USA

Northlake Christian duo wins high school fishing national championship

June 24, 2019 by FLW Communications

FLORENCE, Ala. – The Northlake Christian School Fishing Team of Christopher Capdeboscq of Covington, Louisiana, and Sam Acosta of Madisonville, Louisiana, brought in three bass totaling 9 pounds, 7 ounces on the final day of competition to win the 2019 TBF/FLW High School Fishing National Championship on Pickwick Lake. The duo's three-day total of nine bass weighing 35 pounds, 12 ounces gave them the win by a thin 1-ounce margin over the second-place team of Colin McCullough and Justin Hamlin who caught 35-11 for Alabama's Cedar Bluff High School. For the win, Capdeboscq and Acosta each won a four-year $40,000 scholarship to Kentucky Christian University.

Capdeboscq said the final day's mostly calm, sunny conditions were less favorable than the previous two days' cloudy skies and moderate winds. Developing options for both scenarios, he said, was essential to his team's success.

"We had a really good 1-2 punch going this week, which was good for whether the bite was on fire or it was slow," Capdeboscq said. "Sam was dragging a 3/4-ounce Strike King Jointed Structure Head with a Zoom Magnum Trick Worm and I was deep cranking with a 6th Sense Cloud 9 C20. The crankbait would get them fired up when they were feeling it and it would catch all the big ones."

Capdeboscq said that using lighter line — 12-pound-test Seaguar Tatsu fluorocarbon — was key to getting his crankbait to maximum depth and keeping it in the strike zone.

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