Meet the Colonels

Eastern Kentucky University headed to inaugural CF National Championship

Tyler Moberly (right) and Richard Cobb V, fishing for Eastern Kentucky University, took the lead of the Central Regional on day two. Photo by Will Brantley. Anglers: Tyler Moberly, Richard Cobb (v).

March 25, 2010 • Brett Carlson • 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: Richard Cobb V (pictured at left)

Class: senior

Major: Communication Studies

Hometown: Richmond, Ky.

Other interests: family, friends, girlfriend

Name: Tyler Moberly

Class: sophomore

Major: Communications

Hometown: Berea, Ky.

Other interests: bird hunting, golf, fantasy fishing, working out

Club Web site: www.ekubassmasters.com

Q&A

CollegeFishing.com: How were you introduced to fishing?

Cobb: I started fishing at a young age. When I was 2, my grandma started taking me to the two ponds out by her house. This is where I would spend the majority of my summers fishing for anything that would bite. She’s always been my biggest supporter and my No. 1 fan.

Moberly: I was introduced to fishing and the outdoors at a very young age thanks to my parents and grandparents. If it wasn’t for them I don’t believe I would be in the situation I am today – headed to the National Championship.

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

Cobb: I would have to say I’m a junk fisherman and the other thing is I really don’t have to have confidence in something to throw it. If I know that’s the bait I need to be throwing to win that’s all that will be in my hand.

Moberly: Before college I would say I wasn’t very versatile, but after being in college and traveling to new and diverse waters, I’m comfortable with anything. I believe that’s what makes the best stick out from the rest. You have to learn to use more than one type of technique and feel comfortable with it if you want to better your chances against all these other great anglers.

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

Cobb: I’m pretty pumped for the National Championship. I know that FLW is going to roll out the red carpet and it’s also just going to be awesome saying I was there competing in the first one. I’ve been doing my research since last December – studying maps, making contacts and other arrangements. I plan on doing a lot of scouting during spring break, not too much fishing though. We’re only a couple hours away so I plan on doing my fishing a lot closer to the actual tournament. I’m going to put in the time because I really want to do well in this tournament. I’ve set aside the rest of my schedule specifically for this event. I’m fishing all my other tournaments this year; I’m just putting special emphasis on the National Championship.

Moberly: Richard and I have been in many of these situations before. It was a relief to know that we qualified for the first CF National Championship, but we also know that we don’t want to come up short again without the win. We know all too well what it feels like to just miss the top-five cut as well as coming in second and we don’t want that anymore. We finally got our taste of victory last spring at a college event held on Clarks Hill Lake and that has only made us more determined to win again.

A win at this tournament could further my dream of becoming a professional angler and I will spend as much time as possible on and off the water to better my chances. One of my best friends plays football for the University of Tennessee so I’m in the area a lot. I went down a couple times in December to check out the lake while the water was somewhat lower. We learned interesting features that won’t be visible if the water comes back up this spring. We have several good friends and contacts that fish the lake a lot so I believe with a lot of practice and some help we should be good to go. (Editor’s note: Moberly recently won the BFL Mountain Division event on Dale Hollow Lake as a co-angler.)

CollegeFishing.com: Tell us something interesting about yourself that most people

wouldn’t know.

Cobb: Most people wouldn’t know that I’m basically the grandpa of college bass fishing. Though I’m not that old, I’ve been around all of this stuff since its explosion. I would say there are only a handful of guys that have been around as long as I have.

Moberly: Last year during the FLW Fantasy Fishing season I spent an average of 2 to 3 hours a day on FLWOutdoors.com and FantasyFishing.com learning all I could about every angler’s strengths. That time was well spent as my advice helped dad win the overall grand prize of one million dollars. My team also finished in the top 300 overall which is pretty good considering the fact that so many thousands of people play each year.