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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 2011)
back to campus 2011 PHOTO BY DANTE ZUÑIGA-WEST Bass-Ack-Wards The world of collegiate tournament fishing I n this year’s EW Outdoors issue (see 5/5 “Get Hooked”) I wrote an article on backwoods bass fi shing that caught the attention of the UO bass team. Members of the team felt the EW article didn’t “portray bass fi shing in quite the way (they) approach the sport.” Extending the proverbial olive branch, these collegiate fi shermen invited me out to experience “a different side of bass fi shing.” I accepted. What follows is the account of a purist backwoods fi sherman meeting the almost-pros of America’s premier freshwater sport. Cottage Grove Lake, 8 am: UO bass team anglers Ross Richards and Reed Frazier troll toward the dock in a fl at-topped motor boat. The boat these guys have can zip across the water at 40 mph. Other boats they’ve fi shed in while competing in national tournaments can go up to 80 mph. This horsepower is needed because as a tournament fi sherman the good spots on the lake fi ll fast, and it’s fi rst come fi rst catch the minute the tourney starts. Speed counts. The beginnings of fi shing with the UO team resemble something out of a drag race. Frazier gasses up and woodworking photography ceramics painting drawing fibers glass Richards hands me a life jacket. As we take off across the quiet and large body of water, the motor growls and I struggle to hang onto my bush hat. We are moving faster than anyone could ever dream of paddling, cutting across the lake in no time. A vast gap exists between these award-winning collegiate sport fi shermen and the average backwoods angler; encountering them in their element further solidifi ed the differences. As they tie on at one of the spots they select, many other fi shing rod/reel setups sit in the belly of the boat. Tournament fi sherman like Reed and Frazier are each allowed to carry up to fi ve different rod/reel setups onboard, and Richards says they always carry the limit. Different rod/reel setups amplify the type of tackle an angler chooses to use during a competition. A tournament fi sherman might have one rod he uses when fi shing with crank-bait, another when he is using a spinner. Along with all these rods and reels, the heap of tackle these boys cart along with them is phenomenal. Backpacks stuffed full of tackle boxes (roughly six boxes per pack) are not uncommon. Frazier manipulates a small motor at the the craft center 541-346-4361 craftcenter.uoregon.edu WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM BY DANTE ZUÑIGA-WEST bow using a foot pedal while at the same time retrieving his line. “You guys ever use nightcrawlers?” I ask. “No, it’s not a sport if you use live bait,” Richards answers, “That’s just tossing food in front of ‘em.” Tricking the fi sh through the use of synthetic bait and skillful angling is the real meat of the sport. Speaking of meat, college tournament fi shing isn’t about sustenance at all. College and pro tournament anglers are judged by the amount of fi sh they catch in pounds. Depending on the tournament, competitors are limited to a certain count (approximately six) of fi sh per team. Scoring is determined by the weight of each team’s catch. Usually only largemouth, spotted or smallmouth bass are accepted. If a team brings in more than the limit, they are disqualifi ed. There is also usually a minimum length; most tournaments require that a bass be at least a foot long when measured with mouth closed. Tournament fi shermen are responsible for bringing the fi sh in to the weigh-in alive. This is accomplished by using a live-well, a tank inside the boat that pumps water in from the surrounding water, while also keeping itself aerated. All of this brings the notion of a college athlete and his/her equipment needs under reexamination. Later in the day, Frazier hooks into a nice-sized largemouth shortly after I lose a big trout. We’ve been fl oating over the edge of a drop off, indicated via the onboard fi sh-fi nder. “That’s one of the main things that separates pro from amateur, is knowing how to use the technology,” says Richards. “It’s what I’m really working on right now with my game,” Frazier adds as he shows me how to read the fi sh fi nder and delineate the longer dashes on the screen from the others. Frazier explains that the longer, choppier dashes are probably trout, moving quickly; the shorter dashes are lurking bass. The fi nder also relays the topography of the lake’s bottom. Watching that huge bass lifted into the air, watching Frazier smile and Richards nod in a way that implies it’s nothing out of the ordinary to catch such a nice fi sh, I marvel at the world of collegiate tournament fi shing inhabited by these young men. What a far cry from mud- soaked boots and a bloody fi llet knife. These guys approach fi shing from a whole other angle, and rightfully so: They are competing in intercollegiate battles against others of their ilk. To them, my purist canoe- cruising, frog-rigging, fi sh-keeping ways likely seemed strange, archaic. Or maybe just fl at out bass-ack-wards. Returning to the dock, they lament that their sport doesn’t hold more weight in this part of the country, whereas Tennessee’s Bethel University offers scholarships for their bass-team anglers. About 220 colleges in the U.S. have competitive fi shing teams. I ask Richards and Frazier if they ever want to go pro. Both admit it is a dream. That shouldn’t prove too unattainable, considering the two UO seniors have brought in about $20,000 dollars worth of prize money between them. ■ Fall 2011 workshop registration Happening Now !!! register online or in person EUGENE WEEKLY OCTOBER 6, 2011 23
