Two South Terrebonne students are back from national fishing contest. Here's how they did.

Hunter Schouest, left, and Cody Pellegrin show off their 4-pound largemouth bass Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, at the Bassmaster High School National Championship in Greenville, South Carolina.
Hunter Schouest, left, and Cody Pellegrin show off their 4-pound largemouth bass Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, at the Bassmaster High School National Championship in Greenville, South Carolina.

A pair of South Terrebonne High School seniors said they would have liked to have finished higher in a national fishing tournament but are happy to have made it to such a high level of competition.

The Fishing Squad of South Louisiana placed just above the middle of the pack at the Bassmaster High School National Championship, held Thursday through Saturday in Greenville, South Carolina.

Cody Pellegrin and Hunter Schouest placed 132nd out of 317 teams. They caught a combined weight over their two days of 13 pounds and 12 ounces.

The first-place team, Reece Keeney and Bryce Moder of Northeast Wisconsin Bass, got to compete with the 11 other leaders on the third and final day. Their three-day fish total, weighing a combined 43 pounds 1 ounce, earned them the top prize: Each received a $2,500 college scholarship.

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"The winners of the tournament were doing the exact same thing we were doing, like we figured out the fish, we just didn't find the big school of them," Schouest said. "We were throwing the exact same bait, we knew what they were eating, we just didn't find the big big school of them that they found."

The first-place team had a device called a panoptic that allowed them to see the fish underwater, Schouest said, "and they just put the beat down on them."

On the first day, another Louisiana team, Livingston Parish High School, took the lead with 17 pounds. But the team had a rough second day, only catching 7 pounds, Pellegrin said. Livingston ended the third day with 32 pounds 9 ounces.

Each day, groups of two ride out on boats and fished about eight hours. They then choose the top five fish to bring back.

Pellegrin and Schouest said the tourney was an unforgettable experience.

Hunter Schouest, left, and Cody Pellegrin pose Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022, after the Bassmaster High School National Championship.
Hunter Schouest, left, and Cody Pellegrin pose Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022, after the Bassmaster High School National Championship.

"If we would have came out dead last I would have had fun," he said.

Schouest said he isn't sure about his plans after he graduates from South Terrebonne. Pellegrin said he will attend the University of Louisiana in Lafayette to pursue his other passion of powerlifting.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Here's how 2 South Terrebonne students did at national fishing contest