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39 anglers traveled from across the state of Iowa to compete in our first ever five-fish limit tournament at Okoboji. Historically, Okoboji's Chain of Lakes has played host to our annual Major League Fishing (catch-weigh-release) format tournament at the end of each season. The 2024 season brought us to Okoboji the weekend of June 1st. Our anglers battled rain and wind during this two-day event.

On day two, we watched records for our largest five-fish bag and largest bass to cross our scales get crushed.

Junior anglers Lane and Brayden brought in a five fish limit for 22.31 pounds, crushing the previous record by about five pounds. Their bag was anchored by a 5.80 pound Largemouth caught by Brayden. The team finished the tournament in first place with ten fish for 33.19 pounds.

High school senior, Darin brought in a 6.26 pound largemouth with his partner Tyson. Darin opted to skip walking the stage for his high school graduation to fish this tournament and has zero regrets. The duo took home first with 10 fish for 35.78 pounds. Their day two bag of 19.18 pounds secured the win. 

 Ways is adding to our list of seniors pursuing their tournament fishing career after high school. Ways signed his letter of intent with Drury University in Springfield, Missouri. Ways has been traveling the Midwest and fishing in a number of adult tournaments in his senior season to help prepare for experiences in his collegiate career.

We cannot wait to see what the future holds for Ways as he embarks on his future as collegiate anglers.

100 anglers from across the country showcased their skills and interviewed with colleges with fishing programs. Two of our five attendees are fishing their final season of the high school careers as we approach the 2024 season. 

Matthew signed his letter of intent with Murray State College in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. Murray State is the 2023 B.A.S.S Oklahoma College State Champions, which made their team a qualifier for the 2023 National Championship. Matthew could not be more excited to start his college fishing career in Oklahoma next fall. Matthew is a member of the Bassmaster High School All- State Fishing Team and a Positive Mental Attitude Award Winner.

Kolby  signed his letter of intent with University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Alabama. Montevallo's fishing team is the three time Bass Pro Shops School of the Year, two time Major League Fishing School of the Year, 2023 MLF Nationals Champions, and two time MLF Southeastern Conference Champs. Kolby cannot wait to move south to start his college fishing career and is incredibly grateful for his support system. Kolby is a member of the Bassmaster High School All- State Fishing Team, the IYFL's 2021 Angler of the Year, and the 2022 Season Big Bag Award Winner.

We cannot wait to see what the future holds for these two anglers as they embark on their futures as collegiate anglers.

Anglers from across the state gathered August 6th to compete for the right to be crowned the 2023 Iowa B.A.S.S. State Champions. Our organization brought 11 teams to compete amongst the field. Anglers launched for this one day event out of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin to fish the mighty Mississippi River.

The tournament organizers changed the format slightly to a three fish limit from the standard five for both the junior and high school divisions. Our IYFL anglers put together some solid game plans and in the end our junior team of Lane and Grady as well as our high school team of Carter and Alex were both crowned state champions! Lane and Grady caught a 3-fish limit that weighed 10.37 lbs and  Carter and Alex sealed their victory with a 3-fish limit weighing in at 9.76 lbs!

IYFL anglers also took top honors bringing in both divisions Big Bass awards. Lane caught a 4.02 lb largemouth to take the junior division and high school senior angler Ways brought in a 4.47 lb smallmouth to take his division. Both received a plaque as well as a custom built rod!

Our state champions will move on to the B.A.S.S. National Championship which will be spring 2024!

We are proud of all our teams and the efforts they put in to do their best on a challenging body of water! Congratulations!

In July, Tyson traveled to Murray, Kentucky to attend the high school fishing camp hosted by Major League Fishing. Tyson attended several sessions with fellow anglers, Major League Fishing staff and professional anglers, such as Keith Poche and Fletcher Shryock. Murray State University is located near the shores of Kentucky Lake. While attending the camp, Tyson shared that he was able to learn more about how the industry works and a few secrets behind the industry. Campers attended sessions for three days. Tyson said, "They had classes on just about everything that one could want to learn about."

