Meet the Wildcats II

Parker Moran and Marshal Smith of Chico State share their thoughts about qualifying for the 2011 National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship

The Chico State team of Parker Moran and Marshal Smith took fourth at the CF Western event at Lake Shasta. Anglers: Marshal Smith, Parker Moran.

March 18, 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: Marshal Smith (right)

Class: Senior

Major: Communication Studies (Organizational Communication)

Hometown: San Jose, Calif.

Other interests: I’m interested in hunting, camping and anything outdoors.

Name: Parker Moran (left)

Class: Graduate

Major: Entrepreneurship/Marketing

Hometown: Carmel, Calif.

Other interests: I’m interested in hiking and free diving..

Q&A

CollegeFishing.com: How were you introduced to fishing?

Smith: I started fishing on camping trips with my family. I think I caught my first fish when I was 4 years old and have been fishing ever since. I really got into bass fishing when I was in high school and started fishing tournaments with a local club a few years later.

Moran: My older brother Travis got a 12-foot aluminum boat for his birthday one year and he used it to take my twin brother Spencer and I out to the lakes around Hollister. We never caught anything at first, but we’d ask random people on the water what they were using and slowly we began to catch fish. Our first technique was dragging a Carolina-rigged worm. It actually blew our minds when we started catching fish.

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

Smith: I generally like fishing slow. Jigs, Texas rigs and finesse baits are what I’m best with. I also like throwing swimbaits and, when the weather is right, it’s hard to beat a frog bite.

Moran: I’m most comfortable fishing the Cali deep drop-shot, jerkbaits and jigs.

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?

Smith: It took a while for it to set in. Sitting in ninth place after the first day I wasn’t hoping for much. Then, when we moved all the way up to third on the second day, I couldn’t believe it. It’s going to be the experience of a lifetime and I am hoping I can get out there for a little practice. But it may be difficult considering it is about three quarters of the way across the country.

Moran: I thought this whole series was a hoax even when I was creating the Chico State club. Although we’ve won around $60,000, I’m still finding it hard to believe that this whole thing is real and not just an awesome dream.

All-in-all I’m just stoked to be fishing. I can’t thank the National Guard and FLW Outdoors enough for giving me this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

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

Smith: I don’t know…

Moran: I helped start BassHookups.com, a business started with my two brothers, which helps connect bass fishermen with manufactures.