the toyota texas Bass Fishing Championship as a result of his 15 th place season-ending points standings.
TOURNAMENT PREPARATION
College fishing often takes anglers to new bodies of water outside of their home region and forces them to find fish quickly on unfamiliar waters. Just like the professional tours, college anglers are forced to adapt and make the most of limited practice time. “When i was in college, we would often just show up and fish and if we were lucky we would have a day of practice. We always had a test or presentation for school, so it made us fish with instinct and make the most of what we had,” added Card. Clent davis echoed those statements and agreed that it made him find his own fish. He added one piece of advice for college anglers, “don’t go out and get a guide or call all the locals for the best spots. You are better off learning to find fish on your own, especially if you plan to do this as a pro,” stated davis. The fact that college tournaments are often multi-day events also prepared them for life as a touring pro. College anglers are forced to find enough fish to last the entire event and also have to learn how to manage the fish they’ve found. davis and Card see this as a valuable lesson they learned from college.
was responsible for meeting with sponsors and giving presentations to multiple people in order to obtain financial support. Whether i was a potential sponsor or the Student Government association, i had to be prepared to show why we deserved support” added Card. davis has a similar perspective and mentioned that two of his current sponsors, B & M Baits and TheFishranger.com were sponsors of his university’s bass club and continued with him as he moved up the ranks. This alone helped him make the transition from college to the pros more seamless.
HITTING THE BOOKS
While both of these young anglers admit that their majors are not directly related to bass fishing or business, they both feel that college studies in general were important to their current success. “i think that the public speaking and study skills were crucial to being successful in fishing. Public speaking is important for being able to present yourself and studying textbooks and preparing for a test is much like preparing for a new lake and studying maps,” stated Card. davis takes a different look at how his studies prepared him for bass fishing professionally, “i studied kinesiology and our entire program was about staying in shape and being able to be healthy. When you fish all day for multiple days that plays an important role in being able to stay focused,” added davis. With their success, these young anglers have shown, it will not be the last time we hear about a college angler transitioning to the pros. davis added “college anglers should take advantage of all of the great opportunities out there for them and really support the organizations who are investing in college.” “College prepares you for much more than just catching bass, there is so much more to it. Catching fish is important, but you have to have the whole package to be successful at the highest level,” concluded Card. two of the first college anglers have become rookie of the Year, that may be a coincidence, but chances are that we are looking at whole new perspective on the professional anglers.
THE BUSINESS SIDE OF FISHING
tournament bass fishing and the search for sponsors continues to become more difficult with the growing popularity of the sport davis and Card learned early in their college careers that being able to find sponsor support is vital towards being able to fish tournaments. Both of these anglers served as the president of their bass club and feel that the lessons they learned in organizing a team and creating sponsorship proposals and presentations helped them land the sponsors they have today. Card signed multiple sponsors immediately after he qualified for the elite Series and is quick to point out that college helped prepare him for the business side of fishing. “When i was in college, i
Issue 5
October 2012
35