Fishing Hard, for LSU

Could collegiate angling lead to a career in pro tournament fishing? It certainly seems like a good way to start. And some of the anglers at LSU are on a mission to win as many tournaments as they can, while representing the university to the best of their abilities—with an eye on the possibilities it could open up, in the long run.

“College fishing has grown significantly in the past few years and I don’t think it’s going to stop growing,” said LSU team President Logan Mount. “Just about every major university across the nation has a bass team and hopefully in the future college scholarships will come along for collegiate anglers. I really feel as if the college level tournaments are a stepping stone to the next level of competitive bass fishing. I know that some of the guys I fish against are going to fish at the professional level, and hopefully, I will be one of them.”

Creating a career in the fishing industry, be it as a tournament angler or on the business end of things, is a theme we’ve heard from many collegiate bassers. And it’s no wonder—find a job doing something you’re passionate about, and you’ll have a great career. Fishing is, of course, something these up-and-comers care deeply about.

“I got into fishing at a really early age,” Mount said. “Both my father and grandfather fished and they were really the ones that introduced me to fishing and the outdoors. My grandfather has been taking me to Colorado fly-fishing in the summers for years now and my dad and I have been bass fishing since I can remember. It also helps that I have lived on Anacoco Lake all my life; I have been catching fishing since I was probably three years old. Fishing is something that I love to do and I wouldn’t be who I am today without it. When I heard that some guys were trying to get a college fishing club together, I was all ears. I went to the first meeting and was sold. In our first tournament my partner and I finished fifth, so it was a good start.”

LSU’s 14-member team has done well since coming together in 2008, with multiple top-five and top-10 finishes. In the College Bass National Championship this year LSU finished in fifth and for the second year in a row, will be fishing the FLW National Guard College Fishing Regional Tournament.

“We’re still looking for that first-place finish,” Mount said. In the meantime, they’ve taken some big steps in communicating and promoting the team. The impressive LSU web site (www.lsufishing.com), created by Lana Kernan, helps the team look serious; “we take the fishing seriously and we want sponsors and supporters to see that,” Mount added.

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