Kaden Jones And Braylon Ellis Shine At National Bass Fishing Tournament
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Kaden Jones and Braylon Ellis placed fourth out of 400 boats on Grand Lake in Oklahoma, qualifying them for the World Bass Fishing Tournament.
Samuel Warren
Herald Staff
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Two Mercer County fishermen earned the experience of a lifetime last weekend when they qualified for and competed in the High School Fishing World Finals, in Grand Lake, Oklahoma. Mercer County Senior High School class of 2025 graduates Kaden Jones and Braylon Ellis spent three straight days on Grand Lake beginning on Tuesday, June 24, competing in the National Championship.
The duo’s first day was par for the course, a three bass haul weighed in at 6.12 lb, and it positioned them in the top half of a competition that included 400 boats. The second day came with bigger numbers, and a 7.03 lb haul placed Jones and Ellis in the top quarter of teams. It wasn’t until the final day of fishing that the duo’s backs were against the wall.
“For the most part though, we tried to treat it as if it were any other tournament. Although the stakes were much higher this time and we wanted to make the most of it, being it was our last high school tournament together,” said Jones of the pair’s final day of the National Tournament.
Day three came and left the pair with little chance of qualification. If Jones and Ellis were to qualify, they would need to place in the top-10 of 380 competitors. After multiple days of pre-fishing, determining the best spots to fish and what bait to use, and two days of competition on the water, Jones and Ellis knew something needed to change on the final day if they were to climb out of the hole.
“We knew we had to make an adjustment out on the water via bait and location if we wanted to have a chance heading into the cut off. The motto that we kept saying all day was ‘go big or we’re going home,’” Ellis said of the pair’s mind set heading onto the water on day three.
