Shelby County Today

June 22, 2015 - The Shelby County Bass Anglers visited Huxley Bay on Lake Toledo Bend last weekend after Tropical Storm Bill dumped another heavy rain on the impoundment that was already above pool level. Even with the fresh, muddy water arriving, the anglers seemed to figure out what the fish wanted and most teams showed up to the scales with their 5 fish limit of bass.

Ryan Pinkston, no stranger to winning on T Bend, once again captured first place with a heavy sack of Toledo bass weighing 24.48lbs. He also had the overall big bass of 9.09lbs anchoring his winning sack.

David Koonce and Brandon Wells were blessed with an awesome day of fishing and came in second place with 20.80lbs. They also had a 8.37lb lunker taking second overall big bass.

In addition, the team Hunter Hendricks and Zac Clark finished with a limit of bass tipping the scales at 21.20, but a penalty for a perished fish knocked them back to 20.70lbs therefore capturing the third place check.

Rounding out the money was the fourth place team of David Cartwright and Justin Brinson with a nice limit of bass weighing 17.07lbs.

The next pre-tournament meeting will be July 14th at the First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall at 7pm, with the July event at Cassells Boykins on Sam Rayburn. Please visit our website for more details about our club @ www.shelbycountybassanglers.com

June 16, 2015 - The South East Texas High School Fishing circuit announced year end standings for the region last Friday night at Brookeland High School at the Championship pre-tournament meeting.

The newly formed Shelby County Jr. Bass Anglers made an awesome showing in their first year of participating in the events.

Jared Wiggins and Brett Clark were crowned Anglers of the Year and received over $4000 in scholarships for this accomplishment. In addition, the team won other scholarship monies throughout the tournament season.

This is the pinnacle award of High School fishing and these boys worked extremely hard to accomplish this feat. Their fathers, Darren Wiggins and Scooter Clark, were also recognized for being their boat captains for the year.

Also being recognized finishing in the top ten for standings were the team of James Marshall and Chandler Burgay with their impressive tenth place finish. Shelby County also had several other teams that finished high in the standings, and congratulations go out to all that participated and represented our communities.

The South East Texas Regional Championship was also held this past weekend at Umphrey’s Pavillion on Sam Rayburn. This was a two day event and 266 teams of anglers from area schools qualified to fish for the grand prize of $10,000 in scholarship monies. A total of $110,000 of scholarships and prizes were given out over the weekend to these anglers.

This is a testament that high school fishing is the fastest growing sport for these youngsters. In addition, the collegiate level of bass fishing has grown over the past few years and colleges are giving 4 year scholarships to anglers to compete for their schools.

Jared Wiggins and Brett Clark continued their dream season with a 6th place finish in the Championship racking up another $3000 in scholarship monies, plus prizes for capturing the second place overall big bass of the event weighing 8.24lbs. Congratulations to these boys and every team that qualified for the Championship.

On behalf of the Shelby County Bass Anglers, and the Shelby County Jr. Bass Anglers, we would like to thank Lynn and Diana Stanford for taking on the task of being the club Advisors for these kids and making it a success for the club, as well as the kids fishing.

Anyone interested in joining this fishing club is urged to contact Lynn Stanford or any one of the Shelby County Bass Anglers’ members. Great Season!

June 10, 2015 - The Center ASA 8U All Stars participated in the ASA District 38 Tournament in Lufkin on June 6 & 7 and walked away with 2nd place. The girls won 4 games on Saturday and went into game play on Sunday undefeated. They won their first game on Sunday, which put them in the championship game, still undefeated.

This tournament was a double elimination tournament, meaning since they were undefeated, whoever they played had to beat them twice. The girls had already defeated two other tournament teams to get to the championship game. Tournament teams play 12 months/year. Our girls only play 3 months/year. This is a huge accomplishment for an all-star league team.

They also played the championship games against a tournament team. The girls played the first championship game and were defeated 14-10. They were also defeated 15-8 in the second championship game, ultimately walking away with 2nd place. We could not be more proud of these girls. They played with more heart than any other team we have ever watched play. These girls deserve this 2nd place win!

Center Predators 8U All Stars include: Back Row: Sean Crouch, Allen Hogan (Head Coach), KC Campbell, and Phillip Youngblood. Middle Row: Emma Pope, Whitley Youngblood, Trista Britt, Lexi Jones, Gabby Whisenant. Front Row: Kinley Snider, Reese Cockrell, Alex Pope, Sayre Hall, and Carson Crouch.

June 9, 2015 - Two former Panola College Baseball players are headed to Omaha to play in the NCAA Baseball World Series. Preston Guillory with TCU, and Brett McAfee with Arkansas will have the opportunity to play on the biggest stage that college baseball can provide.

McAfee and the Razorbacks qualified by beating Missouri State in the Super Regionals at Fayetteville, AR. While the TCU Horned Frogs and Guillory took 16 innings last night to finish off the Aggies of Texas A &M at the Fort Worth regional. Preston was a two time All Conference pitcher for the Ponies 2013 and 2014 squads. McAfee was on the 2012 Panola Ponies team.

The NCAA College World Series will begin Saturday, June 13 in Omaha, NE.