Karns seniors Clayton Kelley (left) and Hunter Owens
BY DAVE LINK
Hunter Owens and Clayton Kelley of the Karns Fishing Team will have a wide range of emotions during next week’s 2025 Bassmaster High School National Championship on Clarks Hill Reservoir in Appling, Ga.
They won’t be alone.
Many of the anglers in the event will be competing in the last high school tournaments of their careers.
And no better stage than the nationals.
“It’s kind of a happy and sad thing at the same time,” Owens said. “I’m happy that I’m going on to Carson-Newman and getting to fish for them and travel the country and everything, but I’ll definitely miss high school fishing.”
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Owens and Kelley qualified for nationals by winning this year’s points race on the Tennessee Bass Nation’s Bass Pro Shops-Sevierville trail.
They were fourth in last year’s Bassmaster National Championship on Chickamauga Lake won by Pickett County’s Rex Reagan and Max Moody.
Owens knows another top-five finish will be tough next week.
“I’m excited about it,” he said. “It’s not really in my wheelhouse of the Tennessee River or anything like that, but I feel like I can do pretty well in it.”
Owens and Kelley are part of a big contingent of co-anglers from the 5Star Preps coverage area competing in the nationals on Clarks Hill Reservoir, located east of Athens, Ga., and south of Greenville, S.C.
The three-day tournament is Thursday through Saturday (July 31-August 2). Official practice days are Sunday through Tuesday (Aug. 27-29).
During the three days of competition, a three-bass limit will be weighed each day by each team of co-anglers, and the three-day total weight determines the winner.
Reagan and Moody won last year with a nine-bass total weighing 43.03 pounds; Owens and Kelley were fourth with nine bass for 34.13 pounds.
“Everybody down there’s earned their spot,” Owens said. “It’s going to be a stacked field to fish against.”
And Carson-Newman is well represented in the field.
Aside from Owens, others committed to the 2025-26 Eagle Angler roster in next week’s nationals are Alcoa Fishing Team co-anglers Walker LaRue and Jackie Hatfield, AFT’s Landon Meyers, Kingston’s Hayden Barnett, and Montgomery County’s Kaden Casey and Collin French.
LaRue went to nationals last year with Joe Vaulton, who just finished his freshman season at Carson-Newman. Vaulton and LaRue, who finished 39th at the Bassmaster National on Chickamauga last year, will be re-united as co-anglers this coming season at Carson-Newman.
Like his buddies, LaRue will enjoy one more go-around on the high school circuit at Clarks Hill.
“It’ll be fun going down there with all my friends,” LaRue said. “It will be our last high school tournament and our last high school tournament being on different teams. Next year we’ll all be on the same team (at Carson-Newman).”
LaRue and Hatfield qualified by winning the TBN State Open Championship.
Their boat captain at Clarks Hill will be AFT coach J.J. LaRue, Walker’s father.
J.J. LaRue started the AFT program when Walker and several of the AFT anglers were in middle school.
“It’s going to be a little bit weird, but I think it will be fun,” Walker said. “We’ll have to soak everything in, for sure, especially with my dad being the captain. It’ll be the last time he’ll ever captain me in a tournament, so I’m going to try to take it all in but try to be competitive at the same time.”
LaRue and Hatfield have both advanced to the Bassmaster High School National Championship all four years of high school.
Hatfield’s previous co-angler was Graham Willis, and his last trip to nationals wasn’t too memorable.
“I didn’t do very good,” Hatfield said, “but I’m looking to do a lot better this time. I’ve got more knowledge about the lake and how it fishes.”
Hatfield didn’t get a chance to pre-fish Clarks Hill before Sunday’s official practices began, but other local qualifiers were able to practice there before the lake went off-limits from June 30 to July 27.
“I did a lot of graphing and caught a few whenever I did fish,” Owens said of his practice run.
LaRue, who fished a tournament during wintertime on Clarks Hill, pre-fished it in June with Barnett and Casey for several days before it went off limits.
“We kind of got a little bit of a bearing of the lake,” LaRue said.
Other 2025 graduates headed to Clarks Hill include AlcoaFishing Team’s Jack Hall, Kingston’s James Lane and Jackson Daugherty, and Jefferson County’s Parker Batts and Brody Jones.
Many headed to the Clarks Hill area on Saturday, including the LaRue family.
“My whole family’s coming down there,” Walker LaRue said. “All our families are coming. We’ll definitely hang out together almost every night. It’s going to be fun.”
And there will be some emotions.
“I’m really excited about it,” Hatfield said. “It’s kind of bittersweet because it’s the last high school tournament, but I’m looking forward to it.”
TENNESSEE QUALIFIERS
Rex Reagan-Max Moody, Pickett County (Defending Champions)
BASSMASTER OPEN QUALIFIERS
Corbin Bornstein-Thomas James, Lipscomb Academy (6th, Harris Chain)
Presley Lannom-Trevor Sanford, Mt. Juliet (7th, Harris Chain)
Barrett Newton-Landon Krauss, Upperman (8th, Harris Chain)
Jack Hall-Harlyn Nelson, Alcoa (13th, Harris Chain)
William Collins-Kyler Jenkins, Soddy-Daisy (16th, Harris Chain)
Parker Batts-Brody Jones, Jefferson Patriots (15th, Smith Lake 2)
Hayden Barnett-Camdyn Cranfill, Kingston (16th, Smith Lake 2)
Harrison Hobbs-Cade Speligene, Music City (21st, Smith Lake 2)
Andrew Terry, Dickson, (23rd, Smith Lake 2)
Mason Taylor-Wesley Kent, Dekalb (26th, Smith Lake 2)
TENNESSEE OPEN TRAIL
James Lane-Jackson Daugherty, Kingston (Battle of Chick winners)
Kaden Casey-Collin French, Montgomery (Points Champions)
Walker LaRue-Jackie Hatfield, Alcoa (State Championship Winners)
Landon Meyers-Seth McCorskey, Alcoa (Points Slot 1)
Logan Allen-Marco Gollando, Creekwood (Points Slot 2)
Elias Hitson-Bradford Van Denmark, Eagleville (Points Slot 3)
CENTRAL TENNESSEE TRAIL
Jonah Johnson-Carson Smith, Pickett County (Points 4th Place)
Ronnie Momms-Traveler Mimms, Sumner County (Points 6thPlace)
Caden Stevens-Hunter Crittenden, Franklin County (Points 7thPlace)
WEST TENNESSEE TRAIL
Camden Randall-James Roop, Mt. Pleasant (Points 2nd Place)
Spencer Lovett-Jason Lovett, Mt. Pleasant (Points 3rd Place)
Bryson Ellis-Phillip Myrick, Henry County (Points 4th Place)
SOUTHEAST TENNESSEE TRAIL
Blake James-Turner Tharpe, Rhea County (Points 5th Place)
Ethan Castle-Adam McDougal, Whitwell (Points 7th Place)
Jaxson Pierce-Tucker Larrance, Jefferson County (Points 8thPlace)
BASS PRO SEVIERVILLE TRAIL
Hunter Owens-Clayton Kelley, Karns (Points 1st Place)
Mac Fritts-Reid Chapman, Campbell County (Points 2nd Place)