By AJ Werner | Reporter
Baylor offers students a wide range of opportunities when it comes to club sports, and of those sports, none may be more unique than bass fishing.
Baylor University Bass Fishing Club president Will Hadraba, a senior from Willow Spring, Ill., has been fishing since he was a 2-year-old, when he says his passion for the activity began and grew with some help from his dad.
“I’ve always had a drive for it,” Hadraba said. “I’ve been fishing my whole life. I fished in tournaments with my dad at the age of five. Then, I hopped into some high school stuff my junior year and it’s been going ever since.”
Sports fans love to predict final scores, postseason standings and individual stats. Predictability isn’t a luxury fishermen have, making competitive fishing different from other sports. Hadraba emphasized those differences when talking about a fishing tournament versus a basketball game.
“Instead of competing against other humans, you are competing against an animal that will do things for no reason,” Hadraba said. “You compete against a good team in basketball; they have their plays, their star point guard, you kind of know how to work that. When you get on a body of water God knows how many times, it’s different every single time.”
Across all sports, there is certain preparation before a season and games. A football player, for instance, might lift weights, condition, practice every day, watch film and rest. But to competitive fishers, the type of preparation they are used to before a fishing tournament may be unfamiliar to others.
Sophomore Hoover, Ala., native Will Thompson has spent years fishing and perfected his routine leading up to the days of a fishing competition.
“[The] first thing I’m doing is I’m going to take a look at some topographic maps and the temperature of the water. That’s a big indicator of where fish are going to be,” Thompson said. “On practice day, all the bass fishing boats have some implemented sonar technologies, so I can see what’s at the bottom. If I’m getting bites, I’ll cycle through different baits. It’s an ever-changing sport.”
The team pours lots of their time into this sport, and success has followed. Hadraba and his partner will be competing for a big prize next month.
“This season so far has been going well,” Hadraba said. “Myself, as well as my partner, qualified for a regional in the MLF Bass Fishing League, which is a good accomplishment. We’re both competing with a chance at winning $60,000 in October.”
The club also competes in the Texas Team Trails, which are tournaments that take place once a month annually from February through June. The Bears landed great results in the trials and hope to carry their momentum into the 2024-25 season with some new members.
“In the Texas Trails, we had multiple top-10 finishes,” Thompson said. “These tournaments are being fished by 200 guys every Saturday. We have a lot of great anglers, two really good freshman anglers coming in. Our first tournament is in October; I’d love to have two guys in the top 20. I think we are capable of it.”
The Baylor fishing team will head to Lake Dardanelle in Dardanelle, Ark., on Oct. 12 to compete in the AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open.
