 1 00-13 Day 2: 3 07-04 Total: 4 08-01
60. Beau McQuade – Kahl Cordell Jr. Potomac River Bassmasters – 0
Day 1: 3 04-06 Day 2: 3 03-10 Total: 6 08-00
61. Sam Keely – Bradyn Stubenrauch Kickback High School – KS 0
Day 1: 3 04-00 Day 2: 3 03-14 Total: 6 07-14
62. Ethan McBrayer – Zachary King Briarwood Christian School – AL 0
Day 1: 3 05-13 Day 2: 2 02-00 Total: 5 07-13
63. Tom Shumowsky – Amira Glenn Off the Hook Jr Bassmasters – IL 0
Day 1: 3 03-04 Day 2: 2 04-09 Total: 5 07-13
64. Bentley Gibson – Reese Carpenter Junior Keystone Bassmasters – OK 0
Day 1: 1 02-00 Day 2: 3 05-12 Total: 4 07-12
65. Landon Burke – Kolbey Burke Dixie Junior Bassmasters – FL 0
Day 1: 3 03-05 Day 2: 3 04-07 Total: 6 07-12
66. Kasey Stamper – Chase Bennett Howell Junior High School – MI 0
Day 1: 3 02-13 Day 2: 3 04-14 Total: 6 07-11
67. Brayden Rivest – Andrew Crawford Off the Hook Jr Bassmasters – IL 0
Day 1: 3 06-01 Day 2: 1 01-09 Total: 4 07-10
68. Jesse Lancaster – Fisher Lancaster Lancaster Academy – NC 0
Day 1: 3 05-13 Day 2: 2 01-09 Total: 5 07-06
69. Piers Picou – Jaxon Plaisance Central Catholic – LA 0
Day 1: 3 03-10 Day 2: 3 03-11 Total: 6 07-05
70. Fisher Williams – Cooper Kennedy Bolivar Middle School – MO 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 07-03 Total: 3 07-03
71. Connor Magee – Corbin Goode Live Oak Junior High School – LA 0
Day 1: 1 03-05 Day 2: 3 03-14 Total: 4 07-03
72. Bo Hollen – Ari Clark Mon Valley Junior Bassmasters – 0
Day 1: 2 01-11 Day 2: 3 05-07 Total: 5 07-02
73. Coy Cassady – Wateree Anglers Club – SC 0
Day 1: 3 03-08 Day 2: 3 03-10 Total: 6 07-02
74. Landry Scott – Caden Daniel Lone Star Jr Bassmasters – TX 0
Day 1: 2 02-07 Day 2: 3 04-10 Total: 5 07-01
75. Tristan Topa – Parker Stevens Port City Jr. Bassmasters – NY 0
Day 1: 3 03-06 Day 2: 3 03-10 Total: 6 07-00
76. Carson Stevens – Wesley Osuna Franklin County Jr Bass Team – T 0
Day 1: 1 01-07 Day 2: 3 05-06 Total: 4 06-13
77. Drew Mcclellan – Noah Hiott Indiana Jr Bassmasters – IN 0
Day 1: 1 02-11 Day 2: 3 04-01 Total: 4 06-12
78. Cale Compton – Adam Reed Moore HS Fishing Club – OK 0
Day 1: 3 03-15 Day 2: 2 02-13 Total: 5 06-12
79. Sawyer Sheffield – Brody Holliman Shelby County Jr Anglers – AL 0
Day 1: 2 06-10 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 2 06-10
80. Zack Ramsey – Carson Buchanan McDowell High School – NC 0
Day 1: 3 04-04 Day 2: 2 02-05 Total: 5 06-09
81. Parker Bilbrey – Tyler Thompson Livingston Academy – TN 0
Day 1: 3 02-11 Day 2: 3 03-13 Total: 6 06-08
82. Hollis Daigle – Vincent Vilcan-Soprano Catholic High School New Iberia 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 06-06 Total: 3 06-06
83. Garrett Hestor – Easton Herman Junior Wildcats – PA 0
Day 1: 2 02-09 Day 2: 2 03-13 Total: 4 06-06
84. Boston Werner – Northeast Wisconsin Bass – WI 0
Day 1: 3 04-00 Day 2: 1 02-05 Total: 4 06-05
85. Donovan Yang – Logan Xiong Anoka Ramsey Bassers – MN 0
Day 1: 3 05-05 Day 2: 3 00-15 Total: 6 06-04
86. Colton Howell – Cullen Howell Mt. Pleasant Junior Bass Team – 0
Day 1: 2 02-04 Day 2: 2 03-07 Total: 4 05-11
87. Reiston Ratchford – Ryland Ratchford Headland Jr High School – AL 0
Day 1: 2 02-00 Day 2: 3 03-09 Total: 5 05-09
88. Carter Shadinger – Aiden Ferguson Curry High School – AL 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 05-07 Total: 3 05-07
88. Knox White – Grayson Sanford Mt. Juliet Fishing – TN 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 05-07 Total: 3 05-07
90. Ethan Martinez – Bryson Stewart Hendry County Junior Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 1 01-10 Day 2: 3 03-12 Total: 4 05-06
91. Chance Washington – Ashton Otto Aggie Anglers – GA 0
Day 1: 2 03-05 Day 2: 2 02-01 Total: 4 05-06
92. Jackson Beatty – Gable Eddy Independence High School – IA 0
Day 1: 1 02-12 Day 2: 2 02-10 Total: 3 05-06
93. Eben Whalen – Luke Whalen L/A Junior Bassmasters – ME 0
Day 1: 3 02-11 Day 2: 2 02-10 Total: 5 05-05
