By Heather Johnson: MPCC Area Information
A representative of the Mid-Plains Community College Fishing Club reeled his way to the Top 20 during a national fishing tournament in Florida.
Grant Pavelka, of North Platte, finished 20th out of 118 teams in the 2020 Carhartt Bassmaster College National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops. The tourney was conducted at the Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Fla. Oct. 29-31.
It was Pavelka’s second time representing MPCC at a national competition. He and fishing partner Dylan Petersen, of North Platte, competed at the college national championships in Dayton, Tenn. last year – placing 36th out of 116 teams.
Pavelka qualified for this year’s competition by winning the state tournament at Merritt Reservoir alongside Clayton Stevens, of McCook. Unfortunately, because of academic commitments, Stevens wasn’t able to go to Florida.
“I was fishing alone, and all the rest of the teams were two-man teams,” said Pavelka. “But it was still a lot of fun. That was my first time ever seeing Florida. It was really great – a totally different world.”
The type of fishing was also different from what he was used to in Nebraska.
“Florida is usually a shallow water paradise,” Pavelka said. “The best pattern I had was in 20 feet of water, 200 yards off the bank. I was offshore fishing in a state where most don’t offshore fish.”
He had plenty of time to scout out a prime location. Pavelka left Nebraska Oct. 23 and arrived in Florida Oct. 25 on what ended up being a 24-hour trip. He was allowed to practice for three days before the tournament began.
“The Harris Chain of Lakes actually consists of seven lakes,” said Pavelka. “So, I would practice one then go on to the next one and try it out. A lot of it was eliminating water I didn’t want to waste my time with. I ended up being pretty fortunate because my starting spot was about 45 seconds away from blast off and the other spot I was looking at was about an hour and 40-minute drive away. So, I was able to spend less time on the road and more time fishing.”
He ended up staying on Big Harris Lake fishing for largemouth bass. His limit was five per day.
“I had to change my catching technique because in Florida, the bass spawn twice a year, as opposed to only once a year in Nebraska,” Pavelka said. “Right now, they’re about to move up to where they spawn, so I looked for brush piles and openings of creeks. It was like spring fishing in the fall.”
He used a 3/4-ounce jig – his fallback for a variety of situations.
“It works pretty much everywhere,” Pavelka said. “I’ve been using it since my dad taught me how to fish when I was little. It’s consistent.”
Pavelka caught his limit both days. He weighed in after the first round with 11.8 pounds, which ranked him 56th.
“I was really bummed out,” Pavelka said. “I had a chance at having a good bag but missed one that would have bumped me up about 20 spots. The second day, my dad told me just to go out and have fun fishing my last day in Florida.”
He hit the 8-pound mark then stalled out - trading up only an ounce at a time.
“I went out deep and had one that clued me into some bigger ones,” Pavelka said. “Suddenly, my luck turned around and I went from 8 pounds to 17 pounds in about an hour and a half.”
His total on the second day was 17.2 pounds, which wasn’t enough to put him into the championship round on Saturday but was enough to place him in the Top 20.
“The support alone was worth the trip,” Pavelka said. “There were so many people from back home texting me and rooting me on that I reached a point where I didn’t even feel like I was fishing for myself anymore. I was fishing for Nebraska. That’s a pretty special feeling.”
More information about the tournament, including full results can be found at bassmaster.com.