All about that bass

For some, a prideworthy bass makes a good story for months, but for members of Southeast Missouri State University's Anglers Club, a fisherman's only as good as the day he's having.

Club member Luke Brozovich said there are no shortcuts, and competition is fierce in collegiate fishing.

"[Competitive fishing] is very stressful," he said. "Fishing for fun is relaxing, but with tournament fishing, it's go time. You have to catch fish; otherwise you're not going to have a good showing. ... If the fish are biting, that's one thing, but if they're not, then that's really nerve-wracking."

But the members' love of fishing competitively is rooted in childhood memories of fishing for fun, club president Grant Hinton explained.

"I started out just fishing off a dock when [my family and I] would go to the lake as a kid," he said. "There was nothing to do in the morning before we went out on the water, so I started with crappie, and next thing you know, I was fishing for catfish, and then I bought bass stuff."

The older he became, he said, the more serious he became about becoming a better fisherman.

"I saw people on TV," he said. "And it's one of those snowball effects that starts out small and then over the years grows into this out-of-control monster."

Brozovich said he evaluated prospective colleges based in large part on what their fishing teams looked like and how they performed.

"I wanted to be competitive with it, but at most of the larger schools, those clubs were too much of a team organization," he said. "But when I talked to Grant Hinton, I knew I wanted to come here and I thought I had what it takes to get my foot in the door."

He said Southeast's team structure is much more hands-on and inclusive, and more conducive to personal growth.

Luke Brozovich, a member of the Southeast Missouri State Bass Anglers club holds up a largemouth bass he caught on Kinkaid Lake in Illinois Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015. (Glenn Landberg)

"Here, everybody has the opportunity to fish," he said. "It's more about people getting together to go fishing and learn rather than people just getting together to win."

The team members share a commitment to personal growth, but some, such as Andres Jackson, take their professional fishing aspirations seriously.

"It's my favorite thing to do," he said. "It's what I plan on doing for the rest of my life. I want to go pro, and now I'm learning the next step to getting ahead in this industry."

Hinton, who also harbors high-caliber aspirations, said one of the sport's biggest challenges is the maddening unpredictability of a day of fishing.

"There are no advantages. You have to worry about yourself," he said. "You can be out there the day before and feel good about your plan, but then a weather front will come through or something and you have to scrap all your plans and fly by the seat of your pants."

Luke Brozovich, a member of the Southeast Missouri State Bass Anglers club reels in after a cast while fishing Kinkaid Lake in Illinois Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 18, 2015. (Glenn Landberg)

Experience, he said, comes in handy in those situations. Factors such as mating patterns and seasonal trends come in handy even before the fisherman starts to use technology like a GPS fish finder.

"And the fish are never wrong," Hinton said. "If you're doing something and you get a fish and it feels like a fluke, it's not. That just means you did something right."

In March, he fished in a tournament and in the first day, he took no fish.

"I caught 16.46 pounds the second day, with a 6.25-pound kicker fish," he said. "I ended up taking 13th place."

The club doesn't have a set practice schedule. Instead, they rely on the initiative of their members to organize an outing and head out to Kentucky Lake, Wappapello Lake or Lake Kincaid.

Luke Brozovich and Grant Hindon with the Southeast Missouri State Bass Anglers club spend Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 18, 2015 fishing Kinkaid Lake in Illinois. (Glenn Landberg)

Brozovich keeps his dad's boat around town and uses it to go fishing as often as possible. Experience, he said, is crucial.

"You never know what's going to happen out there on the water," he said.