94. Wyatt Michaels – Austin Parsons Morgan County Junior Bass Master 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 05-03 Total: 3 05-03
95. Gunner Tate – Coffee County Youth Bass Club – 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 04-14 Total: 3 04-14
96. Jonah Harbison – Thomas Benton Hayden Jr High School – AL 0
Day 1: 3 02-02 Day 2: 3 02-12 Total: 6 04-14
97. Joey Newman – Logan Robertson Meigs Middle School – TN 0
Day 1: 3 04-06 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 3 04-06
98. Dean Austin – Liam Holze Off the Hook Jr Bassmasters – IL 0
Day 1: 1 00-13 Day 2: 1 03-07 Total: 2 04-04
99. Hunter Brakefield – Landon White Mt. Juliet Fishing – TN 0
Day 1: 2 04-03 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 2 04-03
100. Blake Meiser – Liam Duncan Eureka Youth Club – MO 0
Day 1: 1 00-11 Day 2: 3 03-04 Total: 4 03-15
101. Hunter Moore – Ashton Pogue Caledonia Bassmasters – MO 0
Day 1: 1 00-14 Day 2: 3 02-13 Total: 4 03-11
102. Logan Eudy – Brody Clontz Stanly County Jr Bassmasters – N 0
Day 1: 3 02-09 Day 2: 1 01-02 Total: 4 03-11
103. Brayden Marcum – Tyler Goble Cardinal Youth Fishing Team – KY 0
Day 1: 3 03-09 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 3 03-09
104. Gunner Robbins – Carson Everley Upperman High School – TN 0
Day 1: 3 03-07 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 3 03-07
105. Landon Verbit – Brody McCoy Muddyrun Bassmaster Jr – PA 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 03-06 Total: 3 03-06
106. Presley Jo Cook – Brody Baber Ark-La-Tex Junior Bassmasters – 0
Day 1: 2 02-04 Day 2: 1 01-01 Total: 3 03-05
107. Mitchell Boles – Clay County Anglers – TN 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 03-02 Total: 2 03-02
108. Jake Jaracy – Jack Jaracy CT BASS Thunder – CT 0
Day 1: 3 02-14 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 3 02-14
109. James Barkley – Nikolas Foster NH Junior Bassmasters – NH 0
Day 1: 2 02-13 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 2 02-13
109. Daniel Coley – Elijah Ambrose Junior Potomac River Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 02-13 Total: 2 02-13
111. Eastin Gilliland – Gunnar Freeman Lone Star Jr Bassmasters – TX 0
Day 1: 3 02-11 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 3 02-11
112. Jaxson Pierce – Tucker Larrance Jefferson County Patriot Anglers 0
Day 1: 2 02-04 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 2 02-04
113. Jason Perkins – Tyler Perkins Port City Jr. Bassmasters – NY 0
Day 1: 1 02-03 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 1 02-03
114. Bradie Talaski – Carter Osantowski Bad Axe High School – MI 0
Day 1: 2 01-14 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 2 01-14
115. Cash Holloway – Ava Lowery East Clarendon Wolverines – SC 0
Day 1: 2 01-13 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 2 01-13
116. Dalton Adkins – David Potts Skyline High School – AL 0
Day 1: 1 00-14 Day 2: 1 00-12 Total: 2 01-10
117. Owen Williams – Jase Quattlebaum Rehobeth Junior Bass Team – AL 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 01-09 Total: 2 01-09
118. Ty Landry – Brant Cavalier Central Catholic – LA 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 01-07 Total: 1 01-07
119. Jace Hickman – Teays Valley Toads – OH 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 00-14 Total: 1 00-14
120. Beckett Kraft – Sullivan Kraft Port City Jr. Bassmasters – NY 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 00-13 Total: 1 00-13
121. John Parker Deal – Hayes Henderson Headland Jr High School – AL 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
121. Liam Jeddry – Luke Laudenklos Team Outcast Juniors – MD 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
121. Mason Samson – Luke Adasczik NH Junior Bassmasters – NH 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
———————————————————————–
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 74 274 496-07
2 76 282 492-14
———————————-
150 556 989-05
