Scotts Hill anglers win Tennessee Bassmaster junior state title

Scotts Hill anglers win Tennessee Bassmaster junior state title

Parker Smith and Luke Roberts brought the Tennessee Bassmaster Junior State Championship home to Scotts Hill after winning on Watts Bar Lake in Kingston, giving Decatur County another high-profile youth achievement to rally around. The result added yet another chapter to a Scotts Hill student angling program that has turned weekend tournaments into one of the community’s most visible school success stories.

The victory mattered because it was not a stand-alone surprise. Scotts Hill has spent the past two years building a record that points to a durable program, not a one-time burst of talent. In 2025, Smith and Carson Randan won the Bassmaster Junior National Championship at Clarks Hill Lake with a two-day total of 20 pounds, 7 ounces, and Lexington Progress reported that the pair won 12 tournaments that season. Earlier, in October 2024, Smith and Randan also won a Tennessee Bass Nation event at Watts Bar with boat captain Nick Hart. That kind of repeated success has made Scotts Hill a name other youth anglers know.

The 2026 state title at Watts Bar underscored how far the program has traveled, literally and competitively. Tennessee Bass Nation’s junior results page listed the Junior Division State Championship at Watts Bar in Kingston for May 29-30, 2026, a reminder that these events demand more than skill on the water. They require early departures, long drives, boat logistics, and adults willing to keep students on the road and in position to compete against the best youth anglers in Tennessee.

That support network is part of the story in Scotts Hill. The anglers’ success reflects not just the students in the boat, but also the coaches, families, and mentors who make school-backed extracurricular competition possible. In a small community that spans both Decatur County and Henderson County, those weekends on the road also build school pride and a sense of identity that reaches beyond the classroom.

The wins have continued beyond the state level. Bassmaster reported that Scotts Hill anglers Aiden Phillips and Weston Mullins won the 2026 Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Series at Sam Rayburn Reservoir with 17 pounds, 4 ounces. Together, the results show a program that is no longer emerging. Scotts Hill’s student anglers have become a serious presence, and the state title at Watts Bar only strengthened that reputation.