For Tyler Nelson and Sawyer Reynolds, a third-place finish at the 2026 Strike King Bassmaster High School National Championship presented by Bill Dance Signature Lakes on Kentucky Lake was already something they would remember for the rest of their lives.
Fishing for Bandys High School out of Catawba, North Carolina, the young anglers put together a performance against some of the best high school teams in the country and finished on the podium at one of the biggest events in youth bass fishing. But when the tournament was over, they discovered their third-place finish was worth even more than the hardware and memories.
Because their boat was powered by a Yamaha outboard, Nelson and Reynolds also earned an additional $6,250 through Yamaha’s Power Pay contingency program. For a high school fishing team, that kind of money makes a significant difference. According to Tyler’s dad, Jeremy Nelson, the value of the program goes beyond a check at the end of a tournament.
Jeremy coaches the Bandys High School fishing team and he sees the sport as an opportunity to teach young anglers lessons that extend well beyond finding fish.
“I coach our high-school team, and I always try to get good people to come talk to the team,” Jeremy said. “Whether they’re an evangelist, a pro fisherman or a blue-collar worker. I’m trying to find a way to make sure they gain life skills with integrity.”
That philosophy is part of what makes high school fishing so meaningful. Tournament results matter, but not more so than the lessons learned along the way. Preparation, responsibility, sportsmanship, perseverance and learning how to handle both success and disappointment. For Jeremy, having reliable equipment is another part of that equation. The Yamaha motor on their boat is something the family doesn’t have to spend much time worrying about. They follow the recommended maintenance schedule and then trust the outboard to do its job when it’s time to go fishing.
“We do our recommended maintenance on our Yamaha and outside of that, we put the key in it, and it cranks right up,” Jeremy said. “We always have 100-percent confidence in the motor behind us. No matter what lake my son is fishing, I know he’ll be safe and taken care of with that Yamaha. To get extra money for trusting such a reliable motor is just incredible.”
That confidence becomes especially important for young anglers who spend long days on the water and travel from lake to lake chasing tournament opportunities. When the goal is to catch fish, the last thing a team needs is uncertainty about whether its outboard will perform when it matters most. For Nelson and Reynolds, that confidence helped carry them to a third-place finish on Kentucky Lake.
Power Pay was created to reward anglers who choose Yamaha power and then perform at participating events. In this case, the Bandys High School team’s podium finish translated into additional money. The Nelson family wasn’t buying a Yamaha because of a contingency check. They were already relying on the outboard because of its reputation for dependability and the confidence it provides on the water. The Power Pay reward became an added benefit on top of something they already valued.
On Kentucky Lake, Tyler Nelson and Sawyer Reynolds proved they could compete with the best high-school teams in the country. With Power Pay, their Yamaha helped make sure there was a little more waiting for them when they stepped off the water.
