Festus Fishing Team

09/12/2026

09/06/2026

Festus Fishing Team shoot-out anglers

09/04/2026

Festus Fishing Team members! IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Here’s what I have to date on 2026-2027 schedules: (remember there are several organizations for the anglers to compete in, we base our budget off the National Youth Fishing Association tournament’s)

National Youth Fishing Association:
1) Lake of the Ozarks Sunday 3/14
2) Table Rock Lake Sunday 4/11
3) Bull Shoals Sunday 5/2
4) Stockton Sunday 6/13 (Championship must qualify)
**PTA are on Saturdays optional

MOBASS/ Bassmaster bass nation:
1) Stockton 9/19
2) Stockton 9/20
3) Lake of the Ozarks 10/25
4) Pomme De Terre 3/7
5) Table Rock 4/4 (Championship)
* Note this is not a budgeted circuit, you are responsible for the cost. I will take care of the administrative side. All anglers will need a $12 youth bass membership and each angler participating will owe $30 to Mobass. Once you receive the membership number please send it to Coach Beffa so I can add you to the active BassNation 2026/2027 roster.

TBF/ MLF Youth:
1) Stockton 3/20
2) Stockton 3/21
3) Table Rock 4/17
4) Table Rock 4/18

CASSTT Missouri:
1) Thomas Hill 9/27
2) Pomme De Terre 11/8

More to come……

09/02/2026

🎣 In Memory of Larry Sallis 🎣
The Festus Fishing Team recently received a very special memorial fund donation in memory of Larry Sallis. Thank you everyone that donated! We collected $3,530.00 in memory of Larry’s legacy!

Larry retired from the Union Pacific Car Shop in DeSoto, and like so many of us who share a passion for the outdoors, Larry worked hard and fished even harder!
Larry was an avid and accomplished fisherman who loved being on the water and competing throughout the region. His passion for fishing is now helping create opportunities for the next generation of young anglers. Many talks I’ve had with Larry I can probably guess, Grand Lake of the Cherokee- Grove, Ok was most likely his favorite lake and he loved to Carolina Rig a Strike King Space Monkey creature bait. Larry competed in multiple FLW/ MLF, Bassmaster and other local and regional events.
We are incredibly honored and grateful to Larry’s family and friends for choosing the Festus Fishing Team as a way to carry on his memory. These funds will directly support our youth anglers and help them continue learning, competing, and developing the same love for fishing that Larry enjoyed throughout his life.
A fisherman may leave the water, but the memories, stories, and lessons he leaves behind continue to ripple for generations.
🎣 In loving memory of Larry Sallis.
Thank you for helping his passion for fishing live on through the next generation.
Give us your thoughts, how should we award this donation in the 2026-2027 season in form of a scholarship/ grant.
• Team of the Year?
• Big Bass of the Year?
• Biggest Weight of the Year?
• other?

08/12/2026

The Family of Larry Sallis has established a scholarship fund to honor Larry’s memory and his lifelong passion for fishing. Larry was a local avid and accomplished angler who made a lasting impact on the fishing community.
Larry was an active member and competitor in the MLF/TBF tournament association. His love for tournament fishing took him throughout Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas—and just about anywhere else he could find a place to wet a line.
This scholarship is a meaningful way for Larry’s family to carry on his legacy by giving back to young anglers and supporting the next generation of fishermen. His competitive spirit, passion for the outdoors, and love of fishing will continue through every student angler who benefits from this fund.
A great fisherman may leave the water, but the memories, friendships, and legacy he created will continue to make ripples for generations.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Sallis family, and we are honored to help recognize and remember Larry Sallis and the impact he made on the fishing community.

Search our extensive database of obituaries in De Soto, MO, to find your loved one. Dietrich-Mothershead is here to support you. Contact us today.

08/04/2026

Bait Making 101! 🎣🪝
One of the most exciting projects of the year for the Festus Fishing Team is our annual "Bait Making 101" contest, proudly sponsored by Lure Parts Online.
This challenge is about much more than building a fish-catching lure. It gives our anglers an opportunity to learn about bait design, fish behavior, creativity, and problem-solving while also introducing them to the many career opportunities within the fishing industry.
From marketing and product development to CAD design, machining, manufacturing, engineering, sales, and entrepreneurship, the fishing industry offers countless career paths—and this contest is designed to spark that interest.
This year's winners were selected through a combination of 80% judges' scores and 20% social media voting.

🏆 2026 Bait Making 101 Winners

🥇 1st Place (Tie): Blayne Gansner – $300 LurePartsOnline Gift Card

🥇 1st Place (Tie): Corbin Dickens – $300 LurePartsOnline Gift Card

🥈 2nd Place: Hunter Sullens – $200 LurePartsOnline Gift Card

🥉 3rd Place: Gus Miesner – $100 LurePartsOnline Gift Card

Congratulations to all of our winners and to every angler who participated. The creativity, innovation, and effort put into these custom baits was outstanding!
A huge thank you to for sponsoring this program and investing in the next generation of anglers and future leaders in the fishing industry. We can't wait to see what these young minds create next year! 🎣👏

08/04/2026

What an incredible evening!
The Festus Fishing Team wrapped up another amazing season with our year-end banquet, and one thing is certain... this team is bursting at the seams! This year we had 62 anglers on our roster, making us one of the largest youth fishing teams around. Everywhere we go, our anglers represent our team, families, and sponsors with pride.
One thing that makes our program unique is our commitment to giving back to our anglers. In addition to the money they earned throughout the tournament season, we created our own team scholarship program to reward hard work, dedication, and success.
Thanks to the incredible generosity of our sponsors, raffle ticket sales, and sponsorship packages, we were able to award nearly $15,000 in scholarships just tonight alone, prize packages, and awards this evening! Not including what was paid out with the support of our other key sponsors throughout the year.

A special thank you goes out to our banquet sponsors:

🎣 Ryan Kanatzar Agency - State Farm

🎣 Cedar Falls Tactical

🎣 Stevenson's Hi-Pointe Service & Wash

These three sponsors stepped up in a huge way by supporting our Championship and Angler of the Year payouts, helping us make this a memorable night for our anglers.
Congratulations to all of our award winners! More importantly, thank you to every angler, parent, coach, volunteer, and sponsor who continues to make the Festus Fishing Team such a special organization. Your support is changing lives, creating opportunities, and building the next generation of anglers.
Here's to another outstanding season and an even bigger year ahead! 🎣🏆💙

07/23/2026

Festus Fishing Team– Bait Making 101! 🎣
Every year we challenge our anglers to think outside the tackle box with our Bait Making 101 competition!
The challenge is simple: Create your own custom fishing bait. Whether it's a hard bait, soft plastic, jig, spinnerbait, topwater, or something completely original, we want to see your creativity come to life.
This isn't just about making something that looks cool—it's about understanding why fish bite. Shape, color, action, profile, sound, scent, and presentation all play a role. We want our anglers learning the science and art behind lure design while having fun doing it.
Bait Making 101 also introduces our anglers to the many career opportunities within the fishing industry. From lure design and manufacturing to product development, engineering, marketing, professional fishing, guiding, photography, videography, conservation, and fisheries biology, there are countless ways to turn a passion for fishing into a lifelong career.
🏆 Who will earn the title of "Bait Making 101 Champion?"
Below are the entries into our contest for our talented anglers they created this year. Tell your grandparents, uncles, aunts, dogs to vote, percentage of the votes on top of our panel of judges votes all count!
To vote screen shot your favorite bait and post it in the comments below. One vote per comment please.

Good luck!