Photo courtesy of the Briarwood Bass Team.
Briarwood Bass Team members Tucker Smith, left, and Grayson Morris are shown after finishing 12th in the BASS Tournament at Lake Martin on Feb. 3.
The Briarwood Christian School bass team is off the hook.
The team was started in 2012 through the Alabama High School Bass Fishing Association, which later became the Alabama Student Angler Bass Fishing Association.
This year’s team is made up of 10 students: Grayson Morris, David Scharf, Tucker Smith, Chandler Holt, Reid Mays, Walter Vetrano, Jordan Martens, Sadie Stanford, Riley Underwood and Mason Wright. The group is led by Jay Mathews, the school’s athletics director.
“I have been fishing all my life, but competitive fishing is a whole new world,” Mathews said.
The team fishes year-round, but its main season runs February through May. Student anglers also participate in B.A.S.S. High School, where Briarwood has anglers already qualified for state and national tournaments.
“Alabama bass fishing is the most competitive sport, as far as young talent, that I have ever seen,” Mathews said. “We have local schools like Spain Park, Chelsea and Pell City that are as good as they come in the nation.”
So far in 2018, the team has finished eighth at a tournament at Lake Martin, and Morris and Smith won a tournament at Lake Mitchell. The duo also placed third out of 250 teams at a regional at Toledo Bend in Louisiana, qualifying them for the B.A.S.S. National Championship.
“This tournament was a huge accomplishment for me and Tucker because our goal for the season was to make it to the Bassmaster High School National Championship, where only 200 boats from the nation qualify to fish,” Morris said. “Because of our third-place finish, Tucker and I accomplished our goal and it’s really meant a lot to us. Our next goal is to win the Bassmaster National Championship.”
In the seven-year history of the team, it has filmed television shows with pro anglers Brent Chapman and Jimmy Houston. It has sent four of its anglers to college teams. This year, the team has its first two-girl boat.
“I love our young team and how hard they all are working,” Mathews said. “Bass fishing is a lifetime skill, and the values represented by the teams in Alabama are incredible. This is grassroots God, country, fishing. They say a prayer, play the Star Spangled Banner, and then 250 boats blast off. Just about every fishing team I see has a Bible verse on their team jersey.”
And according to team members, they get a lot out of participating.
“For me, the best part about being in the fishing club and on the travel team is getting to share my passion with others that have the same love for fishing that I do,” Morris said. “When we have club meetings, I enjoy getting to talk about strategies, techniques and just having fellowship with others who have the same interest. Throughout my high school tournaments, I have developed a passion for helping myteam be successful and have also created many new friendships along the way.”
Tucker said he has learned a lot in his time as a fishing team member, too, more than just about crankbaits and Carolina rigs.
“The best part about being part of the bass club is helping each other out and working as a team,” he said. “I have learned so much about fishing from other anglers these past two years of high school. A great key our club possesses is the advantage of communication.”
The team finished 14th in Club of the Year voting in 2015, 11th in 2016, and seventh last year. The team is aiming higher this year, but fishing is about so much more.
“I am learning a new skill and sport as well,” Mathews said. “And nothing makes me happier than seeing students fish with their dads and granddads with a smile on their face.”
