Look around the next time you’re in a lecture: if you see someone with seriously messed up hair, wearing the kind of shirt Ricky Bobby would be comfortable in, with a deep red facial sunburn save for the exact outline of a pair of wraparound sunglasses, you just might have identified a new species of varsity athlete: the dedicated college angler. 

They’re becoming easier to spot. College fishing, which traces its roots back to the early 1980’s and the formation of clubs at Indiana University and Purdue, is said to be the fastest growing club sport on American campuses.  Varsity Bass, a leading sports blog devoted to college fishing, lists more than 300 active clubs nationwide with at least one school represented in each of the lower 48 states.

College anglers fish either of two national tournament series run by the organizations B.A.S.S. and FLW Outdoors, popular standalone events organized by the Association of Collegiate Anglers, or any of a number of regional tournaments, such as the annual Old Minnow Bucket between IU and Purdue or the popular series hosted by Georgia Southern University.

Big Money Prizes 

Last year FLW awarded each of the five winners of its Conference Championships a new bass boat worth $25,000. When Ryan Patterson of Kansas State University walked away with the National Championship he also took home a Ranger Z177TR bass boat, $25,000 for his school, $50,000 for himself and a qualifying slot in FLW’s marquee professional tournament, the FLW Cup. First prize in the Cup is $500,000.

Not to be outdone in the college fishing arms race, B.A.S.S. also offers thousands in prize money for winning clubs in its Collegiate Series and a coveted slot to fish the big-money Bassmaster Classic, perhaps the most prestigious and lucrative tournament in bass fishing. 

What a Pro Angler Can Make

Pro anglers don’t pull down the kind of money mainstream sports stars command, but they can make a very comfortable living. According to the web site Jobshadow.com, as a rookie angler Chris Bohannan made about $130,000 a year his first three years on the pro circuit, divided between tournament winnings and sponsorships.

If a rookie angler comes from nowhere and wins a big regional tournament the prize could be as much as $100,000 for a weekend’s work: if they continue to finish high and are good at marketing themselves, a rising star could bank $175,000 to $350,000 a year. 

The established stars and highest money earners in the sport – Kevin Van Dam, Skeet Reese, Mike Iaconelli, David Dudley – have lifetime tournament winnings in the millions of dollars and are able to earn several hundred thousand a year in endorsements. 

Plus, as professional sportsmen they get to do the kind of things you see other sports celebrities doing … being immortalized as a bobblehead, appearing on the cover of a Wheaties box; even, according to Iaconelli’s biography Fishing on the Edge, attracting one or two bass fishing groupies (okay, a single groupie).

Meet the College Anglers

More and more college anglers are putting conventional careers on hold and are going for it as professional fishermen. Here are a few contenders:

Brandon Card: University of Kentucky, Landscape Architecture

Card fished extensively for the UK bass team in national and regional tournaments and was its president for three years. After graduating in 2009, he fished his way successfully through what passes for the minor leagues in bass fishing, picking up sponsors and tournament experience along the way. 

In 2012 he was invited to join the first rank of US bass anglers, the Bassmaster Elite Series and was the winner of their Rookie of the Year. Right about now he’s preparing to fish the Super Bowl of bass fishing, the Bassmaster Classic. 

Chip Porche: University of Oklahoma, Communications

Along with fellow UO college angler James Elam, Porche did well enough in a series of regional tournaments last year to be invited to join the 102 professional anglers that make up the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2013. After graduating, Porche landed a gig with fishing industry promoters Dynamic Sponsorship. His benefits included something all anglers dream of: time off to fish tournaments.

Miles “Sonar” Burghoff: University of Central Florida, Marketing

Miles Burghoff defines the kind of hustle needed for young college anglers to try and make a go of it in the pros. Since high school he’s spent his summers working out of a fishing lodge in Alaska. When he’s back in Florida he waits tables and promotes his sponsors, including Oakley sunglasses, picked up in the wake of winning a big college tournament in 2011. This year he’ll fish a series of qualifying FLW tournaments. 

Justin Rackley: Texas A&M, Aquatic Ecology and Conservation

After a notable college fishing career Justin Rackley landed a unique sponsor:  his own alma mater, Texas A&M. With a truck and bass boat stunningly wrapped in a blend of fish scales and Aggie colors he promotes the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. When not doing that, he guides on Lake Fork, appears on the NBC Sports show Big Bass Battle and works to promote high school fishing in Texas.