Mason Goodall and Zach Hedges are headed to the KHSAA State Bass Fishing Tournament after reeling in a sixth-place finish out of 107 teams at the regional competition held at Lake Barkley.
Representing Apollo High School, the duo caught five fish weighing a total of 12 pounds, 9 ounces—enough to secure a state berth and mark a milestone for the program.
“It feels awesome, really,” Goodall said. “We wanted to make it, and to be the first team under the new coaches to do that is pretty special.”
Goodall and Hedges started the day strong with a solid three-pound catch and added smaller fish throughout the morning. But their path to qualification was anything but smooth.
“We caught a couple of bigger ones that came off right at the boat, right before the net,” Goodall said. “It was nerve-racking because we knew it was going to be close.”
Hedges said they had the bites to potentially win it all.
“I lost one that was five or bigger, and Mason lost two that were over three,” he said. “That would have given us enough to win. But we’re proud—we placed sixth and qualified for state.”
Hedges, a junior who has been with the team since seventh grade, said he’s eager to tackle the new challenge of Lake Cumberland at state.
“I’ve never even seen the lake before,” he said. “It’s going to take a little getting used to. I’ll have to figure out what they’re biting on, whether it’s a live scope deal, flipping bushes, or working the banks.”
Head Coach Marshall Graham said he couldn’t be more proud of the team.
“This group has worked incredibly hard, and it’s great to see them rewarded with a trip to state,” Graham said. “We’ve seen a lot of growth this season, and I’m excited to see what Mason and Zach can do at Lake Cumberland.”
Other Apollo teams competed but fell just short of qualification. McCoy and Blake Taylor weighed in at 6.04 pounds — just one pound shy of the cutoff. Lucas Lindsey and Dawson Donahue caught one fish weighing 2 pounds, 8 ounces. Thomas Payton, Kobey Hinton, and Kobey Hinton also landed a fish at 3 pounds, 8 ounces.
The KHSAA State Bass Fishing Tournament is set for May 10-11 at Lake Cumberland.
