I recently spent an amazing weekend at the Bassmaster High School Combine in Decatur, Ala. I had never been to this annual event, and I was blown away. One hundred high school students from across the country participated in the combine, mostly seniors and juniors.
More than 25 colleges brought coaches, representatives and faculty members to meet and recruit the students for their collegiate bass fishing teams. Just as with high school combines for basketball, football and baseball, the universities were looking for students who would strengthen their fishing teams.
They were seeking young men and women who are prepared, intelligent and have different skill sets. Just as college football recruiters need players for every position, college bass coaches need anglers who have diverse skills. They want finesse anglers from up north, power fishermen from down south, kids who are great with electronics and old-school anglers who fish by feel.
When a senior at the combine committed to a university, they were treated to a signing ceremony. Talk about feeling special!
Not every student who came to the combine wished to fish professionally. Some of them would like to make a living in the fishing industry or get into fisheries management. All of them were what I call “fish heads” who hope to compete on a college bass fishing team.
The event informed the students and their parents about what it takes to get on a college bass team. Besides fishing skills, they need to keep their grades up, score well on their PSAT and SAT tests and log hours of extracurricular service for their community.
I brought my son Vegas to the event. He’s a high school sophomore and aspires to fish professionally. The combine really opened his eyes to how important grades, scores and service hours are to earn a place on a collegiate fishing team.
The skills challenge
When each student registered for the combine, they received an identical 7-foot, medium-heavy casting rod and a reel spooled with line. They took the rods home with them after competing in a skills challenge.
The skill events included midrange pitching, short-range flipping, long casting and navigating buoys in a bass boat while casting to floating targets. They were also challenged on their ability to tie the line to a bait and to tie fluorocarbon line to braided line. Boater safety was another challenge.
These events pitted the high schoolers against each other and allowed them to show off their skills in front of college recruiters. Vegas took third overall in the skills challenge, which was a very, very proud dad moment for me.
I was one of several professional Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series anglers who were brought in to speak to the students and their parents on the business side of our sport, sponsorships and the reality of fishing professionally. John Garrett, Logan Parks and Randy Howell talked about their career path and how they got to where they are.
As an older bass angler, it was mind-blowing to me how far the sport has come. When I was a kid, there were no outlets for young anglers to compete and enter the bass tournament world. Back then, you were introduced to fishing by friends or family members. If you didn’t have that, the only thing you could do is read magazines, watch fishing TV shows and videos and join a local fishing club. I joined the Top Rod Bassmasters right after high school.
Now, we literally have high school combines for young, aspiring anglers who want to get to the next level in fishing. After all the gloom and doom you hear about how our sport is dying, the refreshing positivity at the combine has me feeling amazing about the future of our sport.
The B.A.S.S. staff at the combine told me the event gets bigger and better every year. I’m proud of Bassmaster for doing this for the next generation of anglers. Our sport is in good hands.
