On Sept. 27, two members of Drury University’s Bass Fishing team, Cade Lipham and Caleb Coleman, earned bids to the national championships in April. The pair competed at the Abu Garcia Major League Fishing Collegiate Event and finished 17^th out of 186 teams.  

The day was mild but windy. The wind affected the fishermen that wanted to move around the lake, but Lipham and Coleman were able to stay in one place and shield themselves from the wind the best that they could.  

The event took place at Sam Rayburn Lake in Brookeland, TX, a place that Lipham is familiar with.  “It’s my home body of water,” he said in an interview with The Mirror. “I’ve basically spent my entire life there.” 

That familiarity gave Lipham and Coleman a good idea of what to do when the tournament began. However, that didn’t mean that the pair didn’t have to work hard in the days prior to the event.  In bass fishing, the time leading up to the actual tournament is just as important as the tournament itself. This process is also called “pre-fishing,” and its how teams find a good fishing spot and a quick way to get there. Lipham and Coleman spent five days, from sunup to sundown, surveying the water and mapping out a strategy. 

“Persistence was key,” Lipham said during the interview. “There were guys that would get discouraged after fishing so long without a bite, but I think we were able to just put our heads down, which is something that we plan to take with us to the next tournament.” 

They went on to compete in the ACA Open on Lake Dardanelle, where they finished in 12^th place out of 260+ boats on the first day, and then finished 2^nd on day two. This successful tournament also qualified Jase White, Lane King, Clay Henderson, and Brant Rowland for nationals. 

The national championship will take place on April 9^th in Decatur, AL, and the last tournament of the season will be after nationals on May 22^nd, in Anderson, SC. Until then, the team continues to prepare and compete. 

Photos by Sam Rayburn