Students get rude introduction to college bass fishing

Winning a bass fishing tournament is difficult enough. But put two Minnesota college students in a national bass fishing championship without a boat (theirs broke, so they rented a johnboat), too little practice time on a strange lake (Lake Maumelle in Arkansas) and limited funds (their parents kicked in gas money), and the result might be predictable.

Arielle Tetzlaff and Adam Odegaard lost.

Or they at least didn't finish in the top echelon among the more than 50 teams competing in the Under Armour College Bass National Championship held earlier this month near Little Rock, Ark.

But give Tetzlaff -- the first female angler to compete in the championship -- and Odegaard credit for spunk.

And ingenuity.

"I got into competitive college bass fishing because my mom called and said I should get a job while going to school," Odegaard said. "I asked myself, 'What do I want to do?' Then I stumbled onto this bass fishing idea, where you can win tuition money by winning tournaments. I figured, 'What better way to use my talents?"'

Tetzlaff and Odegaard are friends and sophomores at Brown College in Mendota Heights. She studies digital photography, he game design. Both grew up fishing, though Odegaard is the more experienced bass angler.

Enter Tetzlaff, whose interests are similar to those of Odegaard.

"I mean, I like to fish, and I need to pay for school, right?" she said.

Thus, the Brown College Bass Hunters was formed, an outfit with a small but growing membership.

Finding cash for a club boat was the next challenge. After that, paying for gas and a vehicle to tow a boat, should one somehow be acquired.

But a craft was found (a 1998 Bayliner) and a deal struck for its acquisition.

But there was a problem.

"When we put it in 'forward,' it wouldn't go," Tetzlaff said.

Which is why they headed to the national title match in Arkansas with nothing swinging from their trailer hitch.

"One of the Florida schools also had trouble with their boat. But they called for a rental boat before we did, so they got the good one," Tetzlaff said. "We got a johnboat with a 25-horse outboard."

Competitive college bass fishing has long been a big deal in the South, and team members from schools such as Auburn, Alabama and Virginia Tech piloted fancy boats with big motors.

So, our young anglers didn't win. But they are nothing if not energized by the experience.

More members are being recruited into the club. The Bayliner is being repaired. "A guy with a truck" has been found to pull the boat when needed.

And sponsors are being sought.

"Under Armour and other sponsors of the national championship are offering tuition assistance for winning tournaments as a way to increase participation in fishing among young people," Tetzlaff said.

Odegaard gets the messge.

For now, the Brown College Bass Hunters need help getting started -- perhaps even help getting the Bayliner started.