The Big Picture – USI Bass Fishing Team

Although it was originally intended for survival purposes, fishing has become a popular American pastime in the last century. Many students at USI fish for recreation, but some anglers are reeled in to competition at a national level.  

USI’s Bass Fishing Team has lured members in since 2018. The current 29-member team, consisting of 27 men and two women, participates in numerous competitions across the nation from Kentucky Lake to Florida’s Harris Chain.   

Sophomore Lillian Taft, business administration and accounting and professional services major, has had a passion for fishing since the 7th grade when her grandfather introduced her to tournament fishing. “He has been a big influence on my fishing and was the one who pushed me to fish in high school,” she said. “Once I started fishing, I just never really stopped.” 

President of USI's fishing team Jordan Krempp, sophomore civil engineering major, grew up on a farm where fishing became a part of his life. He was a freshman in high school when he got his first boat and began competing in tournaments, and he was eager to continue the competition at USI. “I got in contact with the old president before I came to USI because I was really looking forward to it,” he said. “Last year, our old president graduated, and I was the only one willing to take it over. But it’s been a great time. We have a lot of good people on our team, and we all get closer each tournament just from hanging out.” 

Bass fishing is a highly competitive and rapidly growing sport. The team participates in college series tournaments hosted by the Association of Collegiate Anglers. Participants at these tournaments range from 200-400 boats with 2-3 participants on each boat. Sponsorship companies award prizes and contingencies to the top 10-20 teams in the regular tournament, which includes gift cards, fishing gear and fishing related accessories.   

In a normal bass fishing tournament, teams can bring in a bag of no more than five fish, but they can bring in less if it’s all they caught for the day. Whoever has the most weight in their bag wins the tournament. Sometimes, there are other awards in the tournament such as winning a prize for who has the biggest bass. 

Anglers use "fish finders" to catch their game. A fish finder is the boat’s computer complete with GPS mapping. It includes features that allow anglers to see fish, structure, water depth and temperature. Some of this is detected using sonar navigation, but a higher-resolution version of this is called “Live Scope,” which is like an ultrasound. Live Scope lets anglers see the size and location of the fish and even watch them react to the bait.     

Krempp said the team doesn’t participate in many tournaments throughout the year since it’s difficult to travel long distances with multiple boats. The team usually sticks to participating in four tournaments every year: one at Kentucky Lake, Pickwick Lake in northwest Alabama, Lake Hartwell on the South Carolina-Georgia Border and one in Arkansas.  

“They’re normally way over in California or down in Florida,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to go to one of those, but making the trip that far with a boat is pretty expensive.”  

Aside from the $2000 the University provides, the team is self-funded. The funds they do have go quickly, especially since each tournament costs around $1,400 to attend. The team raises funds through sponsorships to pay for their jerseys and try to reimburse members in some way. “We pay a decent amount of fuel and travel expenses, but we can’t pay for everything,” Krempp said. “We do the best we can with sponsorships and other things like fundraisers.” 

The trips have some unexpected bumps in the road as well. Taft recalls one overnight trip to Arkansas last year when one of their trailers blew a tire, resulting in her only getting about one hour sleep.  She and her partner still had an excellent day of fishing the next morning, nonetheless.  

“My partner and I placed the best we ever did in a regular tournament,” she said. “After the tournament, we made a pitstop in Memphis, Tennessee, at the Bass Pro Shop Pyramid, which just so happened to be the same day as my birthday.”  

Although being on the team is a big commitment and requires some traveling, members have found the team to be a rewarding and fun experience.  

“After my first tournament, I realized how relaxed everything was and that it was doable with my school,” Taft said. “The fishing community is heavily male dominated; however, the guys on the team have made being one of the only [females] when we go away very easy.”  

Regardless of whether they reel in a victory or not, the USI Bass Fishing Team fosters not only a competitive spirit, but a fun environment where members can express their love and passion for the sport – even if they don’t compete in tournaments.  

Kyle Echert, sophomore mechanical engineering major, has yet to compete in a tournament, but he still finds time to connect with the team.  

“I mainly just hang out with everyone and fish in my spare time,” he said. “Fishing has made me good friends and makes me happy.”  

“The team becomes like a second family,” Taft said. “Some of the team members have become people I will continue to stay in contact with even after tournaments have stopped.”  

Taft and Krempp said there’s more to bass fishing than meets the eye, and most people fail to see that.  

“The connections, experiences and problem solving – being a part of the team is truly something that I believe most people will not experience elsewhere,” Taft said. 

“Me and a couple of other buddies, we all agree that there’s no other feeling like the morning or the evening that we come in the bay [at a tournament],” Krempp said. “When there’s 250 boats in there, and they’re all people that are like you. You can drive up, talk to somebody, and they’re like your best friend.”