THE IHSA Bass Fishing State Finals proved to be a difficult tournament for many teams including the Hubs, but Rochelle head coach Curt Samo is proud of how his team competed over the two-day competition.
After winning the IHSA Sectional at Shabbona Lake this past month, brothers Nolan Turner and Colen Turner represented Rochelle in the state finals this week at Carlyle Lake, catching four fish weighing 4 15/16 pounds to finish 21st out of 64 schools. The boys reeled in two fish on Wednesday before pocketing two more fish on Thursday.
“It was the toughest tournament we’ve fished in,” Samo said. “That was the toughest fishing we’ve ever experienced… We had a really good practice day and we caught some nice fish, and we shook off a lot of bites we knew were from good fish, so we thought we were going to do pretty well.”

The state finals were rescheduled twice due to high water levels at Carlyle Lake as well as other extenuating circumstances, but the Hubs bass fishing team was happy to finally compete at the state level. Rochelle finished fourth in the state finals last season, but with much different conditions this time around, Samo and the boys were forced to make some adjustments as the tournament progressed.
“The first day we caught two but we lost a few really nice ones that would’ve helped us,” Samo said. “The second day we went back out and tried to change our game plan… The kids worked really hard and they never gave up. The water was about 2 feet higher than the normal summer pool and the fish are up into the cover when the water is up that high, so we were flipping baits into flooded bushes and trees… We were a little behind after the first day so went out on the main lake the second day to try and find some big fish.”
The state tournament concludes the 2016-17 bass fishing season, and Samo said he’ll be seeking to add some new anglers to the team moving forward. With Nolan finishing school and Colen reportedly unsure whether or not he will fish next year, according to Samo, Rochelle will be counting on new blood to fuel the bass fishing program in the future.
“Every year is different,” Samo said. “Some years we’re a little lean and other years there are 10 to 15 kids… Hopefully we have the four or five kids that were there this year come back on top of some new kids. We’re really competing with a lot of the spring sports, and there are a lot of kids who want to do bass fishing but they have baseball, track or other activities.”
In the end, Samo said he’s thankful for what the Turner brothers have given to the Rochelle bass fishing program, praising their hard work and dedication to the sport. The head coach will be looking for the same effort from his team when the Hubs return to the water next year.
“They started young and they have a love and passion for fishing as well as a competitive drive,” Samo said. “A lot of kids like fishing, but when the kids come in at the beginning of the fishing season and we start the first day of practice, I tell them that it’s great if they want to learn how to fish, but there’s a competitive aspect as well… It’s a very competitive sport and there’s a lot of thinking and practice that goes into it.”