Saturday Morning Lights

Morgan County schools offer bass tournament fishing for middle and high school students.

High school bass tournament anglers pray before blasting off in an eight-hour bass tournament.

Story by Brad Gill, photos contributed by MCHS

For some student athletes, it’s Friday night stadium lights. For others, it’s a sea of red, white and green boat lights, often mixed with fog over the water as the sun’s first hints of glory begin to appear. Such is the life of a teenage bass tournament angler.

More than 10 years ago, the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) recognized “Bass Fishing” as a sport. For those who might question whether a bass angler qualifies as an athlete, I challenge you to balance yourself on the front deck of a bass boat, foot on the trolling motor, casting hundreds of times while balancing wind, waves and sometimes driving rains. Of course, you only have to do it for eight hours as you work to put together the heaviest five-fish limit of bass that you possibly can... 

Aiden Moore (left) and Tripp Ray finished in 16th place out of 111 boats in the Georgia High School Association’s State Championship on May 9, 2026 at Lake Sinclair. Aiden and Tripp are freshmen on Morgan County High School’s bass fishing team.

Morgan County High School Athletic Director Greg Thompson acts as the bass fishing coach for the MCHS Bulldogs fishing team, a group of 12 anglers. All students fish on two-man teams and have voluntary boat captains who offer up boats, fuel and time for these kids to pursue what they enjoy.

When Lakelife magazine first reached out to Greg about a story on his Bulldogs team, he referred us to Tammie Moore, who he described as “our school representative who handles all things bass fishing.” 

Indeed she does. She’s the string that keeps it all tied together for these high schoolers. Things happen in this sport... a boat breaks down in the middle of a bass tournament, a replacement boat has to be found, then approved before it’s sent to the location of the stranded team. Then is gear unloaded, placed onto the new rig, and ensure the busted boat somehow gets back to the dock and on somebody’s trailer... all to make sure the teen team has enough time to catch the best five bass they can by weigh-in time. It’s just one of hundreds of things she does on any given day.

However, Tammie says her role as a “Bass Mom” is more of an investment than a job. Her freshmen son, Aiden, is on the high school team and says that he, along with most of the others, eat, breath and sleep bass tournament fishing. 

“If they are out hunting and fishing, then we are not out hunting them. I can assure you my son is out fishing all the time,” Tammie said.

Aiden, 15, fishes with Tripp Ray, another 15-year-old freshmen on the high-school team.

Aiden’s dad, Brian, is the boat captain for the team.

“My husband and I were not fishermen,” Tammie noted. “We bought a boat two weeks before the first tournament. When these kids love tournament fishing, it’s all they want to do.

“Everything at our house revolves around bass fishing. My son will get onto Google Maps and look over the topography of these lakes. Then he’ll figure out what kind of lures are going to work on that lake. He’ll look at a bait wall at our house and, depending on the time of year and whether it’s a herring lake or not, he’ll choose lures for that tournament. It is something my husband and I don’t understand. My son far exceeds anything we can do.”

For freshmen, Aiden and Tripp have done very well this tournament season, which will wrap up in June. They had a 14th place finish at the March 7 GHSA tournament at Clarks Hill and finished in sixth place at a Georgia B.A.S.S. Nation (GBN) tournament on April 25 at Lake Eufaula. Their tournament sack was anchored by a 7.54-lb. Eufaula largemouth, which took “Big Fish” honors in the 101-boat field. In addition, Aiden and Tripp were the only high school Bulldogs to qualify for the GHSA State Championship on May 9 at Lake Sinclair. With 12.13 pounds, they finished in 16th place out of 111 boats. It’ll be fun to watch these freshmen boys as they continue to hone their skills in the coming years. 

Aiden and Tripp are certainly not the only shining starts on the MCHS team. All six teams qualified for the GBN State Classic June 12-13 at Lake Seminole on the Georgia/Florida line. 

Seniors Brody Torbush (left) and Cooper Pitman will take their final ride in a bass boat as high school anglers at the Georgia B.A.S.S. Nation State Classic June 12-13, 2026 at Lake Seminole. They will be fishing for a spot in the Bassmaster High School Championship in late July. 

The State Classic tournament will be the last one for current MCHS seniors Brody Torbush and Cooper Pitman. While a number of high school anglers only bass fish, Brody managed to wrestle and play golf while being on the fishing team. Cooper was a member of the football team. 

“Both are really good kids, and we’re going to miss them next year,” Tammie said.

While neither senior angler has current plans to compete on a college bass fishing team, that’s not always been the case for Morgan County student anglers. 

“Cole Holloway and Ryan Thomas were tournament partners at Morgan County High School when they graduated in 2020,” said Tammie. “Both went to college on fishing scholarships. Cole went to Emmanuel University, and Ryan went to the University of Montevallo in Alabama.”

Like most GHSA sports, bass tournament fishing comes with a hefty price tag. While it’s not required that interested youth provide their own boat or boat captain, they will have to chase sponsorship money. However, some funds might be available for teens unable to reach their total financial goal, so Tammie asks that interested anglers contact her to discuss more.

Not all high school anglers continue competing in college, but these two Morgan County Bulldogs sure did. After graduating in 2020, Cole Holloway (left) and Ryan Thomas both received college scholarships and continued to compete at the collegiate level.

“We ask each boat (team) to raise $1,500,” she explained. “Those fees are for their jerseys,

hoodies, tournament entry fees and some other things. 

“We are very appreciative for the companies and individuals who choose to sponsor the Morgan County fishing teams. Without our sponsors, we won’t have a team and our kids can’t compete. Last year, the Athletic Department started kicking in some funds, which certainly was a help.”

In addition to funding, Tammie said they are always on the lookout for boat drivers willing to offer up their time and boats to captain a pair of youth anglers. Student anglers are not allowed to drive the boats during tournaments, and captains can’t offer any fishing information during the events. 

“Typically, the boat captains are going to be a relative of one of the anglers, but it does not have to be a family member,” Tammie said. “We have a school bus driver who is a big fisherman, and he agreed to take on a sixth-grade team.”

The Morgan County Middle School has a Bulldog team coached by Brian Cousins. This group of 28 anglers has a strong eighth grade class that will yield a larger high-school roster next tournament season.

Boat captains must pass a background check and be prepared to cover boat expenses. In Morgan County, all boat captains must be at least 25 years of age.

Surprising to this writer, Morgan County is the only school in the Lake Country area that has bass fishing teams. If you’re interested in learning more about starting a bass-fishing team at your school, call the GHSA at 706.647.7473 or check them out at https://www.ghsa.net.

You can also contact the GBN by email at gbn_admin@georgiabassnation.com or https://www.gabassnationhs.com.

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This story appeared in Lakelife magazine, Volume 20, Issue 3, and is the property of Smith Communications, Inc. No portions of the story or photos may be copied or used without written consent from the publisher.