HOT SPRINGS -- The third time was the charm for Tyler White, 15, of Oak Hill, W.Va., who won The Bass Federation Youth World Championship on Saturday at Lake Hamilton.
The TBF Youth World Championship was held Friday and Saturday in conjunction with the Forrest Wood Cup. The Bass Federation is affiliated with Fishing League Worldwide, which conducts the FLW Tour and the Forrest Wood Cup.
White has competed in the TBF Youth World Championship three consecutive years. His first appearance in 2013 was at Caddo Lake in Louisiana, where he finished second by a mere 2 ounces.
In 2014 at Lake Wateree, S.C., he didn't catch any fish.
White regrouped and went through the qualifying grind a third time. He won at Lake Hamilton by catching five-bass limits both days, including 11 pounds, 4 ounces Saturday to ice the title. His prize was a massive silver cup and a $2,500 scholarship.
"This is a crazy experience," White said. "I finally got it done."
Hank Parker, a two-time Bassmaster Classic champion, emceed the event. He expressed admiration for White for recovering from his disastrous performance last year.
"Sometimes when people 'zero,' it takes the wind out of their sails," Parker said. "Not this young man. He just kept on ticking."
White said both of those tournaments were disappointing, but he said he used them as growth experiences.
"Everything changed, especially the way I do my research," White said. "I did my homework and fished as much as I could."
He said he started studying the relationships of wind and current on fish movements and positioning. He said he learned how to read the wind, and how to interpret weather changes.
"Where I come from we don't really have the lakes like they do in the South," White said. "Here they have real shallow water. A drop of 10 degrees outside will change the whole game."
Also, White said he became more focused and more disciplined.
"My intensity kind of changed," he said. "That Caddo experience changed my whole fishing personality of fishing. My confidence has grown immensely. I'm able to actually talk when I go onstage because I have that experience. That first year I was so scared, and I was so disappointed to let people down."
White credited his father for teaching him to fish. He plays soccer and basketball, and he loves to hunt deer, but he said bass fishing is his passion.
"Fishing means everything to me," White said. "My whole family is fishermen. My dad took me fishing since I was able to walk and understand what fishing is. I put lots of hard work and dedication into this."
Competing amid the pageantry of the Forrest Wood Cup was an unforgettable experience, White said, adding that he intends to continue fishing competitively in the FLW Collegiate series. He encouraged other high school anglers to take advantage of youth fishing opportunities, too.
"I say do it, 100 percent," White said. "It's a wonderful tournament. They really roll out the red carpet. It's competitive, but that's what you want."
Sports on 08/23/2015