State champion looks to nationals

Bass fisherman Josh Abernathy will compete in Greenville, South Carolina

By Barbara Adams

The Estacada News, Sep 13, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

Contributed photo / Estacada News

Mt. Hood Bassmaster’s Club member Josh Abernathy took first place in his age division at the Oregon State Junior Finals Bass Tournament in August, which qualified him for the national 2008 Junior World Championship, held in February 2008 in Greenville, South Carolina.

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Josh Abernathy has been named the Mt. Hood Bassmaster’s Junior Angler of the Year four times. He received the title “Oregon State CastingKids Champion” three years in a row, and in August he won the Junior Bassmasters Oregon State Championship.

Now he’s working on taking his sport to a new level as he prepares to travel to Greenville, South Carolina in February 2008 for the Junior World Championship tournament.

Abernathy, 14, is an eighth grade student at Estacada Junior High School. He started bass fishing from the time he could hold a pole–his parents are avid anglers and he and his sister, Jessica, have grown up surrounded by the sport. Bass tournament weekend camping trips are among his fondest memories, Abernathy said.

He started his bass competition career as a member of the Bassmaster CastingKids program, where he honed his skills flipping, pitching and casting a hook-less lure to a bulls-eye target. Mastering these techniques gave him the skills he needed to catch large bass.

Abernathy competed in the 11 to 14 year-old age group at the Junior Bassmasters Oregon State Championship held at the Green Peter Reservoir in southern Oregon in August. Fishing wasn’t great that day, Abernathy said, and of the contenders competing in the event, only four in his age group caught one fish each. His weighed 3 pounds 1.5 ounces, the biggest catch of the day.

Abernathy will spend the first day at the 2008 Junior World Championship tournament working with a Bassmaster Classic pro angler. They will use the day to practice, enjoy a day of fishing together and share fish-catching stories.

The second day of the event will be the official tournament day. Abernathy will select his own fishing waters and operate everything but the high tech boat.

More than $27,000 in cash, scholarships and awards will be up for grabs, in addition to two fully rigged boats, with motors and trailer packages, from Triton/Mercury for the first place champions of the two age group divisions.

Abernathy’s sister, Jessica, who is also an accomplished bass angler, will travel with him to South Carolina, along with their parents and grandparents.