by Drew Johnson

Everybody has his/her pastime. Some people collect comics, play golf, or even make Minecraft videos on Youtube. I play golf every now and then, have never really got into comics, and Minecraft was just a sixth grade fantasy.

I did not take fishing seriously until last spring. I went out with my grandpa and caught a few bass, and from that moment on, you could say I was hooked.

At first, I thought catching fish was a game of chance, but it’s not. There are a lot of different tactics used when you are fishing for bass based on water temperature, barometric pressure, water clarity, the wind and what kind of cover where you’re fishing.

Back in the day, my family would travel north to Ely, Minnesota. We went there a couple times from when I was four up to when I was eight, and I have some really great memories from those trips, but I think I would get more out of the trip (fishing wise) if we went now.

Both of my grandfathers, Rodger and “Money Maker” Mike, are outdoor guys. They are the ones who introduced me to fishing at a young age. If my parents were into fishing and had taken me out more when I was younger, I’d probably be a professional angler by now. But hey, it’s probably for the best.

Anyway, I don’t want this to be about all the nerdy fishing tactics I know or don’t know. I want this to be more of an inspirational message for people to find something they love to do and stick with it. I love to go fishing, not just to see how many fish I can catch but to also enjoy the outdoors, understand wildlife and just to relax with friends and family. It’s just a really cool experience to go fishing with the friends and family you love.

I really want to spread the fun I’ve experienced with other students. That’s why I think it would be really cool to have a bass fishing club/team here at the high school. Believe it or not, many high schools around the country have already started bass fishing teams. There are state bass fishing tournaments every year in Iowa. It’s just that there are not many high schools from Iowa involved at the moment making it difficult to have more tournaments.

I believe that if we started a team we could convince neighboring schools to form their own team as well, and we could compete at local tournaments at Red Rock. How awesome would that be!

Fishing is my drug. Any spare minute I have I’ll go out to local ponds to  try and see on what those bass are hitting. My advice is to find something you love and share the experience with the people to whom you’re closest.