Meet the Spartans

Anthony Lee and Tyler Swasey of San Jose State University share their thoughts about qualifying for the 2011 National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship

Anthony Lee (left) and Tyler Swasey of San Jose State proudly display their fourth-place catch at the FLW College Fishing Western Regional Championship. Photo by Gary Mortenson. Anglers: Anthony Lee, Tyler Swasey.

March 4, 2011 • Gary Mortenson • Abu Garcia College Fishing

(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.)

Name: Anthony Lee (pictured on left)

Class: Junior

Major: Business Marketing

Hometown: San Jose, Calif.

Other interests: My interests are ice hockey, riding scooters and hiking.

Name: Tyler Swasey (pictured on right)

Class: Graduate

Major: Advertising minor in Business Marketing

Hometown: San Jose, Calif.

Other interests: Outdoors, photography, skateboarding, snowboarding and going to the dog park with my dog, Tucker, are just some of my interests.

Q&A

CollegeFishing.com: How were you introduced to fishing?

Lee: My cousin Pete had a pond in his front yard and he used to take me fishing for bluegills when I was younger. The first bass I ever caught was with him. I was pretty young at the time.

Swasey: From a young age I was fishing with my dad on camping trips. After that, my interest in bass fishing grew steadily. Spending days fishing with buddies helped me develop a series of friendly competitions which allowed me to learn as much as I could to catch more fish.

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

Lee: I’m most comfortable fishing jigs, swimbaits and finesse baits. I believe that fishing is 90 percent confidence and 10 percent presentation. More often than not, having confidence with whatever you do will lead to success on the water.

Swasey: I fish a more finesse style, but love getting frog bites in open water so I always keep an open mind and try to adjust.

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?

Lee: This was honestly a dream come true for Tyler and me. We worked really hard to do well at regionals. Tyler couldn’t make it to prefish but my friend John went up, helped pay for gas and we experienced a tough bite. I had been told numerous things regarding how to fish this lake, but two tips stood out to me the most. I have to give a lot of credit to Jason Chin at Coyote Bait and Tackle. Jason taught me how to “think outside the box” to catch more fish. My childhood friend Chris Zaldain also has had a huge influence on me when it comes to “adapting to the situation.” These two people helped me discover that fishing is 90 percent confidence and 10 percent presentation. During regionals, we used those two tips to catch our fish.

When we qualified for regionals, Tyler and I both thought, “Wow this may be the biggest tournament of our lives.” Little did we know that it would be our second biggest tournament. The days before the tournament it was hard to sleep and hard to focus – really, it was hard to do anything. The final day Tyler and I woke up hootin’ and hollering about how we are going to Nationals. It is honestly a dream. We feel accomplished and we can only thank the Lord for his spirit and faith, our family for supporting us and allowing us to fulfill our dreams and all the great companies that help us get where we are today. So a big thanks to FLW Outdoors, the National Guard, Denise at Coyote Bait and Tackle, and Gary and the family at Dobyns Rods for making sure we had enough volunteers. We’d also like to thank Loren at Skinny Bear, Paycheck Baits … the list goes on. Thanks to all of you for helping Tyler and I get to where we are today.

Swasey: The regional qualifier at Folsom Lake was so exciting for us. The thrill of fishing on that big of a stage has us really excited to hit the docks at the championship. We are currently getting our plans together for prefishing as we gather more information about these foreign waters.

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

Lee: About five years ago I was teaching fishing at a Boy Scout camp when I got bit by something and was subsequently diagnosed with a lung disease. I haven’t told a lot of people this but I was intubated for some time. Although this scare had my family completely panicked, I held strong and came out okay. But it was a very scary moment for my family and girlfriend. At times my friends and family didn’t think I’d make it. But I did and I look at life completely differently. It was definitely a life-changing experience.

Swasey: I have a passion for photography and stopping to enjoy the little things life holds. A little thing in a larger picture really captures my attention.