Meet the Bobcats

Texas State heading to CF National Championship

The Texas State team of David Cosner and Jay McCollum are poised to make a big move on day three. Photo by David A. Brown. Anglers: David Cosner, Jay McCollum.

January 25, 2010 • Patrick Baker • Abu Garcia College Fishing

(Editor’s note: Leading up to the inaugural National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship, which will be held at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., April 10-12, CollegeFishing.com will post semiweekly feature stories highlighting the 25 teams that qualified. At stake in the tournament is a prize package of $100,000 and a chance to compete in the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup.)

Name: David Cosner (pictured at left)

Class: sophomore

Major: Business Marketing

Hometown: Austin, Texas

Other interests: camping, golf, motocross

Name: Jay McCollum (pictured at right)

Class: senior

Major: Agricultural Business-Systems Management

Hometown: Athens, Texas

Other interests: basketball, deer hunting, inshore saltwater fishing, bird hunting, fly-fishing, kayaking

Club Web site: www.basscats.com

Q&A

CollegeFishing.com: How were you introduced to fishing?

Cosner: I started fishing when I moved to Texas when I was about 4 years old. Both me and my dad started fishing at the same time, so it has been a pleasure to learn at the same pace over the years.

McCollum: I was introduced to fishing by my father. I have pictures of when I was 3, fishing out of my dad’s lap. That was an integral part of our bonding, going fishing. Growing up, he would love to take me fishing, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Once I got to eighth grade, fishing took a back seat to sports. This was the case until I got to college, where my passion for fishing awoke again. I never tournament fished before the FLW started college fishing, so this has definitely amped up my need for competitive fishing.

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

Cosner: At heart I’m a finesse-fisherman, but over the past couple of years, I have really started to branch out and use a wide variety of baits and presentations. Right now I’m big on jig fishing; it’s just a bait I know catches big bass.

McCollum: I am most comfortable with crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Whether it’s ripping ‘Traps through grass or deep-cranking DD22s in 15 feet of water, that’s what I like. That is what I am most comfortable with, not saying that I lack in other areas. I am very confident in all of my approaches when presenting to bass. From swimbaits to drop-shots – I have no problem throwing any of these.

CollegeFishing.com: What did it feel like to qualify for the inaugural National Championship? How do you plan to prepare for the big event?

Cosner: Man, what a total dream come true. I never thought in a million years that I would have the opportunity to compete for my college on a national stage in bass fishing. My partner, Jay McCollum, and I are going up sometime in March to check out Lake Tellico; I hear it’s really beautiful up there, and there are some large smallmouth. And I love me a good bronzeback!

McCollum: The feeling that came over me was that of gratefulness and exhaustion. Being a brand-new club, David Cosner (president and founder) and I (vice president) worked our tails off to get the club to where it is now. The club was established in fall of 2008, starting with 16 members. We grew substantially from last year, jumping our membership up to 28 members. From starting the club all the way to the National Championship tourney in a year!!!! I couldn’t be more ecstatic.

We are going to do some prefishing during our spring break. This is the only time we could really get enough time in on the water. I’ve never fished on water like this, so we will need to adjust accordingly and determine a pattern that will work.

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

Cosner: Wegener’s granulomatosis, a rare auto-immune condition that attacks the small blood vessels in my body. I have had 42 lung surgeries, including the removal of two-thirds of my right lung. But I keep on ticking and will never give up – I live to fish!

McCollum: Well, let’s see. I don’t really have anything too interesting. I’m just a quiet guy who loves the outdoors. I was all-district in basketball and baseball, newcomer of the year for basketball during high school and all-region cross country. My first competitive bass tourney was on Falcon Lake for the inaugural FLW College Fishing tournament. That’s about all that’s the most interesting with me.