Nothing could stop the Bass Fishing State Championships from making its return to the largest lake in the state and when Lake Lanier played host to the championship for the first time since 2021, and waters did not disappoint.
The tournament was won by the pair of Tripp Tamasi and Mathew Johnson from Greenbrier and their championship weekend was anything but normal. The pair attended Greenbrier’s prom the night before, missing Friday’s check-in. They got up before 4 am to make the nearly three-hour drive to Laurel Park for blast-off at 7 a.m. They weighed in a bag totaling 20 pounds, 9 ounces, one of the biggest in the sport’s history and the largest of the season. Additionally, they weighed in the biggest fish of the day, winning that award as well, with a fish that weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces.
For many anglers who traveled to the area, the action started before the fishing began. On Friday night, soon after check-in had finished and teams were heading to their hotels, a series of severe thunderstorms hit the North Hall area. The storms produced thunder, lightning, hail, and most notably, a tornado. The tornado spent most of its time over the lake but did cause some damage to structures and downed some trees.
The weather improved for the tournament, with only showers throughout most of the day. While the conditions weren’t perfect, it didn’t show at the weigh-in, with 13 boats weighing in bags of 16 pounds or more, five more than the other three tournaments of the year combined. Additionally, the three largest bags of the year were weighed in at the state championship, with all three breaking the previous season high of 19 pounds, 3 ounces.
South Forsyth’s Charles Roberts and Reese Mutter finished as runners-up and took home a trophy of their own, along with a spot in the National Championship, with a bag weighing 20 pounds, 4 ounces. Oconee County’s Churchill Harris and Campbell Patterson won the award for the second-biggest fish of the day with a fish weighing 5 pounds, 3 ounces.
In addition to the winners and runners-up, eight other teams qualified for the 2025 National Championship. These include: Third place’s Wyatt Richards and Colby Goforth from Pickens High school, Fourth place’s Bryson Dover and Wyatt Andrews from Lanier High School, fifth places Carter Cunningham and Landon Glander from Dawson County High School, sixth place’s Sage Miller and Porter Barnett from Prince Avenue Christian, seventh place’s Griffin Spence and Issac Buhles from Richmond Hill High School, eighth place’s Nolan Holloway and Ben Lanford from Morgan County High School, ninth place’s Evan Beard and Tyler Wilson from Greenbrier High School and tenth place’s Finley Maddox and Maddox Ferrell from South Forsyth High School. These teams will have a chance at over three million dollars in scholarships at the National Championship, held June 24-28 at Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees in Grove, Oklahoma.
Top 10
Place – Anglers – School – Weight
1 – Tripp Tamasi and Mathew Johnson – Greenbrier – 20 Pounds 9 Ounces
2 – Charles Roberts and Reese Mutter – South Forsyth – 20 Pounds 4 Ounces
3 – Wyatt Richards and Colby Goforth – Pickens – 19 Pounds 10 Ounces
4 – Bryson Dover and Wyatt Andrews – Lanier – 18 Pounds 12 Ounces
5 – Catre Cunningham and Landon Glander – Dawson County – 18 Pounds 7 Ounces
6 – Sage Miller and Porter Barnett – Prince Avenue Christian – 18 Pounds 2 Ounces
7 – Griffin Spence and Issac Buhles – Richmond Hill – 18 Pounds 1 Ounces
8 – Nolan Holloway and Ben Lanford – Morgan County – 17 Pounds 8 Ounces
9 – Evan Beard and Tyler Wilson – Greenbrier – 16 Pounds 12 Ounces
10 – Finley Maddox and Maddox Ferrell – South Forsyth – 16 Pounds 11 Ounces
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