Austin Barnes and Dane Anderson, a pair of Manteca High seniors, will hit the road this summer to compete in some prestigious fishing tournaments.
Barnes, with teammate Niko Mirante of Delta Charter High School in Tracy, and Anderson, with teammate Joseph Curcio of Liberty High School in Brentwood, fish for the San Joaquin BassMasters, part of the California Bass Federation/The Bass Federation circuit. Both teams recently qualified for the Nationals which will be held in Grand Lake Grove, Okla. from June 24-28, but only Barnes and Mirante will be able to make the trip.
“This is a big opportunity,” Barnes said. “This will be a good chance to put my name out there and maybe get some scholarships.
“It’s going to be an adventure, a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Fishing in Oklahoma will be cool.”
There will be a benefit dinner at the Manteca Moose Lodge on June 13 to help defray the expenses, which include towing the boat to Oklahoma and back, along with meals and lodging.
Anderson has been fishing with San Joaquin BassMasters for four years, and recently with Curcio took first place in the Student Angler Federation High School State Championships out of Ladd’s Marina in Stockton. Their championship bounty was a total weight of 17.36 pounds with Curcio netting the big fish of 5.2 pounds.
While he is unable to make the trek to Oklahoma, he will be heading north to Clear Lake for a pro-am competition in October.
“I will be doing a lot of fishing in October,” Anderson said. “And I will be fishing a lot to get ready for this. This will be a learning experience and I look forward to the memories.”
