Wellsboro’s Stiner competed in national bass fishing event
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With his regular season wrapped up, Colegan Stiner of Wellsboro advanced to the Toyota Series Championship on Grand Lake O' the Cherokees in Oklahoma earlier this month.
The Toyotoa Series Championship ran Nov. 6-8 and is considered a historic tournament with the best of the best anglers vying for high payouts for bass fishing at the Triple-A level.
At the Toyota Series Championship, Stiner wasn't able to advance after not being able to catch a bass during the competition. The winning angler was Giovanni Ceccarelli, who caught five fish on the first day, five on the second and four on Day 3 for a total of 14 fish and a combined weight of 27 pounds, 2 ounces to claim the $33,500 prize.
Stiner saw success at the Potomac River event on Sept. 9 in the Northern Division. He finished 25th at that event after catching five fish on the first day, four on the second and one on the third. He caught a total of 10 fish for a combined weight of 17 pounds, 4 ounches. His efforts earned him winnings of $599. The top angler in the competition was Glenn Dale, Maryland's Justin Bronson. Bronson caught five fish each day and had a combined weight of 37 pounds, 12 ounces, beating out Bel Alton, Maryland's Jesse Colie by one ounce to claim the $33,500 top prize.
The bulk of the field of anglers in this tournament were made up of the top 25 pro boaters and the top 25 co-anglers from each of the five Toyota Series divisions and the wildcard division, plus tournament winners. Stiner competed in the co-anglers division.
Also included are high school and college qualifiers, and international winners from Canada, Mexico, South Africa, Spain and Italy.
Colegan, 18-year-old angler from Wellsboro, qualified for the tournament because of his third-place finish in the Toyota Angler of the Year competition. He earned 741 points in the regular Toyota tournaments, just six points out of first place. It's quite the accomplishment for a first-year competitor on the circuit.
A tournament hotbed for years, Grand Lake offers good fishing, if not easy fishing, for many anglers.
The top prizes for pro boaters in the event was $235,000. Co-anglers were chasing a $33,500 Phoenix Bass Pro boat with motor plus bonuses for the highest finishers from each division.
Fishing in his 26th pro event, Stiner was pre-fishing on Grand Lake all week leading up to the tournament. He represented the Northern Division of the Toyota Series, along with co-anglers from Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland, Alabama and Ohio.