Owls reel in fourth place finish

The Anderson-Shiro High School bass fishing team was successful in its first tournament. The team, whose sponsor is Brittney Wade, placed fourth among 22 teams in the Oct. 12 Lake Somerville tournament, credited with 13 catches. The team competes in the Houston Division of the Texas High School Bass Association. Chase Scott competed solo in the event and placed 21st among 144 individual teams to lead Anderson-Shiro. On the team a second year, the sophomore is a lifelong angler who fishes frequently. “I have a pond at my house,” said Scott, whose father, Randy, was his boat captain at the tournament. “I fish every day.” He led the team with three catches weighing 7.89 pounds. “All three were in the same spot,” he said. “The first two were on the first two casts. The last one, the longest one, was at the end of the day.” He caught the first two, then went across the lake to another location, with “no luck there,” he said. Eventually he returned to the original spot, about 8 to 10 feet of water and 100 yards off the bank, where he reeled in his biggest catch of about 4 pounds, he said. The conditions were challenging, Scott said. “There’s giant waves. It was cold. The wind was blowing,” he said. “All it (the waves) did was make it bumpy on the rides back and forth.” Meantime, juniors Matthew Owen and Jeffrey Bradford placed 32nd with two catches weighing 5.33 pounds. “We caught them pretty early in the morning,” said Owen, whose father, Lonnie, was the boat captain. “The two keepers were where we had most of our success.” Owen said he and Bradford started the school’s team last year after being a part of the Montgomery High School team as freshmen. Sixteen Anderson-Shiro students--representing nine teams--took part in the first tournament. “It’s whoever wants to do it,” Owen said about team’s membership. “Every team that signs up can fish.” The division’s next tournament is in November.