Meet the Fighting Falcons

Fairmont State University teammates Dodrill, Dieffenbauch share their thoughts on qualifying for the 2012 National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship

Although their day-two weight was half of what they caught on day one, Fairmont State's Wil Dieffenbauch and Brent Dodrill held on to their second place position. Photo by David A. Brown. Anglers: Wil Dieffenbauch, Brent F Dodrill, Mark Heefner.

February 8, 2012 • Gary Mortenson • Abu Garcia College Fishing

(Editor’s note: Leading up to the 2012 National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship – slated for April 13-15 on Lake Murray in Columbia, S.C. – CollegeFishing.com will publish weekly, in-depth features stories of each of the 25 national championship team 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 2012 Forrest Wood Cup.)

Name: Brent Dodrill (pictured on left)

Class: Senior

Major: Occupational Safety

Hometown: Fairmont, W.Va.

Other interests: Fishing, hunting, trapping and anything to do with the great outdoors.

Name: Wil Dieffenbauch (pictured on right)

Class: Senior

Major: Civil Engineering

Hometown: Hundred, W.Va.

Other interests: Wild sneakers. I also pour a lot of my own jig heads and weights as well as make some of my own baits.

Q&A

CollegeFishing.com: How were you introduced to fishing?

Dodrill: I was introduced to fishing at a very young age. I started out fishing on a Fish-Ski Ranger boat at the age of 3. I grew up fishing the Monongahela River and Stonewall Jackson Lake.

Dieffenbauch: I was introduced to fishing while camping with my family and grandparents. I caught my first fish when I was 1 year old and it was a largemouth. My dad and I fished local ponds and, as I grew older, we would take my grandpa’s old Starcraft Spitfire (16-foot bass boat) out on the Ohio River. I fished my first tournament with my dad when I was 7 or 8 and have been hooked on competitive fishing ever since.

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

Dodrill: I am most comfortable fishing fast and covering a lot of water. Depending on the conditions or water, I usually always have a jig or spinnerbait on the end of my line. I also love fishing with my Cashion Rods. They are the most sensitive, durable and high quality rods on the market today.

Dieffenbauch: I can fish just about any lure, rig or style. Over the years, I’ve had to learn many different techniques because you have to be versatile in order to catch them on a daily basis in West Virginia. If you can catch fish on the Ohio River, you can catch fish anywhere. I enjoy the tournaments that are tough. That’s when I feel I have my biggest advantage – when you can’t afford to make a mistake because you won’t get a second chance. Where I live, I’m used to fishing for only five or six bites a day and praying they all keep. It makes me mentally stronger in what is really a mental sport.

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?

Dodrill: Qualifying for the National Championship is an experience that can’t be described in words. Getting this far in FLW College Fishing is something I’ve always dreamed of doing. I’m very excited to compete at this level with many great anglers. I will prepare for this event by studying maps and visiting the lake prior to the event.

Dieffenbauch: It felt great to qualify for the national championship again. After not qualifying for the 2011 national championship, Brent and I were really hungry to make it to the 2012 national championship. We have done so well over the past three years. We have fished 10 tournaments and out of those tournaments, we have seven top-10 finishes, two wins and qualified for the regional championship all three years. Of the three times we didn’t finish in the top 10, two of them were 11th-place finishes. However, I feel that the one thing we are missing is a championship win. As far as our practice plans go, we plan to visit Lake Murray during our spring break.

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

Dodrill: Something most people wouldn’t know about me is I make my own lures. I enjoy coming up with new patterns, styles and designs for many types of lures. Another thing people wouldn’t know about me is I like to make fishing/hunting videos with my brothers and friends.

Dieffenbauch: I won four state casting championships as a child. As a junior, I won three state fishing championships and finished fourth at the 2006 National Guard TBF Junior World Championship on Lake Neely Henry. I started the fishing club at Fairmont State University. I am from a very small town in West Virginia called Hundred. Hundred has a population of less than 350 people and there were just 26 in my graduating class.