The Farmersville fishing duo of Mason Erwin (left) and Kolten Peel (right) will be taking part in the Texas High School Bass Associations’ State Championship this weekend. Pictured with Boat Captain Rusty Erwin, the trio will take to the waters for a two-day event at Lake Palestine. (Photo by Tiffany Cassidy) (More Photos)

Farmersville’s Bass Team will have a pair of members competing for a state title this weekend. The duo of Mason Erwin and Kolten Peel qualified to compete in the Texas High School Bass Association’s State Tournament at Lake Palestine on Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19.

With the help of their boat captain, Rusty Erwin, the two anglers hope to reel in some record-breaking bass at the event. Their run started at the divisional tournaments held at Lake Texoma, Lewisville, Ray Roberts, and Ray Hubbard over the course of the last seven months.

As a team, Farmersville ended up finishing 12th of the 41 schools in the North Texas Division, one of nine divisions in the THSBA. The team had nearly 30 members come out this year, with nine qualifying for the regional event in late-April at Possum Kingdom.  

The top 40 percent of anglers qualify for the regional tournament based on their results from the divisional schedule. There, Erwin and Peel placed 23rd with a weight of 13.40 pounds to punch their ticket to the state tournament. 

To make it to state, the THSBA takes the top 30 percent of those competing at regionals. Each fishing pair takes the total weight of their top five bass. The team is coached by Monica Johnson, who will be making the trip to Lake Palestine with the two juniors and their boat captain this weekend.

For more stories like this one, subscribe to The Farmersville Times today and support continued coverage of your local sports teams!