It was an odd scene last weekend as 28 boats spread out across La Cygne Reservoir amid falling snowflakes for a Kansas B.A.S.S. Nation state high school qualifier.
Still, Hayden sophomore Thomas Heinen was in his element.
“I have fished some pretty cool-weather tournaments, but this was by far the coldest yet,” Heinen said. “I have never fished while it was snowing until last Saturday.”
Despite water temperatures in the low 50s, Heinen said he didn’t have to alter his game plan much to do well on the frigid lake.
“I didn’t have to change my strategy very much except the fact that we had to fish very slow,” the Bassmaster all-state angler said. “Especially with the baits we were throwing. Lots of finesse.”
Salina’s Nick Davenport and Hunter Baird won the tournament, hauling in 15.4 pounds of fish. Several videos of the team’s catches were posted on the Kansas B.A.S.S. Nation Youth Fishing Facebook page. Brett Estrella and Garret Beck, of Buhler Bass Club, won the big bass award and took third with 7.45 total pounds. In the youth division, Max Douglas and Parker Phillips won with a total weight of 9.05 pounds, including a big bass of 3.65 pounds, while Kyle and Nick Herrman took second place with 2.58 pounds.
The next KBN high school tournament will be at 7 a.m. April 8 on El Dorado Lake. The youth tournament will be at 7 a.m. April 9.