Competitive fishing is one of the fastest growing sports in the country. The new wave of athletes is here and the Brainerd lakes area is home for two of the best college fishermen in the state.
Brainerd High School athletes Isaac Johnson and Austin Mau have found their new sport after high school: Bass fishing.
"Not many people know that we do this," Johnson said. "When we tell people that we are on a college fishing team people are shocked."
Johnson and Mau fish in the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (BASS) representing Bemidji State University.
"Technically it's a club," Mau said. "There are around 50 people in the club but 12 of them, including us, are serious competitors."
The boys may not be registered NCAA athletes but that doesn't mean their sport is any less respected. Johnson and Mau travel all around the country to compete in their tournaments.
"We've fished in Kentucky, Alabama, Missouri, and more since we've joined," Johnson said. "It's really a great experience for us."
Even though they represent BSU as a team, the competition amongst students is cutthroat.
"The only thing about our team is the school we fish for," Mau said. "Nobody shares spots or depths on our team, which kind of hurts in the long run." Competition within a team isn't always standard.
"We see other schools working together all of the time," Johnson said. "Usually if one of their boats is in the lead, their other boats aren't shortly behind. "
College fishing isn't all fun and games for these guys. Just like in any other sport, the lows can get pretty low.
Johnson and Mau qualified for their BASS Midwest Regional Tournament Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri with a chance to earn a spot at the national tournament hosted by their own school at Lake Bemidji.
"Nineteen boats of 132 qualified, and we placed twentieth," Johnson said. "We were 6 ounces too short, which is almost nothing."
Johnson and Mau went toe to toe with some of the best fishermen in the Midwest and proved they belong in the water.
"Some of the bigger schools get scholarships to do this," Mau said. "BSU has only had a fishing team for four years now. Maybe in the future it will get to that level."
Because they aren't registered NCAA athletes, they do get to keep a cut of their profits whenever they win.
"We have to give 10 percent of whatever we win back to the school," Mau said. "Which is fair because they pay for us to go to all of these tournaments."
Johnson and Mau are going into their senior year with a chip on your shoulder.
"This season we want to be the best boat at our school in the fall," Mau said. "Come spring time, we want to make it to the national championship."
Mau and Johnson will hit the water representing BSU again in late August.
