This article was contributed by Ryan Wood, a member of the 2015 Bassmaster High School All-American team, who recently accepted a fishing scholarship to Dallas Baptist University.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved fishing. I caught my first fish when I was 2, and I was instantly hooked. Eight years later, I met two bass anglers, Chad LaChance and Troy Coburn, who gave me advice on how to become a professional fisherman.
First, they said I should join a local junior bass club, which I did. I became a proud member of the Denver Junior Bassmasters a month later.
The second piece of advice was to go to college and study some aspect of business. So, in my quest, I’ve always linked college and fishing.
Over the past year, I’ve researched many schools and have been offered academic scholarships from eight universities, some of them for full tuition, and fishing scholarships from four. I am very thankful to all of these schools. Now, more than halfway through my senior year of high school, I’m proud to announce that I’ve decided to attend Dallas Baptist University and fish on the Patriots’ bass team. It’s been a long process that I’ve put a lot of research and consideration into.
My first real thought about selecting a college came early in my sophomore year of high school when I competed in the Bassmaster Junior World Championship. My boat captain for the tournament was a member of a local college team, and his school was the first I really considered going to. As I saw other schools do well in tournaments, or have high rankings, I thought it would be cool to go to those as well. Eventually, I sat down with my parents and came up with a list of criteria I wanted in the college I would go to. They can be summarized as Faith, Fishing and Future.
The first and most important factor for me was that I wanted to go to a Christian university. My faith is important to me, and coming from a secular public high school in Colorado, I really want to experience a school that puts God at its center and be surrounded by students who have the same focus as I do. Dallas Baptist’s Christian mission was very clear the first time I ever stepped on campus, and I look forward to growing my faith there.
Like many young anglers, I have dreams of being a Bassmaster Elite Series pro. There are several paths to make that happen — the B.A.S.S. Nation, the Bassmaster Opens, getting KVD to adopt me, or the Bassmaster College Series.
I decided the college route is the best option for me at this time, so I wanted to find a school that gives its bass team great support. DBU fits that bill. This, along with being surrounded by so many world-class bass fisheries — Lake Fork, Toledo Bend, Sam Rayburn, Grand Lake, just to name a few — puts Dallas Baptist among the top tier of college fishing teams.
Going to college is mainly about getting an education for your future. In all of the research we have done, DBU has consistently been ranked as a top academic university. I’ve done well in high school, and I look forward to continuing that in college and getting a great education that will help me reach my goals. Because my plans for the future involve being a professional angler, I am going to study business and marketing so I’ll have the skills I need to represent myself and my sponsors and take care of the business side of being a pro.
My family’s support is also extremely important to me. I wouldn’t have had any of the success I’ve had without them. While my mom would be happiest if I lived at home and went to a local college, she knew long ago that my passion for bass fishing would eventually take me far away from the snowy mountains of Colorado. Dallas is “only” a 12-hour drive from home, and there are plenty of flights, so that will make the distance seem a little less. No matter how far away it is, they are happy knowing that I’ll be getting a great education, continuing to grow in my faith, and being able to pursue my passion.
If it weren’t for B.A.S.S. and its junior, high school and collegiate fishing programs, I may still be looking for my passion. Those programs have played a huge part in me being able to follow my dreams, just like it has for many others.
Hopefully, the opportunity to fish in college, get a valuable education and possibly turn fishing into a career will inspire many other young anglers to do well in school and plan out their path to the pros.
