SHEFFIELD – Some big changes are coming for the Timmy Horton High School Bass Anglers Challenge fishing tournament, which has awarded $80,000 in college scholarships since 2013.
The senior division at this year’s Timmy Horton High School Bass Anglers Challenge on Pickwick Lake is open to students from throughout the United States in grades 10-12. In the past, the tournament has been limited to Alabama students. The junior division, for students in grades 7-9, at this year’s tournament remains limited to Alabama residents only. The tournament, on Saturday, April 15, will be staged out of Riverfront Park in Sheffield.
“I have had kids from all over the country asking me if they could fish the tournament,” said
Tim Horton
Horton, a professional angler and outdoors television personality from Muscle Shoals, Ala. “By opening up the senior division to students from other states, this year’s tournament is going to be huge. There’s no doubt it will be our largest ever.”
Another change is the tournament waters will be expanded to include all of Pickwick Lake. In the past, anglers have been limited to the Alabama portion of the lake.
The tournament is organized by the Colbert County Tourism and Convention Bureau. Susann Hamlin, president and CEO of Colbert Tourism, said the influx of out-of-state anglers into the tournament will be a boom for tourism.
“We’ve had students and their parents from Illinois, Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee and other states calling and emailing our office wanting us to expand the Timmy Horton tournament to student anglers from other states,” Hamlin said. “It seems like everybody wants to come fish for those big bass we have Pickwick Lake and have chance to win a college scholarship.”
The tournament offers $20,000 in college scholarships. The tournament is open to students in public, private and home schools.
Prizes and scholarships will be awarded to the top five individual anglers in each division. In addition, prizes and scholarships to Northwest-Shoals Community College in Muscle Shoals will be awarded to the top anglers in the senior division who live in Colbert, Franklin Lauderdale or Lawrence counties in Alabama. Students do not have to be a member of a fishing team at their school to participate. Students will fish from boats operated by adult captains.
Highlights from the tournament will be televised nationally on World Fishing Network.
Entry forms and more details are available at FishPickwickLake.com
For more information about the tournament, or lodging, contact Colbert County Tourism and Convention Bureau at (256) 383-0783, (800) 344-0783 or colberttourism@comcast.net.
