Local angler going for gold at world junior bass championship

The thrill of catching a fish will never get old for Jordan Gregory.

“It’s honestly an adrenaline rush,” the 15-year-old Hanford High School student said. “Hooking ’em, keeping ’em on, it’s all just an adrenaline rush.”

Gregory is one of the top young anglers around, a point he proved by winning the Washington Junior State Bass Fishing Championship in May on Moses Lake.

Now, Gregory will head for uncharted waters as he looks to reel in an even bigger prize at The Bass Federation’s Junior World Championship Aug. 11 on Lake Wateree near Camden, S.C. In addition to glory and a big trophy, several thousands of dollars in scholarships are on the line.

Gregory started fishing when he was in early elementary school, heading out to the local fishing holes with his dad, Scott, and grandpa, Dan, “since I can remember.”

The bonds they formed on the rivers and lakes of the Mid-Columbia still hold true today.

“Yep, I still fish with both of them,” he said. “It’s nice.”

Gregory landed the biggest fish of the junior tournament in May — a 3.55 pound large mouth bass — and his top five catches totaled 12.12 pounds. That was good enough to get him by 2016 champ Blake Williams of Pasco, who Gregory was runner-up to last year.

The national championship will follow a similar format to the state competition, with participants spending a full eight-hour day on boats, with their five biggest catches counting toward their final scores.

Prior to the competition, the lake will be open for pre-tournament practice Monday-Wednesday, which will be a critical period on a lake unfamiliar to most of the competitors.

“We get three days of pre-fishing, so I’m gonna try to figure out what they’re biting on down there,” Gregory said. “With the weather in the summer, it’s kind of hard to find them. They’ll be in real specific places, like under docks and stuff like that ... anywhere with shade.”

Forecasts are calling for high humidity, temperatures in the 80s and possible rain and thunderstorms next week in Camden.

This story was originally published August 2, 2017 at 9:23 PM with the headline "Local angler going for gold at world junior bass championship."