ANDERSON, SC – Challenges facing two young Teche Area bass anglers were as clear as day to their captain, Brock Daigle, when he first saw Lake Hartwell on July 18.

The 42-year-old New Iberia outdoorsman looked at the clear water in a lake bigger and deeper than he’s ever fished and did a doubletake. He had his work cut out for him to locate bass with his son, Hollis Daigle, 11, and his Catholic High School Fishing Team partner, Vincent Soprano, 12, for the 2023 Bassmaster Junior National Championship.

Daigle said, “Whenever I saw how clear the water was that Tuesday morning, it was an ‘Oh my gosh!’ moment. ‘How are we going to fish this clear water?’ ”

“I thought it’d be good until I realized the water was so clear if I could see them they could see me,” Hollis said.

How clear? Mostly 2- to 3-foot water clarity anywhere they went in Daigle’s Ranger bass boat Tuesday through Day 2. They saw smallmouth and largemouth bass in groups of two to eight follow hooked bass to the boat.

Lake Hartwell’s size and depth got the captain’s attention, too, before the tournament began July 21.

Intimidating? A little, to say the least. The impoundment has nearly 700 miles of shoreline, mostly devoid of cover compared to what he and the boys fish in and around the Atchafalaya Basin.

“Inside the lake there are little islands. That’s when it hit me how huge it was,” Daigle said, adding it looks different from inside a bass boat compared to looking at it on a map.

Average depth is 45 feet and maximum depth is 185 feet.

You know what? Daigle and the first-year fishing team rose to the challenge and never quit. After three oft-frustrating days on the water, Hollis, a sixth-grader, and Vincent, a seventh-grader, carried a three-bass limit (including two cull fish) across the national stage at Green Pond Landing on Day 2, a Saturday, to the delight of their captain.

Their three bass weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces, to finish 82nd in the 23-boat field. On Sept. 3, 2022, in their first-ever Louisiana High School Bass Nation tournament out of Doiron’s Landing, Stephensville, they had three bass weighing 6.66 pounds.

The CHS Fishing Team duo was far from the winning weight of 21 pounds, 12 ounces, turned in by Hart County, Georgia, Junior Anglers’ Kale Temple and Luke Schnell. The Georgians had 10-13 the first day and 10-15 on Day 2 to claim the national title.

However, Hollis and Vincent made their respective families, friends, communities, high school, team and, yes, captain, proud by putting a weigh-in bag with 3 bass on the digital scale in front of hundreds of people here during a livestreamed weigh-in.

Daigle said, “Absolutely. That was my goal to have the team walk across the stage no matter the outcome. I just wanted them to walk up there, weigh fish and get a ticket, you know?

“The boys were pumped that we were able to cull two smaller fish for the first time in a tournament. There were plenty of high fives when we got our limit and plenty of high fives when we started culling,” he said.

They got their limit the final day before 8:15 a.m. Vincent, who had the hot hand smacking keeper bass, nailed their biggest bass around midday on a citrus-colored Sixth Sense Squarebill crank bait. Later he hooked and boated a second bass big enough to cull.

“I was super excited we got a limit. When we culled I was super pumped,” the captain said.

Hollis, a sixth-grader, and Vincent, a seventh-grader, didn’t catch a keeper bass while prefishing two days out of Glenn’s Ferry Landing and or on Day 1. They hooked and boated a handful of short bass, mostly 11 ¾ inches long, each day, mostly on soft plastics.

“They were bummed they didn’t get to weigh in (the first day) but still excited about being there and knowing they’d get to fish another day. They had another chance. They knew it wasn’t over Day 1,” Daigle said, noting the youngsters retied lures, switched gears and prepared for the second day of competition.

Vincent said the sting from scratching the first day wore off.

“Yeah, we could have done better. (But) we learned some stuff for the next time. It was just cool to go to a national tournament, being on a fishing team and being with other people with a lot of talent. We were just having a good time and catching fish,” he said.

“Um, I love it. I’ve never fished a place so big like that. Lake Hartwell was huge,” Hollis said.

Like Vincent, his goal is to return to nationals.

“I’m going to do it again and catch more fish because I’m going to be a lot more experienced,” he said.

Hollis rode with his father and mother, Ashley Charpentier Daigle, who arrived with the boat July 17, while Vincent arrived early the next day with his mother, Schuyler Hebert, and stepfather, Arthur Hebert. They all stayed at an Airbnb in Fair Play, South Carolina.

The Green Pond Landing scene on the first morning of the two-day tournament is forever etched in the captain’s mind.

“With the amount of boats over there it was breathtaking scenery … the hills and 123 boats with their running lights (and navigational lights) on. It looked like Christmas on the water,” he said.

As the sky lightened each succeeding minute, Daigle said he was impressed by the prayer, national anthem and inspirational speech from Glenn Cale, B.A.S.S. Nation Tournament Manager – College, High School and Junior. Then boats started taking off in order to start Day 1.

“The trip was an unforgettable experience. I’m not going to say once in a lifetime. Unforgettable, especially for a rookie team,” Daigle said.

“I’d like to thank Catholic High for starting a Junior team, Coach Jacob Shoopman for being our coach and all of our sponsors who donated for a spot on our jersey. Those are good-looking jerseys.”

He also extended heartfelt thanks to Phil Haney, Chad Hazelwood and 16th Judicial District Court Judge Vincent Borne, who donated to help defray expenses for the long trip, and to Mike Sinitiere for donating a plastic tacklebox full of Ned rig soft plastics to Daigle and Vincent.

Hollis, Vincent and Daigle already are looking forward to the 2023-24 schedule that includes new sites Red River (Shreveport) and Bayou Segnette. He’ll be flying a new flag presented to captains from LHSBN.

“I’ll fly it proudly. We are one of 10 (Louisiana Junior teams) with that flag,” he said.