CONNECTICUT’S NORTH BRANFORD HIGH SCHOOL WINS TBF/FLW HIGH SCHOOL FISHING NORTHERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP ON LAKE WINNIPESAUKEE

LACONIA, N.H. (Sept. 22, 2015) – The North Branford High School duo of Anthony Ferraiolo and Ryan Kusmit from North Branford, Connecticut, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 10 pounds, 8 ounces, to win the 2015 TBF/FLW High School Fishing Northern Conference Championship tournament on Lake Winnipesaukee in Laconia, New Hampshire. The win earned the team the title of Northern Conference champions and advanced the team to the 2016 High School Fishing National championship, held next spring at a location yet to be announced in conjunction with the TBF National Championship and a Walmart FLW Tour event.

A field of 12 teams representing the northeastern United States, as well as Ontario, Canada, competed in this tournament after qualifying via their finishes at the state championship tournaments held earlier this year.

The winning duo from North Branford High School said that they caught the majority of their fish on a drop-shot rig and a jig. Other teams reported catching their fish on spinnerbaits and topwater baits. Seven of the 12 teams brought five-bass limits to the scale.

The top team on Lake Winnipesaukee that advanced to the 2016 High School Fishing National Championship was:

  1st:       North Branford High School, North Branford, Conn. – Ryan Kusmit and Anthony Ferraiolo, (five bass, 10-8)

Rounding out the top 10 teams were:

  2nd:      Chatham High School, Chatham, Va. – Bradley Gauldin and Austin Carter, (five bass, 9-12)

  3rd:       Massachusetts Student Angler Federation – Julian Burgoff, Amherst, Mass., and Michael Morrissey, Springfield, Mass., (five bass, 9-6)

  4th:       Peru High School, Peru, N.Y. – Perry Marvin and Alec Morrison, (five bass, 9-1)

  5th:       McCaskey High School, Lancaster, Pa. – Tyler Ziegler and Cameron Strosser, (five bass, 8-12)

  6th:       Lehigh Valley Bass Club, Lehigh Valley, Pa. – Jordan Sypeck and Matthew Dolak, (five bass, 6-14)

  7th:       Ontario Student Angler Federation – Timothy Chow and Trevor McKinney, both of Toronto, Ontario, Canada (five bass, 5-9)

  8th:       Kenwood High School, Essex, Md. – Ivan Kortic and Logan Kuhrman, (three bass, 5-3)

  9th:       Potomac Falls High School, Sterling, Va. – Jordan Mazza and Richard Wellhouse, (two bass, 3-15)

  10th:     New Jersey Student Angler Federation – Vincent Pustizzi and Tim Nichols, both of Pittsgrove, N.J., (two bass, 3-10)

Complete results and photos from the event can be found at HighSchoolFishing.org.

The 2015 TBF/FLW High School Fishing Northern Conference Championship was a two-person (team) event for students in grades 7-12. The top 10 percent of each conference championship field will advance to the High School Fishing National Championship, coinciding with the TBF National Championship and an FLW Tour stop in the spring of 2016. The High School Fishing national champions will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship to the school of their choice.

In addition to the High School Fishing National Championship, all High School Fishing anglers nationwide automatically qualify for the world’s largest high school bass tournament, the 2016 High School Fishing World Finals. At the 2015 World Finals more than $20,000 in scholarships and prizes were awarded. Visit HighSchoolFishing.org for details.