Practice makes perfect

Success is no surprise for Virginia Tech’s Machek and Wiley

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – Casual observers of competitive bass fishing often criticize the sport by claiming luck is the major factor in determining the outcome. While luck does play a role, in reality it is a very small part. The anglers who are the most prepared are the ones who consistently succeed.

Case in point this week is the Virginia Tech team of Charlie Machek and Scott Wiley. Over the past few years, Machek and Wiley have engrossed themselves with tournament bass fishing – competing in roughly a dozen tournaments annually. In 2007, the two won the 2007 Under Armour College Bass National Championship. This year they have already won the National Guard FLW College Fishing qualifier on Lake Gaston.

“We’re trying to go three in a row,” said Machek. “Gaston, here, and then the National Championship next year in Tennessee.”

While they are still college kids at heart, Machek (building construction) and Wiley (landscape architecture) both graduated in May. Wiley works full time and Machek was recently laid off. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, Machek is making the most of his additional free time. Leading up to the tournament he practiced for seven consecutive days from sunup to sundown.

“You’ve got to practice, especially in tough tournaments like this,” Machek said. “Some lakes you can just pull up to and catch fish. Norman is not one of them in the fall. I figured I was wasting my time if I didn’t come down. And to be honest, it sucked. It was a lot of work and I was worn out. I really have been all over the lake. But now it’s all paying off.”

“I owe all my fish to him,” Wiley said.

“This is our last chance,” added Machek. “We don’t care about decent finishes – we want to win and that’s it. We’re on good fish too. It’s very possible.”

The top five FLW College Fishing teams from each of the four regular-season Northern Division tournaments gained automatic entry into the 2009 Northern Regional Championship at Davidson College. During the three-day regional event, 20 two-man collegiate angling teams will compete for a top award of $25,000 plus a 177TR Ranger wrapped in school colors and powered by an Evinrude or Yamaha outboard engine.

Teams competing in the Northern Regional Championship this week are Chestnut Hill College, Fairmont State University, Hampden-Sydney College, Longwood University, North Carolina State University, Penn State, Shepherd University, State University of New York College at Plattsburgh, University of North Carolina – Charlotte, Vermont Technical College, Virginia Tech and West Point.

Logistics

Collegiate bass anglers will take off daily at 7 a.m. Eastern time from will take off from Blythe Landing located at 15901 Highway 73 in Huntersville, N.C. Weigh-ins will be held daily at Davidson Village Green beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

Davidson College will also host the Reel Life Festival in conjunction with the Northern Regional Championship. The free festival, located at Davidson Village Green, will feature a Battle of the Bands, the National Guard Warrior Challenge ropes course, rock-climbing wall, paintball range, geocaching and a variety of other activities. On Sunday and Monday, Nov. 8-9, the Reel Life Festival will run in conjunction with the tournament weigh-in from 4 to 7 p.m. Reel Life Festival visitors can register to win iPod Nanos, which will be given away on Nov. 8, and a MacBook Air, which will be given away Nov. 9.

The top five teams from each of the five National Guard regional championships (Western, Central, Northern, Texas and Southeast) will advance to the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship April 10-12, 2010, on the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville, Tenn. The winning team at the national championship will qualify for the prestigious 2010 Forrest Wood Cup.

Sunday’s conditions

Sunrise: 6:52 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 42 degrees

Expected high temperature: 75 degrees

Water temperature: 63-66 degrees

Wind: NE at 3 mph

Max. humidity: 48 percent

Day’s outlook: sunny