Meet the Hokies

Rejzer and White of Virginia Tech share their thoughts about qualifying for the 2011 National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship

(Editor’s note: Leading up to the 2011 National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship, slated to be held April 7-9 on Kentucky Lake at Murray State University, CollegeFishing.com will be publishing semiweekly feature stories highlighting the 25 national championship qualifiers. At stake in the tournament is a first-place prize package worth $100,000 as well as a chance for the winning team to compete in the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup.)

Club Web site:http://www.bassfishingteamatvt.com/

Q&A

CollegeFishing.com: How were you introduced to fishing?

White: My dad got me started when I was really little. My mom and my uncle supported my addiction from there.

Rejzer: I started out saltwater fishing when I was too small to even walk (actually my first fishing trip took place when I was very young but I probably started actively fishing when I was around three). We lived on the Chesapeake Bay and would go on vacation at Lake Gaston nearly every summer, which is where I first got started bass fishing. My dad and I would fish off the end of the dock with my Fisher Price spincaster catching all sorts of fish. When I was old enough to drive a boat by myself I really started to focus on bass. During my high school years I started to do a lot of fishing with my buddy Charles Parrish (bass teammate at Hampden Sydney) and that’s when I started to get really into it.

CollegeFishing.com: What style/method of fishing are you most comfortable with?

White: I like to fish slowly but I am not a power fisherman per-se. I feel most comfortable with jigs, plastics, drop-shot and that sort of thing. I really like fishing weeds and it doesn’t matter how many or how deep because almost all our lakes up north have lots of vegetation – and that style of fishing is very comforting to me. Also, I love fishing topwater baits. There is nothing more exciting than seeing a 4-pound smallmouth take a walking bait or watching a largemouth crush a frog.

Rejzer: I try to be as versatile as I can and constantly try to make myself comfortable with new styles and techniques. But if I had to pick one specific thing to throw all day, I would choose the football jig.

CollegeFishing.com: What did it feel like to qualify for the 2011 FLW College Fishing National Championship? How do you plan to prepare for the big event?

White: It’s really exciting, in fact, I was already researching Kentucky Lake before the regional was over. Besides the usual online research and talking to people, Carson and I will probably spend almost all of spring break there to get a feel for the lake. We’ll then try and get out there the last weekend before the off-limits period. The key will be being able to figure out what the fish are doing on practice day and then have some places already in mind.

Rejzer: It was a huge relief to qualify for a second year in a row. Ever since fishing the first championship, I have been dying to make it back again. National Guard and FLW put on an absolutely spectacular event for us last year and it is an honor being able to go back again. In the back of my head I’ve been telling myself that if I could do it once, I can do it again, and that was the driving force behind my confidence going into this year’s series. We couldn’t have asked for a better competition at the regionals. We almost didn’t make it, but after pulling out just about all my hair we were able squeak by in fifth place on day two and finish in fourth.

As of right now I am planning on making a trip to Kentucky Lake and spending my entire spring break there. I know that it won’t help much in finding patterns for April, but it will give us a great view of the lake and allow us to be able to put a plan together when the tournament comes. This is the big one. Last year we settled for a bite we found that was geared around small fish, and we missed the cut by 1 pound. This year my plans are different. We are going to keep moving until we find the good quality bass Kentucky Lake is famous for. All I know right now is that if the fish are spawning and we can see them, it’s game on. It is going to be one great show!