Bass fishing titles on the line for 5 Northern Kentucky teams at state

In these days of cell phones, social media and hundreds of TV channels, teenagers have a lot of distractions.

To be good in fishing, you have to set all of that aside and be locked in to what you’re doing for eight or more hours.

Ten Northern Kentucky high schoolers will take on that challenge this weekend at the Kentucky High School Athletic Association state bass fishing tournament. The event is a two-day competition, May 8-9, at the Kentucky Dam Marina in Gilbertsville, western Kentucky.

Anglers can catch a maximum of five fish per day. Teams win by accumulating the highest total weight of fish. 

“I’m pretty excited,” said Covington Catholic junior Drew Berling, one of the competitors. “Fishing up in Northern Kentucky doesn’t get a lot of recognition and hopefully we can do pretty well.”

Berling and teammate Eli Scroggins are one of five two-person teams that will have a boat in the competition after qualifying from the Region 2 tournament in Jamestown. They finished 14th in the regional.

Grant County has two boats. Hunter Lilly and Kyle Lilly finished third in the regional, Brian Hamm and Raymond Hamm finished 27th. Bishop Brossart’s Cooper Lackey and Paxton Litmer finished sixth. Ryle’s Tanner Norman and Owen Miller placed 28th.

Berling and Scroggins finished 49th in the state meet last year. Scroggins is competing at state for the third straight season.

Northern Kentucky has never won a bass fishing state title. CovCath has a strong recent history of success, with three top-10 finishes in the past five seasons, including second place by Brandon Smith and Phoenix Parks in 2024.

Grant’s Hunter Lilly finished 14th last year with a different partner. Dixie Heights had a fourth-place showing in 2015.

Berling, who has been fishing since seventh grade, said constant communication is a key between the partners.

“I like being out in the water and hanging out with my buddies,” he said. “Being out in the water is fun.”

While it’s fun, you have to be laser focused on what’s going on in the water. Patience is key.

“You can’t just be screwing around in the boat,” Berling said. “You got to really lock in and focus on the goal, which is to win the tournament. If you’re not focused, you’ll lose fish. You might pass over something that potentially holds the tournament-winning fish.”

The closest competition water to Northern Kentucky is Williamstown Lake, where Berling and others compete once or twice a week.

Berling said like any other sport the ability to stay in the present after a mistake is also important.

“If you’re angry and frustrated it’s pretty easy to lose your focus,” he said. “You just have to move past it.”