Livingston anglers Kaden Mueck and Breckett Long took first place in the first Southeast Texas High School Fisshing Association tournament of the season.
With a catch of five fish weighing 16.03 pounds, the partners earned $1,000 apiece in scholarship money.
The tournament began a six-event schedule for the association this season. Anglers can participate in the events as early as seventh grade.
First cast was set for 7 a.m. Saturday, but anglers showed up hours before that to get a boat tag and take care of other last-minute preparations. Buna angler Jeremy Bivens soon encountered a problem he'd never seen while fishing: ice. Early-morning temperatures dipped into the 20s, causing Biven's line to freeze in the water.
It was a common scenario for anglers Saturday morning, many of whom also dealt with high wind gusts.
Hardin-Jefferson freshman angler Izaac Ogle said the cold caused many fish to congregate in deep waters.
Anglers fished until 2 p.m. and checked in at 3 p.m. For those who were able to catch fish despite the cold weather, what followed was an hour of anticipation as each team walked to the weight station to take their place on the leaderboard.
The association paid out more than $22,000 in prizes and scholarships to the top 51 finishers on Saturday.
Top 10 teams from Saturday's season-opening tournament:
1. Breckett Long and Kaden Mueck, Livingston, 16.03 lbs
2. Hunter Muncrief and Landon McCary, West Sabine, 15.76 lbs
3. Tanner DeShotel and Garrett Picou, Hamshire-Fannett, 15.73 lbs
4. Blake Bailey and Evan Greninger, Kirbyville, 14.67 lbs
5. Logan Williams and Jacob McDonald, Nederland, 14.23 lbs
6. Tyler Faulk and Kyle Stegal, Port Neches-Groves, 13.94 lbs
7. Spencer Brister and Justin James, Little Cypress-Mauriceville, 13.54 lbs
8. Aubrey Barnes and Cory DeBlasio Livingston, 13.48 lbs
9. Kyler Kirkland and Ashton Granger, Evadale, 13.36 lbs
10. Bryce Gaston and Logan Gaston, Jasper, 12.45 lbs