"My favorite class was the mental toughness with the sports psychologist. He shared stories about how if someone has a negative belief or something negative going on in their life they would zero on the water." Tyson shared.

Anglers were also able to tour the Major League Fishing headquarters and meet all the people who are considered "behind the scenes." Tyson loved talking with the pros and asking them questions. He shared that there was also tons of great swag for anglers attending the event. 

"I would recommend this to any high school angler who wants to learn and grow as an angler." said Tyson.

The IYFL is proud to assist in providing these new and unique experiences for all youth and look forward to putting on another day clinic next year!

This year, the IYFL partnered with the West Des Moines Community School's Summer Scholars program to provide a day of fishing for their students that are new to the country within the past two years. Serving about 50 students every summer, the program provides educational opportunities, field trips and swimming lessons to their participants.

The IYFL is proud to assist in providing these new and unique experiences for all youth and look forward to putting on another day clinic next year!

Three teams traveled to La Crosse, Wisconsin to compete in both the high school national championship and world finals! The events spanned four days in which anglers competed in a field of over 300 boats in both events. Each team worked to fill a three fish limit each day on the Mississippi River.

Evan and Grant qualified after finishing third place at the MLF Open on Lake of the Ozarks. Ways qualified by winning the Iowa State Championship on Okoboji. Darin and Kallen qualified based on their finish position at the Iowa State Championship on Okoboji.

We are proud of all of you and your efforts!

Results: National Championship

Ways - 72nd Place, 6 fish 15.11 lbs

Evan & Grant - 130th Place, 6 fish 13.06 lbs

Darin & Kallen - 167th Place, 5 fish 11.10 lbs

Results: World Finals

Grant & Evan - 51st Place, 8.01 lbs

Kallen & Darin - 103rd Place, 6.14 lbs

Spring is upon us and in IYFL fashion, our high school anglers were out supporting their community at Bass Pro Shops, Altoona. IYFL anglers have been assisting with the indoor bluegill pond for multiple years as young anglers from all over get a chance to catch a fish while visiting the store.

This year, four anglers assisted dozens and dozens of young anglers catch fish from the pond including a few "first fish" moments. Bass Pro Altoona and General Manager Jason Truman have been very supported of our programs and anglers since the IYFL began.

Anglers assisted both Saturday and Sunday at the event. We are thankful and proud of their willingness to support opportunities such as this and thankful for Bass Pro Shops continued support! Not a bad way to spend some weekend hours getting to talk fishing and of course shopping all the new tackle and equipment for the year!

High School angling duo, Grant and Evan traveled to the Lake of the Ozarks to compete in a Major League Fishing Open Event presented by Favorite Fishing Rods in October. The duo battled their way to a third place finish and a qualifying spot at Nationals!

The team launched as Boat 17 out of 53 high school boats. They spent their day targeting bait balls and the corners of docks with square bills and jigs. When their square bills were diving to deep, they switched it up. Evan stated, "We couldn't get them (fish) to focus on our baits rather than the hundreds of thousands of shad in the back of the pockets."

"We ended up leaving the cove even though there were still giant largies jumping all around us. We couldn't just sit there all day and try to get one hooked after the previous 2-3 hours of the morning." The team made a move to the cove right behind where they were staying, where they noticed in practice it was holding fish with less bait fish in the area.

The team brought four fish to the scales for 8 pounds, 12 ounces. With this bag, they qualified for nationals and brought home a third place finish at a national open. Evan and Grant shared, "All in all it was a fun experience. It's an absolutely gorgeous fishery and has lots of big and small bass. We're glad we got to make it down and even happier we pushed through and finished top three."

Congratulation to you both, we cannot wait to watch you at Nationals.

When the Abu Garcia Bassmaster High School Combine presented by Skeeter kicks off on Sept. 16, 100 gifted anglers from 22 states will have the opportunity to showcase their talents for a host of college coaches and earn college scholarships. The three-day event will be held on Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Alabama.

The inaugural High School Combine in 2021 generated more than $2.6 million in scholarship offers.

