On any given day throughout the year, student anglers are dropping lines in America’s plethora of lakes. Time spent out on the water might just pay off with a little bit of imagination, a little bit of expertise, and a little bit of luck. For many of them, the fundamental purpose is to catch a bass of the large or small mouthed species, learning tricks of the trade that might make payday if they qualify at their state championship.
In the last two decades, fishing has become one of the fastest growing movements for youth. The Student Angler Federation (SAF) is a grassroots fishing organization that The Bass Federation started in order to help bring awareness and education to the fishing sports. Parents and kids have been hooked on the sport ever since, with clubs forming in almost every state. What culminates as the end game each year is SAF’s championships—national and international—each summer for youth teams that qualify. Teams are made up of two youth anglers with one adult mentor in a boat, practicing and competing throughout the season.
“We are mentoring and teaching about the sport of fishing, but we are also helping these kids set and attain goals,” said Joey Bray. His position as SAF’s National Youth Director for High School Fishing leads him to find the best ways to get students to leave their couches to experience the best of the outdoors.
“We need interaction. Kids should be outdoors instead of on their sofas and recliners, affixed on these phones or gaming,” he quipped. “How can you have an intellectual conversation with a phone in your hand? There has to be limitations.”
And kids do get hooked on the sport. These students engage in real-world activities where they are forced to think on their feet. “Do they know how to go from clean water to stained water and having to change bait? Or how to cull the fish? Or calculate run times, which involve math, including geometry?” asks Bray.
at the 12th annual High School Fishing World Finals.Courtesy of Student Angler Federation
Bray admits some of these kids will be taking his job one day. He says he was simply a dad who volunteered for the youth angler program because his son started fishing. His son eventually won the top graduating angler award in the state of Oklahoma his senior year of high school.
Naturally, youth anglers have dreams of going pro. Fishing for bass at an early age in junior fishing programs, students hope to be the next Jacob Wheeler. Ranked as the No. 1 bass fisherman with tournament winnings superseding over $2 million, Wheeler started at an early age in the junior fishing program in 2010.
Bray admits, “Even though there is a slim chance, some of them are phenomenal.” Even if they don’t make it into the professional fishing elite, he continued, they will enter the workforce with inestimable life skills.
Yet volunteers are essential to the clubs’ successes. Inexperienced anglers—be they parents, grandparents, or young adults—can pass along invaluable life lessons. With Bray’s guidance and experience as a mentor and volunteer, those who step up can provide coaching in the boat or assist and lead as youth directors for clubs. Ample investment of time and knowledge gained from a mentor isn’t just about earning a spot to compete at the national and world competitions in June.
“It is a great opportunity to be with our kids in high school and participate in the program,” said Bray. SAF membership, at the cost of $25, is the only requirement for a student to fish in any SAF state championship. Insurance is included in the student membership fee, the program is fully Title IX compliant, and it does not cost a school anything to start a club. Private, public, or homeschooled student members, who maintain a 2.0 or better GPA, can qualify at the state championship events and subsequently gain entry into the national championship. If they compete for the national title, they may also qualify for the world final championship on the final day of competition.
The competitions are not federally funded. Prizes and educational scholarships tend to be big money, but there are no cash handouts and no entry fees for student competitors. Sponsors appreciate the program’s bigger purpose, aside from just learning to fish, and keep the programs going strong.
“This program is absolutely 110 percent about the kids. Period. The reward is beneficial for all involved. Honestly, it’s a game changer for these kids and beneficial for our whole country.” Bray knows that some of the students were skipping school, flunking, or doing drugs, but the program has given them a new opportunity to succeed.
Today, SAF hosts state championship tournaments in 46 states. In 2010, the first ever world finals was held at Lake Dardanelle in Arkansas, a 34,300-acre reservoir on the Arkansas River. With 397 teams competing last year, organizers project bigger numbers at this year’s 13th Annual High School Fishing World Finals & National Championship in Florence, Alabama. Youth anglers will fish Pickwick and Wilson Lakes for trophy-sized largemouth and smallmouth bass within 490 shoreline miles.
And Florence is where avid angler Harry Ladner hopes to be with his daughter’s team this June. A father of six, Ladner has had four children compete at a national level.
“My daughter Izzi has been fishing since she was a little kid, probably out on the water at 2 years old. On a state run level, this is her fifth season competing. She’s 13 now and likes the competition, the drive to do better, the challenges that fishing presents. Izzi and her father also compete as a team in other venues, having won over 10 tournaments together. Izzi, he says, has her sights set on competing in the International Bass Association.
Ladner not only mentors but recruits students ages 9–17 years all across the state through local fishing clubs and high school athletic directors. He volunteers as the youth director for the South Dakota Bass Federation and believes recruiting young anglers is a good stepping stone for high school programs. He has experienced firsthand the opportunities that abound when kids get hooked on fishing. Life skills, yes. Moreover, he says it’s a great program to start and then to take fishing to the next level, competing in tournaments.
“We help teach them how to wade fish, cull fish, operate the boat, and use electronics for locating structures under the water. We watch for stumps and trees and to pinpoint objects in the water that are not fish. You want to find the objects, but you want to fish near them because that’s where the bass are.”
His word of advice is to get involved and get in touch with a youth director or join a youth club. Each club director will help navigate how to get students in a boat or with a youth angler who may already have a boat.
Bray agrees.
There is no minimum age in the junior program, and parents decide if their child is old enough. The organization’s youth directors desire to serve families, helping them join or start programs in their area. It’s catching on as parents learn more about the competitions and how to get involved.
“I’ve had kids as young as 9 or 10 years old show up at the national competition. They are like miniature adults, blowing your socks off at the events.” Bray continued, “You’ve got lady anglers giving the guys a run for the money, too. They all want to win. If one angler is having a hard day, their team player could be doing great—catching a good fish lights a fire in them.”
He touts the competitions as offering good, clean, family fun. Families offer hugs, appreciating the opportunity that the program provides.
“They make your throat swell up. It is quite a rewarding experience because you’ve helped that family.”
That’s what it’s all about, he says.
“These kids are our future. They are the future of our country.”
