 "Photo: Courtesy Photo")
The Under Armour College Bass National Championship was held in Little Rock, Ark., on the Arkansas River, July 9-12. This year the Texas A&M Aggie Anglers qualified by fishing in four tournaments.
Senior wildlife and fisheries sciences major Paul Manley is the vice president of the Aggie Anglers. It is his job is to assist the president, senior wildlife and fisheries sciences major Andy Shafer, in whatever he needs.
"I also help acquire sponsors," Manley said. "I also determine our schedule for the year."
Manley likes the competition of fishing with his friends. By fishing together, he said they gain a lot of knowledge. He also enjoys the barbecues they have quite often.
Shafer and Manley had the two highest scores during the qualifying tournaments so they were partners in the national championship.
This was Manley's second national championship to participate in.
"I have been fishing since I was 2 years old," Manley said. "I have been around the water and boats, though, since I was born."
The national championship was on river pools five, six and seven this year. Manley had fished in previous ponds in Hot Springs but never on the Arkansas River. The Arkansas River is divided into pools that are 20 miles long, and are "lock and dam." The lock and dam is used to control barge traffic and help with the elevation difference of the river.
"The Arkansas River was different than anything I have fished," Manley said. "They were all so different. Pool five and seven were more natural, but pool six was in the middle of downtown Little Rock."
The lock and dams controlled the current, and switched up the days there would be a current and the days there would not.
"That had an effect on the behavior patterns of the bass," Manley said.
The tournament took place over three days. Every school participated on the first and second days in an attempt to accumulate the most weight. The teams with the five highest cumulative weights over the two days qualified for the third day. The team with the most weight caught on the third day won the championship.
There were 49 universities at the national championship, and nine Texas universities. The Aggie Anglers tied with 12 other schools for last place. North Carolina State won the tournament with a day three total of 14.43 pounds. North Texas finished second. Northwestern State finished third, but had the highest total weight of the first and second rounds with 20.2 pounds. Montevallo (Ala.) and Louisiana-Lafayette rounded out the top five; neither school had a catch on the third day.
Reflecting on the experience there are some things that Manley knows to do different next time.
During the week of practice there were no dams changing the current. During the actual tournament however, the current was flowing, which moved the position of the fish.
"We found fish under the practice conditions," Manley said. "We were not prepared for tournament conditions since we have not had any experience dealing with current-flowing rivers."
There were other factors that made the fishing difficult; on the first day they were only able to fish for three hours because of heavy barge traffic.
"If I could go back now with the knowledge I know, I would try to find fish under all possible conditions," Manley said.
The Aggie Anglers will be at MSCC Open House when school starts. They encourage anyone with an interest in fishing to come out and join. Their first tournament will be near the first of September.
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