High School Anglers from Across Illinois Head to State Finals at Carlyle

Anticipation is jumping out of the water for high school anglers this week, especially those that have made it to State.  Having to sit in class thinking about, what to throw, where to go, and most of all if a pattern will develop and hold for the duration of the IHSA State Finals must be daunting.   I'm sure a few anglers will be on their computers or cell phones throughout the day checking out Fishidy, Youtube and anything else that will help give them the competitive edge this weekend.

Here is a great family opportunity from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources at one of Illinois most exciting parks.  

Fishing Event a Great Catch for Families at Pere Marquette State Park

28th Annual Two Rivers Family Fishing Fair on June 9

GRAFTON, IL – For a day filled with fun and educational activities for the entire family, check out the Two Rivers Family Fishing Fair onSaturday, June 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Pere Marquette State Park near Grafton, on Illinois Route 100.

Mundhenke Brothers are headed back to Carlyle Lake for the IHSA Bass Fishing State Finals

Illinois High schools launched into lakes throughout the state this past week in hopes of securing a spot at the IHSA Bass Fishing State Finals.  Brothers Chase and Ty Mundhenke, who are no strangers to Carlyle Lake, fished in the Sangchris Lake Sectional Monday in hopes of securing the top spot two years in a row.

Chase and Ty Mundhenke - Sangchris Lake Sectional Champs

"We never really had a pattern or  a plan." they said.   Chase, a senior at Glenwood will be fishing at Auburn University next year.  When asked what he looks forward to most about fishing in college, Chase stated that he " looks forward to fishing the bigger tournaments, more competition, the different lakes and learning new things." 

Glenwood pulled into the ramp and said that they wanted to weigh-in as fast as possible.  Why, you may ask, well, their big bass of the day was hanging on by a thread and they did not want to weigh-in a dead fish.  Weighing in a dead fish would have cost them half a pound on the scale.  After all said and done, they would have been knocked down to second place.  When asked what they had to do to keep that fish alive, they both chuckled.  "The whole last hour, I was hanging over the seat into the live-well, running the fish back and forth." Chase said.  He spent the better of 45 minutes basically continually resuscitating the fish to make sure that it stayed alive. Pure dedication right there.

Glenwood Bass Fishing Coach Jodie Mundhenke with sons Chase and Ty
at the Glenwood Bass Fishing Open

Bass Fishing is a family activity in the Mundhenke family.  Jodie Mundhenke, mother of the first place team is also the Glenwood Bass Fishing Coach.

Rochester High School finished in Second Place, missing out on that top spot by only .06 lbs.  Garrett Schienschang and Josh Cox from the Rochester Rockets said that it "took a lot of time and a lot of pre-fishing.  We had a plan and we stuck to it."  Using jigs in deep water, they managed to get their biggest bass at the start of the day and their second biggest at the very end.

Rochester High School Bass Fishing Team weighing in fish for their second place finish

Coady Richardson, a senior from Edinburg High School stated that, "fishing was pretty good, we had a lot of luck using chatterbaits."  He said that he has enjoyed high school bass fishing and likes the peace and quiet. 
Top three fishing teams were Chatham, Rochester and Edinburg.  These three teams have put time and dedication into the sport this year, fishing opens and other tournaments throughout the area and we have seen them progress throughout the season.

Sangchris Lake Sectional Results

1st - Chatham (Glenwood) - 14.87 lbs 

2nd - Rochester - 14.81 lbs 

3rd - Edinburg - 12.92 lbs 

Big Bass- Chase Mundhenke 4.52 lbs

Alternate - Vernon (North Mac) 12.05 lbs

(Scores taken from weigh-in board at event and subject to approval from IHSA Office for accuracy)

Missed the Sangchris Sectional Weigh-in? Watch it here.

Sectional Results from across the State can here found here.

State Finals will be held May 18 -19th at Carlyle Lake.  We want to Congratulate all the high schools that are moving on and we can't wait to see the fish you bring in at Carlyle. 

Can't make it down to Carlyle to watch your team weigh-in?

 Don't worry, we will be broadcasting LIVE on FB from the IHSA State Final Bass Tournament on Saturday, May 19th.  Be ready to cheer your team on!