TITLE SPONSOR:
Cedar Falls, IA
2026 Final Report
SCHEELS of Cedar Falls was once again the Title Sponsor. They supplied all kids with baits and fishing gear, many of the Top 15 boat prizes were SCHEELS sponsored as well. Them, as well as Lew's Fishing and Strike King Lures, I was able to give away over $5,000 worth of prizes and fishing gear. Truly amazing! I also want to add that my friends, Chad O'Brien and Drew O'Brien made this event go smooth for all involved...thanks guys!
Onto the most exciting event of the history of this tournament. I have ran/organized/fished in 100's tournaments in my life, never, ever have the numbers worked out like they did at this event. First, Lake MacBride showed why this event made its return, the bass were biting and the kids were having fun, isn't that what it is all about? Of the57 boats, (114 kids) 44 of them brought bass to the weigh-in. A huge feat for the anglers and the population of bass in the lake. The top team from Cedar Falls, Ty and Ethan brought 14.81 pounds to the scales, including a 4.34 pound big bass. In second place was the team from CR Prairie of Nolan and Max, they had 13.01 pounds. In third was Justice and Warner from CR Prairie, they had 10.48 with a 4.34 pound big bass. Yes, that is right a TIE for the big bass to the one-hundredth of a pound. Crazy, the crowd of over 300 people was amazed too. The full standings can be found HERE on the tournament website. Now, I have seen one or two times in my life where there was a tie for big bass, typically they split the prize. Not here though, both anglers received the BIG BASS Trophy and Strike King Gear Pack. Now, for the absolute, never in my life even thought about it result from this tournament. When calculating the "TEAM SCORES", the total of the top 2 boats from each school, there was another tie. Cedar Falls and CR Prairie had the exact same weight, 23.49 pounds. No problem, the Big Bass was the tiebreaker...oh year, both schools TIED FOR BIG BASS too! So onto the 3rd tie-breaker, add in a third boat to the team total. When calculated, CR Prairie was crowned the 2026 Iowa High School Bass Team Championship. To think, 10 bass from Cedar Falls and 10 bass from CR Prairie weighing the exact same amount...never in my life. You just never know in the world of bass fishing. Nolan/Max/Justice/Warner from CR Prairie helped their school take home the Championship rings, while Ethan/Ty/Jack/Madek got the Runner-up for Cedar Falls. In third place was West Delaware HS, forth place was Independence HS, and in fifth was Wilton HS.
A beautiful spring day on Lake MacBride will hold so many memories for these kids and captains. I am glad I can work with so many sponsors and friends to bring this event to the youth of Iowa. This year, we had a record number of schools represented, 24 schools from across Iowa. We are 12 months away from the 2027 event...but planning is already in the works. ;)
2026 FINAL Results
2026 Iowa High School Bass Team Championship
Top 5 Schools
2026 EVENT Details
The annual event is set once again, it will take place the day before Mother's Day on Saturday, May 9th at Lake MacBride.
Tournament hours: 8am-2pm ~ 5 bass per boat
2 Events in 1: Typical standings for individual boats and BONUS Team Event for schools. Add the top two placing school weights to qualify for additional prizes and awards.
Lake MacBride: Boat Ramp located WEST of the beach will be Tournament Headquarters for check-in, starting positions, and weigh-ins.
Registration is OPEN, click on the link in the LEFT column to get entered, starting order is decided by when you sign up.
Deadline- ENTRIES must be received by Monday, May 4th.
2025 Team Championship Review
Another year for this event has come and gone. For the past seven years, Tournament Director Todd Reed (www.fishingwithtoddreed.com) has been able to give this opportunity to kids from all over the state. "It is an honor to work with my sponsors to bring this event to the youth of Iowa." This OPEN bass tournament, not requiring and formal club or organization, is for all kids across the state. There are a few bass clubs in the state but not as many as you would think. This event allows anyone to grab a partner, an adult, a boat and come fishing for a part of $4,000 in fishing awards and gear. This year the event took place on Lake MacBride near Solon, Iowa. There were 57 boats, or 114 kids fishing on the day from 20 different schools. They were; Benton Community, Cascade, Cedar Falls, Charles City, Waverly/ShellRock, CR Prairie, Anamosa, Des Moines Roosevelt, Gilbert, Independence, Johnston, Louisa Muscatine, Midland, Mt. Pleasant, North Linn, Prince of Peace, Solon, Tipton, West Delaware, and Wilton.
The weather was beautiful on this day and the bass were biting. This event is unique as there are a couple different competitions going on simultaneously. First, like a typical bass tournament each boat weighs in their five biggest bass from the day. The other part is the "TEAM" portion. The two top boats from the same school are added together for the "team score". It has been a fun twist to High School fishing, as the sport will grow fastest if we connect with schools. In 2024, it was the Indee Bass Club from Independence taking home the Championship. Let's take a look at how things panned out in 2025.
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| Max with the BIG BASS |
Probably the biggest surprise at the scales on this day was the "Strike King Big Bass" that was brought in by Max of Des Moines Roosevelt. The largemouth bass weighed 5.19 pounds, a HUGE bass for anywhere in the Midwest, a big congratulations to them for catching that monster during the event.
As for the individual boats it was a mix boat from Waverly/ShellRock and Charles City that claimed the trophy for 2025. Clay and Will had five keeper bass that weighed 11.91#. In second place was the team from CR Prairie, Nolan and Max weighing in 11.76 pounds. In third place was Tyson and Kallen from Johnston with 11.63 pounds. Coming in at forth place was Tucker and Micah from CR Prairie with 11.32 pounds. Rounding out the top five was Marshall and Reese from Johnston with 10.52 pounds.
Prizes were given out to the top three teams placing in the school portion of this event, as well as the top 15 individual boats. Over $4,000 in awards and fishing gear was given away. Rods, reels, tackle, life vests, fishing tools, trophies and the Championship Rings were all possible by our great sponsors. A HUGE shoutout to the Cedar Falls SCHEELS store for their continued support of this event. We are already planning and thinking about the 2026!!! Strike King, Lew's Fishing and Hot Rod Baits were contributing sponsors as well.
Lastly, a HUGE thank you to the tournament volunteers, Chad O'Brien, James Cook, Garry Anderson and Jeremia Matz from SCHEELS for making this event go smoothly for everyone. THANK YOU ALL!
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