A Walker High School Fishing Team member has qualified for the Louisiana High School Bass Nation (LHSBN) state tournament each of his four years and twice punched his ticket to national competition, all while beating the bank.
Yes, Hunter Holland’s proud of the fact he’s a “bankbeater,” keeping the boat moving close to the shoreline while offering standard fare such as spinnerbaits, bladed jigs, plastic frogs and other soft plastics around any piece of cover he can find. It’s been effective in in-state and out-of-state high school tournaments from Stephensville to Caney Lake to Lake Norfolk, Ark., and Lake Hartwell in S.C.
The WHS angler seeks more bass tournament results like the state tournament he fished with his younger sister, Breanna Holland, in May 2023 and finished 15th on the Red River, or the tournament the same year that ended with a second-place finish at Lake Norfolk for him and Garrett Thomas.
Really, Holland, 19, strives to complete his four-year run as a high school bass angler this year on a high note.
A love for bass fishing
Butch and Jennifer Holland’s son showed his commitment to high school bass fishing after he qualified to fish as a Louisiana B.A.S.S. Nation State Team co-angler in the B.A.S.S. Nation Regionals in April in Oklahoma. Any high schooler would be proud to compete at that level, but he chose to stay and prefish LHSBN’s last two regularly scheduled tournaments at Stephensville on April 5 and Henderson on April 12.
His love for bass fishing, he said about a month ago, was kindled at age 10 by his parrain, Jonathon Graham. Lake Concordia was the classroom and his uncle the teacher. Holland credits Graham with teaching him to flip, his go-to technique with a crawfish imitation soft plastic.
“That’s how I started bass fishing. I’ve always liked bass fishing and always wanted to do it,” he said, noting his parents strictly targeted catfish at the time.
Lake Concordia remains his favorite lake, particularly in May. Based on his experience there over the past nine years, bass are coming off their spawning beds this month. They can be caught in grass and reeds away from the shallows flipping a Zoom Speed Craw or Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver, he said. If the water’s stained to muddy, try black/blue or June bug and if it’s clear use watermelon/red or watermelon/candy, some kind of natural color, he advised. The shad spawn offers another opportunity to put bass in the boat around cypress trees, boat docks, bulkheads and rocks, according to Holland.
Making up for lost time
Holland missed the first half of the high school tournament season his freshman year at Walker High School. An infected spinal cord abscess was removed. He was unable to fish during his lengthy recovery. However, he made up for lost time while fishing just three tournaments the second half of the season and, by himself, qualified for the LHSBN state tournament. He went with Thomas to the Open at Lake Norfolk in Arkansas where a runners-up finish qualified them for nationals in South Carolina, as well as a berth in the High School Bassmaster Classic, where he crossed the big stage after fishing Watts Bar on the Tennessee River out of Knoxville.
Holland’s dad has been the team captain since his freshman year. He has witnessed first-hand 20 Top 20 finishes by his son and tournament partners.
“We’re doing pretty good right now … three Top 10s so far,” his mother said, proudly. “A sixth (Toledo Bend), a seventh (Manchac) and eighth place (Bayou Segnette). Sitting second in the East Trail.”
Yes, it’s a family affair. All have rallied around the youngster who teamed with Wyatt Jones during the 2023-24 season to win Walker High School’s Team of the Year award with the impressive trophy from Front 2 Back Boat Service.
