When brothers Jordan and Matt Lee first picked up a fishing rod at age 6, they were hooked.
Now, Jordan, tournament director, and Matt, president, are members of Auburn's Bass Sports club, and they show no sign of reeling it in anytime soon.
"We've been around the lake our whole lives, so (our parents) kind of put a rod and reel in our hand," Matt said. "A lot of people who fish do because their grandparents or mom and dad fish. Ours do occasionally, but we picked up the bug on our own."
It's that bug that persuaded Jordan to attend Auburn.
"He saw college fishing on TV," Matt said. "They had Alabama and Auburn and all that, so he went to a tournament weigh-in that Auburn was at, and he got hooked on it. He said, 'That is what I want to do.'"
Shortly after Jordan arrived at Auburn, Matt decided to follow his brother.
"He came here, and I saw where he was fishing at Auburn," Matt said. "That's all I started to care about once I got out of high school, so I said, 'I want to be there and do that, too.'"
Bass fishing has become a way of life for the Lee brothers, both committing themselves to executive positions in the club and encouraging others to try it.
"The bass team is just a learning experience, and it is for everybody," Matt said. "The good thing about it is any level person can come out. There are people who have never fished bass before and they just want to come learn something, and it's a good opportunity for them to get involved in the club. And the good thing is you don't have to have a boat."
Even though they encourage all skill levels to participate, Matt and Jordan said fishing is a time commitment that involves preparation.
"It is kind of like hunting," Jordan said. "You don't just kill a deer. If you want to go hunting, you won't just get into a stand and kill one. You have a lot of preparation. That's how fishing is. It's more in-depth with tournament fishing because we don't just go out there in the boat and have fun. It's hard work."
Matt said bass club members spend most of their time fishing in tournaments.
They compete in five qualifier tournaments in the fall, which determine their rankings in the club. In the spring they compete in bigger tournaments outside of the state.
"We have the national championship that Jordan and I are going to in April to Lake Murray, S.C.," Matt said. "That's for the FLW National Championship."
FLW Outdoors and Bass Anglers Sportsman Society, or BASS, are the two main tournament circuits for bass anglers.
To prepare for a tournament, Jordan said the club tries to practice at the lake where they will compete, but there are restrictions on when they can fish.
"For different tournaments there are off-limits periods at different times," Jordan said.
For their last tournament, members were able to practice a week and a half before the event began.
Matt and Jordan must consider all the nuances of the lake during practice.
"It's like a crazy puzzle you have to put together," Matt said. "Anything changes--wind direction, sun, clouds, the way the water is moving or not. We spend a lot of time out there before the cutoff day trying to get our best shot."
For anglers, preparation doesn't always lead to success.
"You can put in a week for a tournament, and the day of tournament a cold front or anything can happen," Jordan said. "Your boat can break down.
"You try to prepare for weather conditions coming up because that matters a lot this time of year and in the spring. You have all these factors in your head while you prepare for tournament."
If the weather isn't enough to consider, finding where the fish are is its own battle.
Matt said 20 percent of the lake will have 90 percent of the fish, and even then, the big fish live in only 5 percent.
Jordan and Matt must catch and keep five 12-inch live fish to qualify for a win.
"Different tournaments have different penalties for dead fish," Matt said. "So it's half a pound for every dead fish you have. In the summertime, it is really hard to keep them alive, but now when the water is colder they stay alive longer. "
Auburn will only be able to send one boat with two anglers to big tournaments. In other tournaments the club sends 10 boats.
"In our fall classic you can send as many boats as you want," Matt said. "There is just no limit to how many boats you can bring."
Matt said when he competes with his brother, his drive to win is greater.
"We're competitive," Matt said. "We want to beat each other worse than anything, but were pretty good buddies."
Matt and Jordan said they hope to win enough to start offering fishing scholarships.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
