While there are many sports and activities around campus, one team that consistently brings home trophies throughout the entire school year is the LCM Bass Team. Within the bass team is one junior who recently competed in his 100th fishing tournament. 

“I have been fishing before I could even talk,” junior Jacob Longlois said. “I do not remember ever starting fishing. It has just always been my favorite thing to do.” 

Fishing for such a long time has taught Longlois many lessons, including important traits to have in order to be successful. 

“Obviously fishing takes a lot of patience, but beyond that, it takes a strong desire to learn more and more about what fish do at different times, the weather conditions, and what baits to use and when,” Longlois said. “To be successful, you have to constantly be learning more.” 

Longlois uses his knowledge to prepare for competitions, making sure he is at the peak of his capabilities. 

“I begin to prepare weeks in advance of a tournament by looking at maps of the lake and brainstorming what baits to use,” Longlois said. “If I get the chance, I will go and fish wherever the tournament is at. If I find any fish, I take note of whatever I was doing to catch them and think of other ways to catch fish by doing similar things. Then the night before, I check all of my line to make sure it is not damaged and tie on baits.” 

All of this preparation has helped Longlois in his career. Recently, he reached 100 tournaments on his record, having fun memories from all of them. His favorite memory being a total catch of over 30 pounds, where he and his partner were the first to do so in Southeast Texas. However, he has multiple sources that motivate him to do well in his fishing career, no matter if it is breaking records or even just competing. 

“My dad always motivates me to do the best I can,” Longlois said. “But my biggest motivation is knowing how much experience I have fishing. If I believe that I am better and have more experience than my competition then I expect myself to win and work very hard to do so.”