“Response to the High School Combine has been incredible,” said Glenn Cale, B.A.S.S. Nation tournament manager for the College, High School and Junior series. “The fact that high school anglers are traveling here from as far away as Minnesota, New Hampshire and Connecticut really speaks to the massive growth and appetite for high school and college bass fishing over the past few years.

IYFL high school angler Matthew traveled to Decatur to showcase his talents performing multiple tasks to show skill sets on the water and knowledge of the sport as a whole. After the first day, colleges have the opportunity to select anglers for a "second look" where they can further explore everything that angler has to offer and see if they would be the perfect fit for their fishing program.

Upon returning Matthew stated, "The Bassmaster 2022 Combine was amazing! It had some of the best and kindest people from across the country that shared the passion for fishing. The colleges were unbelievably kind and caring for our future and the sport of bass fishing. They gave me a chance to pursue my dream for way cheaper than I could've imagined. I would recommend anyone to go to this and just go out and have fun because even if you don't do the very best out of everyone in the competitions you can still get great deals and experience from it."

Photo Credits:  Bassmaster.com 

This dynamic duo traveled across the country to fish three of the four Bassmaster Junior National Opens in the 2022 season. Their first stop landed them at the Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Florida in January, where unseasonably cold weather presented a challenge. The pair brought in three fish for 5 pounds, 4 ounces to land 12th place at their first national tournament. "The Bassmaster Opens really introduced me to a whole new world of bass fishing. It was a lot more competitive than my normal weekend tournaments," said Grant Nore.

"They represented the state of Iowa well, with true grit and perseverance on a tough day of fishing," said Emily Lewis, Vice President of the Iowa Youth Fishing League, "It was a great showing for the IYFL's first appearance on the national stage."

In April, the team traveled to Lake Norfork in Henderson, Arkansas for Stop #3 of the series. With a blown big motor in practice, the team regrouped and went to work. Thankfully, Grant's dad had brought their boat down to Arkansas, as well. On tournament day, the team caught a lot of fish, but they were just short of the minimum length requirement. Grant and Lane brought in two fish for 4 pounds, 3 ounces. This landed them 15th place in their division. "We are proud that the IYFL brought three junior teams and a high school team to this tournament. We love to see the sport growing in Iowa." said Emily Lewis. 

On their final run at the opens, Grant and Lane had two goals, to bring in a five-fish limit and place in the top five in the junior division. They traveled to Saginaw Bay, Michigan in June to take their chance at achieving that goal. The duo had a great week prefishing the largest body of water each has ever fished. Tournament day provided some rough water on their 22-mile run from the river into the bay. The run paid off and the team brought in their limit of fish for 13 pounds, 1 ounce. Grant captured the tournament big bass with a 3 pound, 10 ounce largemouth. Lane Lewis shared, "Sitting in the hot seat made me really nervous. We knew we had a good bag, so we waited for other teams to weigh in." After all teams weighed in, the final difference between the first, second and third place teams was only 14 ounces. Grant and Lane placed third at Saginaw Bay.

Upon reflecting on their first national tournament series experience, Grant stated, "The tournaments really helped my skillset grow in many different ways. In Florida, you had to fish really slow. In Arkansas I had to learn how to fish ledges." Lane added, "You can expect some challenges, but the opens help you learn."

This team had an outstanding run in three national opens and placing in the top 15 in each. Congratulations to Lane and Grant! What an amazing accomplishment in your first year of opens.

Photo Credits:  Kyle Jessie, Bassmaster Photographer

 Bassmaster High School has selected two IYFL anglers to represent this year's 2022 Bassmaster High School All-State Fishing Team for Iowa! This is the second year in a row that both All-State members have come from the IYFL tournament rosters!

Nationally over 400 applicants entered with only 53 anglers selected to represent as the All-State Fishing Team. These anglers are selected to represent B.A.S.S., their home state, and their fishing programs. They may then be considered for the 2022 Bassmaster All-American Fishing Team. 

We could not be prouder of the accomplishments, drive, and dedication that these two anglers have shown. Congratulations Kolby and Tyler!

2022 Bassmaster High School All-State Fishing Team for Iowa!