Meet the Lumberjacks

Stephen F. Austin teammates Watkins, Upshaw share their thoughts on qualifying for the 2012 National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship

Stephen F. Austin teammates Ryan Watkins (left) and Andrew Upshaw hold up their 14-pound, 8-ounce catch. The weight was good enough for a second-place finish at the FLW College Fishing qualifying event at Toledo Bend. Photo by Gary Mortenson. Anglers: Ryan Watkins, Andrew Upshaw.

February 20, 2012 • Gary Mortenson • Abu Garcia College Fishing

(Editor’s note: Leading up to the 2012 National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship – slated for April 13-15 on Lake Murray in Columbia, S.C. – CollegeFishing.com will publish weekly, in-depth features stories of each of the 25 national championship team 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 2012 Forrest Wood Cup.)

Name: Ryan Watkins (pictured on left)

Class: Alumni

Major: Kinesiology

Hometown: Rockport, Texas

Other interests: Anything competitive. I also get pretty pumped up about taking lessons so I can be certified to hang glide!

Name: Andrew Upshaw (pictured on right)

Class: Alumni

Major: Marketing

Hometown: Hemphill, Texas

Other interests: My other interests would be hunting, boating, just about any sport and sometimes playing the “Call of Duty” video game.

Q&A

CollegeFishing.com: How were you introduced to fishing?

Watkins: My father is a professional fishing guide on the coast so I didn’t really have a choice but to fish. I was introduced at a young enough age so I can’t recall my fist trip to the water, what my first fish or what I caught it on. All I know is that it became a lifestyle for my brother and I – not just a hobby. My dad implemented it as a tool to show us the ropes of life and used the attributes of the sport of fishing to help us evolve into the men we are today. Our values as individuals, as well as a family, are derived from the sport of fishing and it’s always been the one constant in our lives. Regardless of what life threw at us, the good and the bad fishing were always there.

Upshaw: I started fishing when I was younger around ponds behind our house. From there I moved to Toledo Bend when I was 14 or 15 and started fishing in our backyard which was basically the lake. Tommy Martin was actually the first person to ever take me out on Sam Rayburn and from there I was hooked on competitive fishing.

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

Watkins: Sight-fishing is by far my biggest strength, but having confidence in general allows me to adapt to what the conditions call for and what the fish tell me to do.

Upshaw: I feel that I am extremely versatile when it comes to fishing. Oddly enough, my weakest point is flipping and pitching – not because I’m not accurate, it’s just that I don’t have that much confidence in it. My strongest three fishing styles would be deepwater power fishing, sight-fishing and fishing grass or rock.

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?

Watkins: It felt great, but that excitement is past and now we just want to win. It’s our last college event and we’re going to go after the title harder than ever. I’m going to pre-fish for a week before cutoff and Andrew is going in his own boat to pre-fish as well. We’re determined to do everything in our power to win this thing. Competition is stiff but we wouldn’t have it any other way. We want to win against the best of the best.

Upshaw: It was an awesome experience for Ryan and me. After coming off a couple of big wins we feel our momentum is the highest it’s ever been. Needless to say we are extremely excited to compete in our last college event together. As far as preparation, we probably won’t change anything we usually do to prepare. Normally all we do is review some maps and go spend a few extra days on the body of water.

CollegeFishing.com: Tell us something interesting about yourself that most people wouldn’t know.

Watkins: I’m the only college angler to qualify for the FLW College fishing National Championship and the FLW World Championship Redfish series. And because that’s what I said last year I’ll go ahead and add the my dad really is my hero – it’s not just a cliche.

Upshaw: I just got done designing a bait for Strike Pro America that will be released at ICAST. I am really excited about this because I feel it’s a one-of-a-kind hard bait that potentially will win “Best in Show,” Lord willing.