Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and he could win thousands of dollars in scholarships.
On April 15, Russellville’s Gabe Wallace won the senior division of the 2017 Tim Horton High School Bass Anglers Challenge on Pickwick Lake, hauling in a catch of 10.5 pounds.
The Russellville High School junior caught just two fish—a smallmouth bass and a largemouth bass—but both were big enough to push Wallace, who finished in third in the previous year’s competition, ahead of the competition and give him his first individual tournament win.
After a day of practice on Friday, Wallace said he felt optimistic going into Saturday’s Challenge. However, as he would come to find out, the fish were not so eager to bite on the day of the tournament.
“It was a tough day,” said Wallace, the son of the Wade and Courtney Wallace. “I didn’t get many bites on Saturday. I caught about a four-pound smallmouth early and then later in the day I caught about a six-pound largemouth. But really, the fish weren’t biting much.”
Wallace’s catch was not as bountiful as he might have liked, but his competition was also having trouble reeling in the elusive fish. A competitive fisherman for the last four years, Wallace was surprised to learn that he had finished in first place.
“It felt great, but I was shocked,” he said. “I didn’t think (10.5 pounds) would be enough to win. I guess everybody else was having a tough day, too. I just got the right two bites, I guess.”
Second place belonged to Phillips High School’s Andrew Chambers, who weighed in at 9.89 pounds.
Wallace’s prize for winning the senior division was two scholarships totaling $4500. The first, worth $3000, is a scholarship to any college, university, or technical school of his choice. The second, worth $1500, is to Northwest-Shoals Community College. The NWSCC scholarship was awarded to Wallace for being the top angler in the senior division from Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale or Lawrence counties. He was also given a new rod and reel for catching the largest bass in the senior division.
Although still a junior, Wallace says he already has plans on how to use his newly earned scholarships.
“I’m probably going to go to (Northwest-Shoals) for two years first,” he said. “I think I want to learn a trade like welding or something like that.”
Until that time, Wallace will keep fishing. His next tournament will be with the RHS bass fishing team, which will compete in a contest at Pickwick Lake on April 22.
