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By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

Callaway High’s fishing team was back in action last weekend.

After taking more than two months off from competition because of the coronavirus, Callaway returned to the water on Saturday and Sunday for a tournament on the East Alabama High School Trail.

“It was fun having them back out there,” Ashley Gaddy, one of the team organizers and parent of team member Houston Gaddy. “They have so missed it. A lot of them have fished, but it’s not the same.”

The tournament last weekend was held on West Point Lake, and Callaway had three two-person teams competing.

In the high-school division, Nathan Odom and Houston Gaddy brought in five fish weighing 8.15 pounds, and Kristen Garrett and Dawson Foster had five fish for a total of 3.92 pounds.

In the junior division, Kaleb Garrett and Drake Bishop caught five fish that weighed a total of 3.89 pounds.

Normally the past few months would have been busy ones for Callaway’s fishing program, but things have been put on hold because of the coronavirus.

Callaway usually competes in tournaments on the Georgia Bass Nation tournament trail, but many of those events were canceled.

Georgia Bass Nation will host its state tournament in July, and to offset the coronavirus risk, there won’t be a blast-off or a weigh-in, and the fish will be measured by length rather than weight.

Three Callaway teams qualified for state, but they opted not to compete because of the restrictions.

Callaway will compete in some other tournaments during the summer, including one on the East Alabama trail next week at Lake Eufaula.

Callaway did compete in a handful of Georgia Bass Nation tournaments before the shutdown.

One of those tournaments was held on West Point Lake with the weigh-in at Pyne Road Park, and Gaddy and Odom earned a top-10 finish.

The Callaway program has taken off in recent years.

During the 2016-2017 season there were two teams, and Callaway had as many as five two-person teams competing in tournaments this season.

“It’s really awesome, and the kids at Callaway love it,” Ashley Gaddy said. “It’s in their blood.”