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
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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
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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. ■
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EUGENE WEEKLY OCTOBER 6, 2011 23