Jack Story got it done despite a high-stress final day. Photo by Rob Matsuura.
By Jody White
Phoenix Bass Fishing League Press Release
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Jack Story was supposed to walk across the graduation stage with his high school classmates this weekend. Instead, he left the weigh-in stage at the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American on Lake Murray atop the leaderboard all three days.
After taking the lead with 22 pounds, 11 ounces on Day 1, Story made all the right adjustments to wrap up a wire-to-wire victory. The youngest-ever winner of the annual grassroots championship, surpassing a mark set by Jacob Wheeler 15 years ago on Cross Lake, the 18-year-old earned $100,000 and qualified for REDCREST 2027.
Weighing 17-7 on Day 3 brought Story’s total to 61-8, which proved just enough to hold off Brooks Anderson, who charged up the leaderboard with 22-11 on Day 3 and finished with a 60-14 total. In third, Caz Anderson weighed 59-13, and Tom Frink finished fourth with 59-8 to round out a very compelling race through much of the day on MLFNOW!.
Story raises the bar
Young anglers have been winning the All-American since the beginning. Back in 1984, Shaw Grigsby took the trophy at just 28, and Emil Wagner was 25 when he won a few years ago at Lake Hartwell. But this is the first time the winner skipped high school graduation for Day 1. In doing so, Story set a high-water mark that is going to be very hard to top.
TOP 10 BELOW
