How did I not know this?  I was recently looking over the 2021 schedule for Spring sports here in Kentucky.  Obviously, COVID-19 has altered the normal schedule a bit and the Kentucky High School Athletic Association recently released start dates for a variety of sports in the Commonwealth.  I was looking over the list and saw Spring staples like baseball, softball, track and field and tennis.  And then I saw bass fishing.  What?  Seriously?  I mean, that's awesome, but I had no idea that bass fishing was now an officially sanctioned high school sport here in Kentucky.

When I was a kid, I went bass fishing with my grandad all the time.  I was TERRIBLE at it, by the way.  In fact, I distinctly remember going bass fishing once at Rough River and only catching a catfish.  My grandfather, who used to fish in bass tournaments all the time (and win them) was so good at it.  I was horrible.

After seeing the KHSAA's schedule, I decided to do some research about high school bass fishing and guess what?  Bass fishing has been contested as a high school sport in Kentucky since 2013.  And, even cooler- we actually have bass fishing regional champions from right here in the WBKR listening area.  Shout out to 2019 Region 1 champions Jackson Kulijof and Lane Tooley from Muhlenberg County!  Shout out to 5th place anglers Jacob Aubry and James Dant from Ohio County.  They rocked it out in the 2019 Regionals.

But hey!  Get this.  The two teams I just mentioned also rocked it out at the state championship that year.  Jackson and Lane finished 2nd.  Jacob and James were 3rd.  Yeah, that's right!  The second and third place finishers at state were from right here in western Kentucky.

As for the 2021 season, the KHSAA has established the official start date as February 22nd. **The 2020 season was sidelined, like so many high school sports, due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

So, we're going to give a shout out to all of our Region 1 teams who hope to be in the mix THIS season:  Dawson Springs, Grayson County, Hancock County, Henderson County, Madisonville-North Hopkins, Meade County, Muhlenberg County, Ohio County and Owensboro Catholic. By the way, if I omitted your school and you all have a bass fishing team, let me know and I will certainly add you in and we'll cheer you on too!

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