Most people think of fishing as a leisure activity, something to do to relax.
The term “fast-paced” doesn’t ever come to mind, but that’s exactly how to describe a different world altogether: competitive fishing.
“Until you’ve done it, you just don’t understand the mental aspect,” said Hillcrest High head fishing coach and assistant at Drury Randy Conlon.
Conlon is also the president of Teen Anglers, which created a competitive fishing circuit for high schools in the Ozarks. One of those is Parkview’s Riley Rathbun, who made Viking history recently by being the first angler from the school to sign to fish in college, where he’ll join Conlon’s Drury squad.
“Dream come true,” he said of signing. “I’ve always wanted to do more than just fish for fun, so getting to go to college to do a little fishing, it’s fun.”
That being said, he hasn’t been fishing for anything more than fun for long.
“Last year, with the high school program, was really the first time I’d ever fished a tournament,” he said. “I loved it, I was hooked.”
Cue the rimshot.
“It was just unreal to think that, in two years, we—the coaching staff and himself—had the intestinal fortitude to reach that point,” said Riley’s high school coach, Justin Nave.
“Intestinal fortitude” is brought up a lot. A strange fit with fishing at first blush, but really, it makes a lot of sense.
“It gets long sometimes, but when you’re catching fish, it’s rewarding,” Riley said. “There’s a lot that goes into it. There’s a lot of practice.”
That practice includes research on where the fish are, what they’re eating and what they’re biting. Anything to gain an edge.
“YouTube is my best friend when it comes to that,” Riley said. “I watch fishing reports every week. I like to stay up on the lakes, know what’s going on, anything that’s going to help me pattern the fish at any point in the season.”
During tournaments, anglers have eight hours to catch five fish over the 13 inch “keeper” limit. Staying focused for that long is a grind.
“To get those five bites, they may come in the first five minutes, they may come in the last five minutes,” Conlon said. “His drive to do something like that is extraordinary.”
Like all sports, collegiate fishing is a step up from high school. On the prep level, Nave and other coaches drive the boats for their anglers during tournaments. That changes in college.
“On the college level, they’re in the boat themselves,” Conlon said of the anglers. “They’re making all the calls. They take off and they run the boat, they make the decisions.”
Both his current coach and his future coach say Riley has what it takes.
“He’s one of those kids, you don’t have to worry about him doing the wrong thing,” Nave said. “He always does the right thing. He makes the best decisions to put himself in the best possible spot.”
“He’s been consistent, and that’s the biggest thing,” Conlon said. “He has the heart and drive. He doesn’t give up.”
