Two Brown County High School students finished second in the 2020 Indiana Bass Nation Youth State Championship on Aug. 2 at Lake Monroe, securing them a spot in the Bass Nation National Championships in Kentucky in October.

Charlie Schultz and Samuel York, both sophomores at BCHS, will be representing both Team Indiana and the high school at nationals, which will take place Oct. 18-24 at Kentucky Lake. The pair finished runner-up in the state championship, with Schultz catching their biggest keeper fish of the day at 5.60 pounds.

“It was unbelievable,” Schultz said. “I’m very excited. This is like the pinnacle of the entire high school fishing league across the nation.”

The duo is the first bass fishing team from BCHS to ever make it to nationals, York said.

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“I think it’s incredible. It’s a great accomplishment for us and an incredible win for BCHS and the community,” he said. “I’m very proud.”

Brown County High School’s bass fishing club was revived around 2017. In 2018, one senior earned a college scholarship because of it.

During the state championship last Sunday, Schultz and York were assisted by Jerry Kohler, a local man and friend of York’s father, Shaun, who served as their boat captain. The captain, according to York, is an assigned adult who helps drive the boat and scout locations for various tournaments.

“Jerry was such a big help to us,” York said. “He helped us find a stretch of water that had a lot of fish and it was where we eventually caught our biggest keeper.”

While boat captains are able to help fishers scout locations and drive the boat, they are not allowed to help in the catching of any fish. All of the hook baiting, casting and netting is done by York and Schultz.

“It’s definitely a change, because in the youth leagues, you can get help with those things,” Schultz said. “But in the high school league, it’s just been Sam and I having to do that work.”

The two fishermen are usually joined by Shaun York, Sam’s father and their typical boat captain. He was at another fishing tournament the day of the state competition, but both boys said he has had a significant impact on their fishing careers.

“He has taught me so much about fishing and helps me out with life in general,” Schultz said.

Schultz and York have known each other since kindergarten. Schultz, who has been fishing leisurely his whole life, said he was asked to join the bass fishing team around eighth grade, where he became better acquainted with Sam.

Sam York has been fishing with his father since he was 5. As he grew older, Sam saw his father competing in fishing tournaments put on by General Electric and immediately was hooked.

“I just started to fall in love with it instantly,” he said. “There’s a thrill when catching a big fish that is like no other.”

When York and Schultz first started fishing in the junior leagues, which consists of second- through eighth-graders, Schultz said they didn’t immediately click.

“It was a pretty rough start,” he said. “We just didn’t have the knowledge and experience to do as well as we are now.”

Once the two reached the high school leagues, Schultz said they began to gain confidence, despite the changes.

“At first, I was intimidated by the amount of boats at the competitions,” he said. “In the junior leagues, there were maximum 30 boats, but at the older competitions, you may have 70 to 80.”

York said there are times during a tournament where there may be 15 other people from an earlier flight already fishing in an area he and Schultz had scouted, making preparation and backup plans keys to success.

To develop a game plan for a competition, Shaun will often take Sam and Charlie out to the tournament location the weekend before to look for ideal fishing spots.

“You’re looking for something somewhat secluded but that also has a high amount of fish,” York said. “But you also have to stay within the grounds limits set up by those in charge.”

York said that while fishing may seem to be a leisurely activity, there is a lot of effort that goes into competitive bass fishing that many may not initially consider.

“It took a very, very long time for us to get here,” he said. “A lot of hours of practicing went into this. I’m very excited to be representing Brown County after all this hard work.”