'Let's go fishing'

As Kellis Higginbotham launches his Skeeter TZX 190 on Sooner Lake one warm, windy July morning, he reminds his fellow anglers what they’re there for.

“Let’s go make some money,” he tells them.

Higginbotham, like most competitive fishermen, has his eyes on the prize – big bass and big checks.

Unlike most competitors, however, Higginbotham will never actually put his line in the water. This morning, like many mornings over the past few years, finds Higginbotham steering, encouraging, coaching.

On his team are two fifth-graders, Brooks Higginbotham, 10, and Rigg McCrary, 11, and this morning they are competing in the final round of The Bass Federation’s Junior World Championships in Ponca City, Oklahoma. The junior anglers were one of 12 teams, and by far the youngest, to qualify. They would finish eighth, no small feat considering their ages.

Sooner Lake, in north-central Oklahoma, and the site of this year’s Junior World Finals, presented its own set of challenges. The lake, established in 1972 as a reservoir for a power plant owned by Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company, is fed by the Arkansas River, and features a cold water side and a warm water side. Kellis Higginbotham said there’s about a 10 degree temperature difference between the two.

Oklahoma’s unpredictable summer weather patterns didn’t make things easier.

“The wind was terrible,” Kellis Higginbotham said. “(There were) two- to four-foot swells all three days of the competition. The wind was so high at Sooner that we ruined a pair of trolling (motor) batteries. Had to get new batteries while we were there.”

Still, the boys persevered.

“They had a big time. We caught a lot of fish,” Kellis Higginbotham said.

Early entry

Brooks Higginbotham remembers accompanying his grandfather as they fished the cow pounds on his grandfather’s property.

“We caught some big old bass out there,” said Brooks, who attends Caledonia Elementary. “I loved it from the start.”

Kellis, who works for the Army Corps of Engineers as a supervisor for the locks and dams in Columbus and Aberdeen, has an even earlier memory of Brooks on the water.

“I’ve always fished competitively and I started taking him when he was about three, and he’d just stay between my legs,“ Kellis said. “We’d fish tournaments, Tuesday and Thursday nighters, and he just always went with me.

The Higginbothams and McCrearys met through T-ball and soon discovered they had a shared love of fishing.

“We became friends with Lou and Katie (McCreary) on Facebook, and Rigg was always posting pictures of fish,” Kellis Higginbotham said.

The boys started fishing together when they were in the second grade.

“The first time I saw them take off on that boat, Lou reminded me, ‘Kellis does this for a living,’” Rigg’s mother, Katie McCreary, said.

Like any sport, fishing takes practice. Improvements in casting, bait selection, and the ability to understand how the natural environment and water conditions affect the day’s catch only come with experience. While most boys their age occupy their free time playing baseball, soccer or video games, Brooks and Rigg prefer to spend their time on the water.

“They’re way ahead of the game,” Kellis said. “I keep on them pretty hard. We fish a lot, but this is what they like to do.”

Rigg, who attends Heritage Academy, has played some travel baseball, but his real love is fishing.

“It’s fun to find a sport that Rigg’s really passionate about,” Katie said. “Their skill level blows me away. I grew up fishing and I will go with him sometimes, and I’m like, ‘What are you doing? How are you casting that, or how do you know this?’ Everything that Kellis has taught him has been really strategic. They have a level of knowledge that I can’t even fathom.”

The boys look the part; polyester long-sleeve fishing shirts adorned with sponsors’ logos, and dark-framed, polarized sunglasses. They speak the language, too; Brooks said he prefers to fish with a “Texas rig and a worm.”

“… They have all the equipment and more than they need,” Kellis said. “They’re very well set up with the right equipment. Probably better than me.”

That equipment costs money, and thanks to the generosity of sponsors – primarily local businesses – the boys and their coach are able to get what they need.

“We’ve got quite a few names (we need to thank),” Kellis said, “because it’s expensive, fishing.”

Life lessons

Fishing, like life, is an endeavor marked by disappointment with occasional flashes of ecstasy. It takes patience, determination, competitiveness, and according Brooks, lots of snacks.

“They’re both very competitive,” Kellis said. “Almost too much, because they’re competitive against each other in the boat and they’re on the same team.”

“We’re not that bad right now,” Brooks said.

“They gel well,” Kellis said. “They have a good time in the boat. They’re always smiling and laughing. They’re just two really good kids.”

Brooks and Rigg have qualified for Junior World’s in each of the last two years. They see fishing as both a competitive outlet and a path forward. College fishing is growing in popularity, and the sport, overseen by the Association of Collegiate Anglers, now boasts more than 160 programs at colleges and universities across the country. Many of these are now offering scholarships to recruit and reward the best anglers.

“I’m blown away by the amount of scholarship money that’s available,” Katie said.

“This is what they like to do. … They love fishing,” Kellis said. “(I’m) just thankful that this is an avenue now for kids, you can go and get college paid for.”

But those are all conversations that can be had in the future. Now, in the present, as their boat motors out toward the open waters of Sooner Lake, Brooks prefers to clear his mind and keep it simple.

“Let’s go fishing,” he says.

Philip Poe is interim sports editor.

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