(Editor’s note: Leading up to the 2011 National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship, slated to be held April 7-9 on Kentucky Lake at Murray State University, CollegeFishing.com will be publishing semiweekly feature stories highlighting the 25 national championship qualifiers. At stake in the tournament is a first-place prize package worth $100,000 as well as a chance for the winning team to compete in the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup.)
Class: Sophomore
Major: General Business
Hometown: Kennedale, Texas
Other interests: Outside of fishing I like to go deer hunting and duck hunting, but I find it a really hard decision to make when opening day comes around and the fishing is still on.
Class: Senior
Major: Kinesiology
Hometown: Rockport, Texas
Other interests: Hunting has always been the next best thing to fishing so I try to do it as much as possible if there is ever any downtime from fishing – which there rarely ever is!
Q&A
CollegeFishing.com: How were you introduced to fishing?
Platt: I was never really “introduced” to fishing at any one point in my life. I was just along for the ride before I could make the decision that I wanted to go or not go to the lake and when I was old enough my answer was never, “no.” My dad always had me with him prefishing until he stopped competing in tournaments and started fishing for fun. When that happened, I’d have to ask and sometimes beg to go out on the water when the weather or fishing wasn’t so great.
Watkins: My dad Jay Watkins introduced me to fishing at a very young age and I was always tagging along on his guide trips and quickly fell in love with the sport. I began tournament fishing when I was only 11 years old or so and from then on out it’s been a passion of mine that I’ve never been able to shake.
CollegeFishing.com: What style/method of fishing are you most comfortable with?
Platt: I’m most comfortable fishing shallow with almost any bait or technique. I grew up that way and it makes me feel at home to come to a lake with little to zero offshore structure pushing fish shallow throughout the year. But if I had to pinpoint a technique I really like it’s flipping a Texas rig or jig around any shallow cover.
Watkins: Having trust in myself is my absolute strength, no question about it. I disregard the norms and the dock talk and I stick to my own guns. I’ll fish each day according to the conditions that surround me whether they be physical, mental or environmental. You have to fish the conditions and do what you feel is best. Growing up my father always taught me to “fish smart” and disregard everything else. If it feels right then I go with it regardless. That allows me to fish to my own standards and beliefs so at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what happened. I’ll know that the decisions were mine and any style or method becomes comfortable because I believe it’ll work when I choose to apply it.
CollegeFishing.com: What did it feel like to qualify for the 2011 FLW College Fishing National Championship? How do you plan to prepare for the big event?
Platt: It really hasn’t hit me yet. I think it will when we actually get to Kentucky to go prefishing. Ryan and I are planning on skipping the beach for Spring Break this year to go prefishing. Hopefully it’s not a cold break this year. By that time of the year I’m tired of the cold and ready to put on flip flops again.
Watkins: Simply put, it was a relief. There was so much work put into making the cut on and off the water that once you finally see the light at the end of the tunnel it’s like the world has been lifted off your shoulders.
Wanting to win the National Championship is what most anglers want to do, but that won’t be enough in and of itself. You have to have the desire and put in the preparation to win! It’s hard to find the time to practice with college classes and the lake being so far away, but I’ll be applying techniques on my home waters that I hope to execute on Kentucky Lake. However, the majority of my time will be spent getting ready mentally. It’s a big stage to be on and I want to be a finely tuned machine so when the big day comes to pack for Kentucky there won’t be anyone or anything that can derail me from my mission of a seizing the championship.
CollegeFishing.com: Tell us something interesting about yourself that most people wouldn’t know.
Platt: Most people don’t know that I’m a licensed Merchant Mariner which means that I am licensed with the US Coast Guard to captain steam or motor vessels up to but not more than 50 gross registered tons upon inland waters. I’m also authorized to engage in commercial assistance towing.
Watkins: I was the first/youngest person to ever qualify for the FLW Redfish Series Championship at 18 in Pensacola, Fla. So I have now made the big stage at the national level in two FLW circuits – one freshwater and one saltwater. Now that’s versatility!