ENID, Okla. — Fishing may be a long-time activity, but for modern teens, it’s a fast-growing sport.
Such is the case for Kelson Hamilton, Chisholm High School senior, who after a lifetime of fishing with family and friends, decided to take his hobby and turn it into a competitive sport.
“For as long as I can remember I’ve always enjoyed fishing with family — grandparents, parents, siblings — and it’s been something I’ve loved having as a way of connecting and getting outside together,” Hamilton said. “It wasn’t until recently I started looking into what it took to fish in tournaments competitively and a friend and I went to a tournament and ever since have loved fishing for that, also.”
What started as a sport shared between the two friends quickly became a favorite sport of their friends and more and more teens.
The fast-growing sport is sweeping across Oklahoma and beyond as it catches the interest of youth and offers incentive to reel in scholarships.
“As I was looking at the programs and tournaments, I also saw that a lot of colleges offered scholarships for sport fishing, which definitely caught my interest,” Hamilton said. “More and more colleges are looking at sport fishing as a program to have and are looking for team members to make a team. I love to fish, and would love the opportunity to pursue it on the college level, too.”
As one might imagine with any sport, fishing is not one that the participant can just take it easy. Sport fishing requires technique, practice and lots and lots of character development.
“I would say the greatest thing sport fishing has shown and taught me is endurance,” Hamilton said. “It takes a lot of endurance to keep fishing and patience to wait until you get a bite — which may take a while at first. Lake fishing for sport is a lot different than fishing for fun in a pond because the fish are harder to catch and there is more strategy involved, but it makes it exciting and more thrilling when you catch one, which I love.”
Todd Hamilton, Kelson’s father and longtime fishing partner, said watching his son take on the family hobby of fishing has been fun to see, and seeing him take it to a new level has been fun.
“We’ve loved getting to fish together as a family since as early as the kids could hold a pole,” Hamilton said. “Kelson is the first one of us to take it to sport fishing, though, which has been fun to see and watch it grow among his friends. Growing up, he was involved with fishing groups, but it’s been fun watching him at this competitive level.”
Hamilton said in his years of learning to fish, he was mentored and had the opportunity to fish alongside many great and wise fishermen before him who knew their bait, catch and tackle.
One of those groups was led by Brian Moorehead, Autry Technology Center training specialist.
Moorehead has led, along with other volunteers, the Oklahoma Bass Nation High School series, a series representing six high schools in Northwest Oklahoma to allow high school students to competitively fish and show their skills in the water.
Through this, he’s mentored along the way many young fishermen like Hamilton, taking them to lakes across Oklahoma and even up to the national level to compete in the Bassmaster National Championship on Lake Hartwell in South Carolina and Chickamauga Lake in Tennessee.
Moorehead said he doesn’t volunteer just to practice and teach skills on the water. though. He also teaches skills that students can take with them for life.
“Fishing teaches these young anglers patience, resilience and critical thinking,” Moorehead said. “It’s not just about casting a line, but it’s about understanding the water, the conditions and how to adapt when things don’t go as planned. That’s a life skill.”
In addition to skills that are practical for all of life, Moorehead said he hopes competitive fishing also gives the youth involved a chance to be outside where they can connect with the great outdoors and their fellow anglers, which is a term for fishermen and fisherwomen.
“Being out on the lake offers these kids more than just competition,” Moorehead said. “It gives them a chance to connect with nature and each other. The bonds they build on the water are just as important as the trophies they bring home.”