Peachtree City Teens Represent The Southeast Region In FLW Nationals

McIntosh High School seniors Dawson Lenz and Dalton Anderson (from left), both of Peachtree City, will compete for the FLW High School National Championship next month on Lake Murray in Columbia, S.C.

Two 18-year-old tournament anglers from Peachtree City can arguably call themselves two of the top-10 high school bass anglers in the nation.

When McIntosh High School seniors Dalton Anderson and Dawson Lenz started a school bass club their sophomore year, there’s no way they could have known it would take them this far. On April 15, they will be fishing Columbia, S.C.’s Lake Murray in a bid for the FLW High School Bass Fishing National Championship and $5,000 each in scholarship money.

The tournament, which will field just five boats, is the culmination of a year’s worth of nationwide qualifying events. Dalton and Dawson won The Bass Federation state tournament with five spotted bass weighing 12.71 pounds at Lanier in June. That win qualified them as the one Georgia team to compete in the FLW regionals.

They then won the regionals on Bartletts Ferry against state champions from Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee and South Carolina. It was a tough day during the September regional, but the partners weighed 5.15 pounds to win.

Now Dalton and Dawson will be fishing against the four other regional champions at Lake Murray.

“We’re probably going to be fishing a blueback herring spawn bite. With the way this winter is coming along, it’s going to be pretty warm in April, and the fish should all be off bed and on those points with the blueback herring spawning on those points. They should all be out there schooling,” Dalton said. “We’ll be throwing that Alabama Rig.”

Both anglers have already decided to fish in college. Dawson will attend the University of North Alabama, and Dalton is going to Georgia Southern. Both schools have strong collegiate fishing programs.