Livingston Academy High School anglers Blake Melton and Cooper Roberts competed this week in the Major League Fishing National Championship and World Finals.
Livingston Academy boat captain Andy Melton said the four-day competition includes two days of qualifying rounds to determine which teams advance to the national and world championship stages. Melton said the tournament featured a field of 410 teams competing at the high school level.
“Anytime that you have some kids that fish hard and can make it and fish at this level, it’s pretty awesome,” Melton said. “Livingston Academy fishing is doing really good. We’re growing. More and more people are starting to learn about the fishing and the high school fishing and being able to get out and compete and it’s a lot of fun.”
Melton said the team sat in 44th place after a strong first day before facing difficult conditions during the second day of fishing. Melton said the pair dropped to approximately 105th place and will fall short of the final rounds this year.
“Well, weekends like this to be honest are great examples of everything in life,” Melton said. “I mean you have one day which is really good and you know you’re sitting up there pretty high, feeling pretty good about yourself, and the next day you know you just you get knocked down a level or two. And just for them to keep standing up on the front of the boat and fishing and grinding and trying to compete and do good, you know that just takes you far in life as as a, you know, not giving up and not giving in and just keep trucking forward.”
Melton said qualifying for the event typically requires a top-three finish in a local chapter, such as the Beast of the East. Melton said while the team did not qualify through the local chapter this year, they were able to secure a spot in the national field through other entry options.
“You know as long as you’ve got a boat and you can sit there and and cast a line,” Melton said, “I mean you can you can be involved in in the high school and junior fishing. And it’s it’s a lot of fun, you know. I mean the the camaraderie’s great. You’ve got guys that that’ll help you out. You know if you break down on the water all the time you see you know guys towing other guys back in. I mean it’s it’s just a really great group of people to be around and organization to belong to.”
Melton said the Livingston Academy program is expanding and provides an outdoor alternative to traditional sports like basketball or football. Melton said the sport is inclusive for students with physical disabilities and offers a unique way for parents to interact with their children.
“Of course like you said we didn’t really get to finish where we wanted to, but just being able to get out here and compete, you know just makes you really light that fire to do even better next year, you know,” Melton said. “I mean and we’ll we’ll be back next year. I mean these boys they’re juniors this year so they’ve got one more year left and I know they’re gonna give it their all again next year.”
The Livingston Academy fishing season resumes in late August, following the Junior National Championship and World Finals scheduled for July in Arkansas.