On Sept. 14 the fishing team held their first tournament at Ray Roberts lake in Denton, Texas. Over a hundred boats competed in the tournament, and sixteen Mansfield boats competed. Mansfield altogether came in second place, weighing in nine fish that totaled 35.84 pounds.
The Fishing club is a district wide club that makes up one team. Five times a year, the team meets at Texas High School Bass Association tournaments to compete against other districts to catch the five biggest fish.
“I really enjoy being on the water and the thrill of fighting the fish,” Parker said.
Parker caught the only fish big enough to keep. After the tournament, the fish weighed in at 2.30 pounds.
“I signed up because I enjoy fishing,” senior Nathan Wild said. “It reminds me of the times I went fishing with my Dad.”
During the tournament, Wild caught two fish on a rattletrap, but both measured under the 14 inch keep limit, so he threw them back.
“When I realized I had the fish on, I thought, ‘this is a real fish.” I have to get it in the boat,” Wild said. “I thought that I would be getting more bites, but I guess I was wrong.”
During the tournament, sophomores Eli Parker and Lane Deeds, caught seven fish but only caught one big enough to keep.
“My favorite part of the day was when I set the hook into the big fish. I knew I had to keep the fish to weigh in,” Parker said. “I thought that if I landed this fish, we could have a chance at winning.”
Before tournaments, anglers will research the lakes to find spots to fish, but more goes into it than just looking on a map.
“I research what the water temperatures are, and look at tournaments from the past to try to find a pattern or consistency,” Parker said.
While fishing it can take hours before you get a bite and anglers have to consistently remain ready to catch the fish.
“When I’m fishing I’m constantly thinking about what I can do to entice the fish to eat the bait,” Parker said. “I’m trying to trick the fish and find a pattern with each fish that eats,”.
Anglers don’t like to fish only to win, they also find that fishing can help their mental state.
“The first time I felt the fight of the fish I fell in love with fishing, but I’ve also learned that fishing helps me because of the calm of the lake,” Parker said. “There are no distractions, it’s just you and your mind.”
