K-M students gravitate toward fishing

Area youth anglers are headed to the state championship next month, as part of the Kasson-Mantorville Youth Fishing Team’s 2020 season.

Twenty-one Kasson-Mantorville students in grades 6-12 participate on the co-ed team. The team will take six anglers to the state tournament; those students earned their spot on the state team based on their scores from summer tournaments.

“It’s been a great season,” said Tony Heaser, coach, boat captain and president of the non-profit which started the team. Currently fishing isn’t a high school sanctioned sport, though there’s a petition on the Student Angler Tournament Trail (SATT) website that people can sign to lobby to make it one.

Heaser and others formed a board and a nonprofit to start their club team earlier this year. The season goes from spring to fall for competitive fishing, and then into the winter for non-competitive ice fishing.

The SATT is the only junior fishing league in the state of Minnesota. The SATT hosts all of the high school fishing contests in Minnesota and throughout the United States.

Heaser and others worked closely with Kasson-Mantorville public schools to gather a team. The fishing team follows all high school sport guidelines.

“It’s a non-traditional sport that’s taken off within the state,” Heaser said. “It’s a great place for youth to participate on a team who aren’t into team sports. It also promotes conservation and the outdoors.”

Drew Weigel, an incoming K-M freshman this fall, said he’s been with the fishing team from the start. “I’ve been fishing my whole life,” he said. “I grew up fishing with my dad, bass fishing. I like the competitiveness of the team.”

Weigel also enjoys the camaraderie. Hanging out at the hotel after tournaments was a season highlight for him, after the fishing of course.

“It’s kind of a dying sport,” Weigel said of fishing. “When you think of fishing you don’t think of high school competitive fishing. It’s a great way to get younger kids into fishing. Getting newer people into fishing is fun.”

Keyan Severson, who will be a K-M sophomore this fall, said he’s fished his whole life but “really got into it with this club. At first I wasn’t really inclined to join but I’m glad I did. I’ve had a lot of fun and really gotten into fishing. And I’ve learned a lot about conservation, where to fish, when to fish, what to use and when.”

During the Mississippi Tournament in July, Severson caught his personal best walleye, a fish measuring 22.5 inches. “I like just getting out and fishing,” he said.

Dayton Peterson, a senior at K-M this fall, was one of the students who was interested in a fishing team from the get go. He calls fishing a “four-season sport,” starting in the spring, continuing through the summer and into fall and winter.

The K-M Youth Fishing Team will participate in the state championship on Sept. 19-20 on Pelican Lake in Orr, Minn. Six anglers will attend the state championship.

If someone new wants to join the team, Heaser can be reached through the team’s website kmyouthfishingteam.com or via email at tony@kmyouthfishingteam.org.