Tioga’s fishing duo hoping to hook a national championship

BALL, La. (KALB) - As a new day begins over Lake Kincaid, it is just another opportunity to get out on the water for Noah Roberts and Jacob Lacroix.

What started as just a fun, family hobby, turned into a special connection created on the water between the two anglers from Tioga High School.

“I’ve always been fishing since I was a little boy,” said Lacroix, an upcoming junior at Tioga. “I grew up hunting and fishing since I was in diapers.”

For Roberts, he always enjoyed being outdoors, but it wasn’t until he got to high school that he started enjoying being out on the water.

“I started really wanting to go with my grandpa, and I would ask him if we could go fishing more, and he was like ‘heck yea,’” said Roberts.

The fishing duo first became friends in class at Tioga. At the time, both had different partners on the Tioga Fishing Team, but both decided to pair up to be able to fish in some of the bigger bass tournaments around the state. The first time the two ever fished together in a boat for a competition was at a state qualifier, where they had instant success.

“We have two different mindsets and that helps us put two and two together,” said Lacroix. “If I’m not doing well, he has my back. He picks up my slack whenever I’m not doing well and vice versa.”

When these two pair up, there usually is not too much slack in the line with the fish that they catch. The duo became partners less than a year ago but already have the big prize to show for it: a high school state championship with a two-day total of 19.81 pounds.

“I always dreamed of winning a big tournament or a state championship like that and then whenever we went up there for practice, I thought we had a shot,” said Roberts. “Then we won it. It still doesn’t feel real that we won a state title.”

Now that the pair has captured one major title, Lacroix and Roberts are hoping to hook the Bassmaster High School National Championship at Lake Hartwell near Anderson, South Carolina.

“Going to nationals means the world to us,” said Lacroix. “We didn’t come this far not to stop right here.”

Louisiana will be sending 24 teams to compete for the national championship that will take place from August 11-13.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the two Tioga fishermen pay for their trip to South Carolina. To help support Lacroix and Roberts, click here.

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