College format tests young anglers

CONWAY — By design, the Bassmaster College Series National Championship is an endurance test that strains the skills and emotions of participants.

For example, the national championship event is a team tournament in which team members fish together and combine their weights.

The Bassmaster Classic qualifier is an individual tournament, or more accurately, a series of individual tournaments. Anglers compete against one other angler in brackets. They only have to worry about one other angler, and worry they do.

Justin Graben of Murray State said an angler tries his best to not let his mind wander, but there is always an element of doubt or anxiety.

“You can see all the other guys out here,” Graben said. “If you see one of them catch a fish, you’ve got to put it out of your mind. Lose a fish, you have to do the same thing.”

Logan Johnson said club rules for the Alabama team help prepare Crimson Tide anglers for situations like these.

“The events we have to qualify for these events are solo, so the members of our club are accustomed to doing that,” Johnson said.

Even so, there is no escaping the anxiety. In fact, Johnson said it’s even worse when you’re fishing against only one other angler.

“You don’t have to worry about if this guy is catching them or if this guy is catching them,” he said. “You only have to worry if that one guy is catching them. It really gets in your head. You’re always stressed out about that.”

It’s even worse when anglers don’t know where their opponent is. Somehow, it seems to help when an angler can keep his eye on him.

“What happened to me today, I was around [Zack Birge] some, but sometimes I didn’t know where he was,” Johnson said. “It was stressful at that point.”

The bracket competition also occurs in two mini tournaments. The first elimination round was in the morning; the second was in the afternoon. Johnson said anglers have to prepare as if they are competing in two separate tournaments.

“The number one thing was to find something I could do in the morning and catch as many as possible, and then back off and catch some fish later,” Johnson said.

Fishing alone is entirely different than fishing with a partner. Anglers must rely on their own wits, skill and instincts. With a partner, anglers can combine styles and knowledge, and partners can keep each other buoyed emotionally.

“On [Lake] Maumelle, my partner said, ‘Let’s go shallow,’ and I caught our second-biggest fish on his deal,” Johnson said. “On the river, we caught three. He said, ‘Let’s stop here,’ and we caught our last two keepers there on a shaky head.

“It’s better when you work together. You’re brainstorming for a big idea.”

Graben said team fishing is more effective because two people can combine their individual strengths.

“Today I had to prepare to grind it out with a certain bait and adapt to conditions as they came along,” Graben said. “Today I did that pretty well.”