PENNSYLVANIA, USA — High school seniors Trent Carey and Josh Kauffman are on top of the fishing world. The two central Pennsylvania natives recently captured the high school national title in South Carolina, something the two have been working towards for years.
"I met Trent back in 6th grade fishing and ever since then we have just grown and had a great friendship," said Kauffman. "Just fishing together, we have learned a lot from each other and push each other to become better anglers on the water."
The two came in first place out of 248 other teams. Their winning score was a total of 29 pounds and 15 ounces. A dominant score that both were excited about.
"We have qualified for nationals all but one year," said Carey. "This year we went down there having prior experience on the lake and we wanted to see if we could pull it off and we did."
With their final outing as a tandem ending in a championship, it puts a cap on a great career together, showing fishing talent can come from anywhere including central Pennsylvania.
"To be able to get the win on a national stage puts Pennsylvania on the national stage," said Kauffman. "Just to be able to do it together and finish our run with a national championship. I couldn't be happier as a teammate and friend.
While Carey and Kauffman will both go their separate ways following high school. That won't stop them from continuing to find ways to get on the water.
"We have had a phenomenal run, we won five state championships as well so it's been great," said Carey. "We definitely won't stop fishing with each other with different tournaments but we'll always continue to be friends"
Their big win also lands them in the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame for the year. The induction will take place in September in Springfield, MO.