Paradise’s Laney Fisher and Londyn Baker claimed Angler of the Year Honors in the Texas High School Bass Association’s West Division. Fisher and Baker, along with Ben Burdine and Logan Harris, will compete at the 2025 THSBA state tournament Saturday on Lake Conroe. SUBMITTED
The Paradise fishing program will have two teams on the water this weekend in hopes of reeling in a state title.
Paradise’s Londyn Baker and Laney Fisher, as well as Ben Burdine and Logan Harris, will compete at the 2025 Texas High School Bass Association’s state meet Saturday on Lake Conroe.
“It means a lot to make it to state because I’m a senior,” Baker said. “We wanted to end well, and we’ve always wanted to go to state. There’s some good teams to compete against in our division. We’ve fished decent the first couple of years, but we’ve really caught up in the last two years.”
Competing against teams from the North, West and Metro leagues, Baker and Fisher finished second at the THSBA Regional tournament April 26 on Lake Lewisville, catching five fish weighing 23.65 pounds — beating third-place Logan Hill and Colton Lee of Gunter (23.13) by about half a pound.
Abilene Wylie’s Carson Stone and Kale Trumble won the regional title, tipping the scales at 25.26 pounds with their five-fish catch.
Baker and Fisher’s finish helped Paradise claim a top 10 finish in the team standings, placing seventh with eight fish weighing 34.28 pounds, finishing behind Highland Park (49.09), Gunter (40.64), Whitesboro (39.27), Eaton (37.53), Prosper (36.56) and Abilene Wylie (34.86).
“Regionals went really great,” Fisher said. “We fished in the Angler of the Year tournament there last year, and it wasn’t good at all. We definitely learned from that, and thankfully, the lake was on our side this time. It’s our first time to get past regionals, and I’m happy we get the chance to compete at state.”
For their efforts this season, Baker and Fisher were crowned the 2025 THSBA West Division Anglers of the Year, leading the league with 1,986 points. The duo beat runner-up Carter Schnoor of West Texas Hooks (1,981) by 5, and third-place Brady Bramlett and Scout Ray of Eastland County (1,977) by 9.
“I remember Laney and I talking last year about getting first in AOY, and we ended up making it happen somehow,” Baker said. “Laney’s dad [Charles Fisher] is an amazing boat captain who has taught us a lot, and we’ve been able to catch on.”
Baker and Fisher will also cast their lines at the 2025 THSBA Angler of the Year tournament, scheduled for June 21 on Lake Waco.
“We hope we do good since it’s our last high school tournament,” Baker said. “We haven’t fished at Lake Waco before, so it’s completely new to us and my dad. Hopefully, we learn quickly and have a good day on the water.”
Burdine and Harris made the cut for the state tournament, reeling in two fish weighting 6.72 pounds for 66th place. The duo also will advance to the Angler of the Year tournament after finishing in the West league’s top 10, placing sixth with 1,972 points.
“We worked really hard to get to here — a lot of time and effort was put into it,” Harris said. “Regionals was definitely a grind, but once we realized it was going to be tough, we just put our heads down and fished, and didn’t screw around. The large amount of rain we’ve gotten recently caused the water level to rise, and it affected the fish and how they acted. It threw us a curve ball that we were barely able to hit.”
Competing in his senior campaign, Burdine has qualified for the regional, state and Angler of the Year tournaments each season of his high school career. He hopes his experience will pay off with a strong finish in his final tournament with the Panthers.
“We’ve fished Lake Conroe before, and we didn’t do very well — I think we placed in the top 20 because it was just so hot. It’s a really rough lake, so it’s going to be another tournament that we have to grind it out again. The competition at state is very good, and it really is the best of the best. It’s always a tough challenge competing against good people, but if you have the right captain and the right skills, then you have a pretty good chance.”
Paradise won the West division’s Team of the Year award 490 points. Stephenville (486) and Aledo (484) finished second and third, respectively.
At the regional tournament, Miles Godwin and Collin Euler placed outside the top 100, finishing 101st with one fish weighing 3.91 pounds. Paradise solo anglers Cooper Buckman and Brock Worley, along with teammates Gage Brogan/Beau Chenevert and Harlie Prestridge/Levi Pryor failed to reel in a catch.
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