Card Living Proof That Collegiate Bass Fishing Is New Pipeline To Professional Fishing
Elite Series Pro Brandon Card. Photo credit bassmaster.com.
Add professional bass fishing to the education you can get in college these days. Just ask Brandon Card, a rookie in the Elite Series this year who is the first collegiate angler to make it to the top Bassmaster circuit.
“Probably the biggest factor for me as far as learning the tournament fishing scene was college fishing,” said Card, who fished on the University of Kentucky college team during the four years he studied for a degree in landscape architecture. “Fishing for the Kentucky college team was the biggest learning experience for me. I got to travel all over the country and learn new fisheries.”
“Being the first collegiate angler to make it to the Elite Series is kind of neat because college fishing is getting so big,” said Card as he prepared to fish the Elite Series tournament on Lake Okeechobee this week. “There are a lot of good college fishermen out there and in the near future we will see a lot of those college anglers stepping into the pro ranks for sure.”
Card got his love of fishing from his dad who was not a tournament fisherman.
“He just likes to fish for whatever is biting, a recreational angler. But my brother, who is two years older than me, and I both started watching Bassmasters on television at an early age and we got hooked. Every since then I have been trying to get into tournaments,” said the 25-year-old rookie who fished in his first tournament at the age of 14.
Card said he is able to fish the pro circuit because he started a landscaping business in 2009 after graduating from college.
“I’ve been doing that the last couple of years. It is really the only I can afford to do what I am doing right now, on the money I have made the last couple of years.”
He just left the Elite Series Johns River Showdown where he finished 14th, weighing in three limits for a total of 38 pounds, 6 ounces, and winning $10,000. He has notched five top 10 finishes in B.A.S.S. Tournaments, winning $37,945 along the way. His top 10s include : 2011 Bass Pro Shops Southern Open No. 1 on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, 9th; 2011 Bass Pro Shops Southern Open No. 2 on Lake Norman, 4th; Bassmaster Series, St. Lawrence River, April 2005, 7th; and Bassmaster Series on Cherokee Lake, September 2005, 7th. He finished second in the Angler of the Year standings and received an invitation to compete in the 2012 Bassmaster Elites Series
He also has a record of top 10 finishes in Walmart BFL tournaments in Kentucky and Tennessee: 4th, 2009 BFL Volunteer 5 on Lake Cherokee at Morristown, Tenn.; 5th, 2009 BFL Mountain 4 on Lake Cherokee at Morristown, Tenn.; 9th, 2009 BFL Mountain 9, Lake Cumberland at Monticello, Ky.; and 2nd, 2010 BFL Mountain 2 on Laurel Lake at London, Ky.
In June 2007, Card won the Ultimate Match Fishing College Edition tournament on Oneida Lake, NY. Through that championship win, Brandon gained national exposure as he was featured in five episodes that aired on the Outdoor Channel. That win also gave him the confidence to pursue bass fishing as a career.
Shortly following graduation, he qualified and competed in the 2009 BASS Federation Nation Championship. The very next season, he won the 2010 BASS Federation Southern Divisional which re-qualified him to fish the BASS Federation Nation Championship for the second consecutive season.
As for the Okeechobee tournament, Card said he expects most of the success will come in punching the mats and flipping and on topwater.
“I’ve fished Okeechobee before but I’ve never been down there this time of year. I was mostly sight fishing on the St. John’s River, but I don’t think sight fishing will play a role on Okeechobee. The bass there start spawning in November and December. There was hardly any spawning even in the FLW Tour tournament there a month ago,” he said.
“There should be a pretty strong topwater bite, whether on a Buzz Toad, a Speed Worm or a Devil’s Horse. My sponsor is Jethro Baits, so I will probably be using the Willie Frog.”
As vast as Okeechobee is, Card believes it will fish small.
“I think there are going to be a lot of people crowded into a few small areas, which will be interesting. As big as that lake is, it just fishes awfully small. But, if somebody can find something off the wall, some area nobody knows about, that is probably who will win the tournament.
Whatever he fishes with and whether he finds that secret honey hole, you can bet Card is enjoying himself this week.
“I’m enjoying my first year on the Elite Series. It’s going pretty good so far and I am fishing my dream.”
Bassmaster Elite Series
Mar 22-25, 2012
Lake Okeechobee
Scott Driver Recreation Area
