By: Betty Gandee
Two local boys have made a big splash in TBF Jr. World Fishing Championship on Mosquito Creek Lake in Ohio. Luke Stewart, 11, an upcoming 6th grader at Clay Middle School, and Austin Craze, 9, an upcoming 4th grader at Lizemore Elementary, are first cousins and love to hunt and fish. Luke has been fishing in tournaments with stepdad Mikey Samples for two years and the hard work has paid off.
Both Luke and Austin had previously fished in high school and junior tournaments on Summersville Lake last fall, where they placed first in the junior’s division. They also weighed in the biggest bag of the whole tournament, including the high school team’s catch.
On May 24, 2020, the duo fished the WV TBF Jr. State Championship on Sutton Lake for their first State Championship, where they walked away with a first place title with 11.59 lbs, which qualified them to fish in the TBF Jr. World Championship in Ohio.
The TBF Jr. World Championship is a three-day tournament consisting of five divisions, WV being the Eastern Division. The team with the highest weight combined in their division qualifies them to fish in the last (the third day) of the tournament. Each team is given two days, July 27 and 28, with the first day of competition being held on July 29.
On the first day of competition the boys weighed in a 9.14lb bag (the highest weight of the first day overall) putting them the Eastern Division’s 1st place spot. On day two they weighed in with 8.12lbs with a combined two-day weight of 18.10 lbs. and won the Eastern Division. Day three consisted of difficult fishing, but the Clay County boys walked away with a 4th place overall, each winning a scholarship to use in any form of higher education and memories that will last a lifetime.
Luke and Austin were the only West Virginia team to make it to day three of fishing for the past eight years. They are both ready to go back next year and bring home that first place title! Congratulations Luke and Austin on your wins!