ESF Anglers Represent Mighty Oaks on the Biggest Stage in College Bass Fishing

Last weekend, ESF anglers Dominic Begier (Senior) and Erich Thompson (Junior) traveled more than 700 miles and 12 hours each way to fish in the Bassmaster College National Championship on Lake Cherokee in Tennessee. The team fished for two of the competition's three days, finishing in 134th place. Though the team's finish wasn't what they hoped for, even qualifying for the most prestigious tournament in college fishing is an honor. The national championship awards a cash prize and 8 berths to the college bracket championship, the winner of which qualifies for the Bassmaster Classic, often referred to as the 'Superbowl of bass fishing'. For the rest of the more than 150 qualifying teams including Begier and Thompson, however, just competing in the event is a worthy goal and a significant accomplishment. In fact, their 2025 qualification was the first national championship qualification in 3 years, a feat not lost on the anglers.

"I mean it meant the world. Going into my fifth and final year of eligibility I knew that I was cutting it close. As soon as I knew that we won the Cayuga event, it was a weight lifted off my shoulder," Begier said. The pair qualified via their win on Cayuga Lake in June of this year. "We were the only school from NY, and the only school from the Northeast, so we definitely came into it with a chip on our shoulders".

ESF has long had a bass fishing team, and even though the college side of the sport has grown much slower in the Northeast than it has in other regions, Mighty Oaks anglers are doggedly determined and just as competitive. "Ever since I started bass fishing, I wanted to compete in a nationwide collegiate tournament; the opportunity to do so was a big factor in my decision to come to ESF in the first place," Thompson remarked. "In a more immediate sense, it was an opportunity to prove to myself that bass fishing isn't just a hobby I do on the side, it's something I'm truly passionate about and am willing to make sacrifices for."

While deep natural lakes are commonplace in New York, Tennessee's Lake Cherokee represented a significantly different playing field. "New York lakes are glacial. They're clear, deep, and since they aren't controlled by a dam, they support lots of aquatic vegetation. This vegetation drives most of our fishing around here," Coach Nick Sanderson noted. "Southern reservoirs are different in that most lack vegetation. They have way more rock, standing timber, and creeks with current from dams driving a lot of the fishing." Though they were excited, the pair knew it would be a unique challenge. "I had only heard of Cherokee a few times and it was about as different as a lake can get from what we fish up in NY," Thompson said.

Additionally, the 154 boat field offered another hurdle the two hadn't yet experienced. "It really changed our whole approach. I had never competed in a tournament with more than maybe 20-25 boats," Thompson said, "so in the back of my mind I knew if we wanted to win, we couldn't just do what everyone else does on this lake. We'd have to find something a little bit sneaky, whether it was a specific bait, a general pattern, or an area." He also acknowledged the strength of competition being much different than what they were used to. "You don't get to this tournament unless you're in the top tier of collegiate anglers, so I'm sure other guys in this tournament had similar plans."

Though the lake was off-limits for competitors for a month ahead of the tournament, the team did as much online research as they could. Begier and Thompson split up their research. "I spent almost 13 hours doing map study, just trying to find spots that reminded me of what I'd fish at home," Begier said. Thompson focused on specific baits and techniques. "I watched whatever YouTube videos I could find of the lake during any and all seasons to try to get a sense of how it was going to fish. I did my best to familiarize myself with that area of the country and TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) lakes as a whole," he said.

The tournament allowed for 3 days of practice, time in which anglers are able to fish the lake and plan for the tournament. The pair drove from New York to Tenneseee on Saturday, ahead of official practice beginning on Sunday. Begier described a rocky start to their fish finding mission. "Practice started rough. We ran into electronics issues early that practically took both mornings and part of day two's afternoon to get back into running order." Both described the fishing as being stingy, only catching a few keeper bass. "Cherokee was so different from what we know up here, but we saw the quality we needed to do well," Begier said. Eventually though, they found what they thought would be a special spot. "We found a section of the lake that was pretty difficult to get to, but once we got there, it was super easy to get keeper bites and we knew that would go a long way," Thompson said. The pair placed their hopes wholly in this backwater slough, which could only be entered through several hundred yards of narrow tunnel. Though legal to fish and accessible by boat, they figured the effort involved in getting there would prevent most teams from considering it.  "We figured 12-13lbs a day would probably win the tourney, and we were definitely around that quality of fish." 

Following practice was a media and registration day hosted at nearby Carson Newman University, a powerhouse bass fishing school. Here, Begier and Thompson were officially registered for the event, attended important pretournament meetings, and visited with sponsors. Somehow, in between collecting their free swag and learning the almost imperceptible differences between largemouth and smallmouth bass hybrids, they still found time to chat with some other competitors. "We sat at a table with a few of the guys from the University of Tennessee and quickly realized that almost all college bass fishing guys are the same dudes with different accents," Begier laughed.

The next day, tournament morning, the reality of competing in the biggest tournament in collegiate bass fishing sank in for both of them. "I knew day one was going to be a golden memory before we even left the house at 4am. Erich will be the first to tell you that I fish with a lot of emotion, and it shows. There's something special about seeing 'Old Glory' waving in the morning that got me going," Begier said. "Bassmaster is special in the way they thank the service men and women for allowing us to do what we love. With multiple family members who have served - I can't lie about shedding a few tears during the anthem". "I thought I would be super nervous, but I actually ended up being calm and cautiously confident," Thompson contrasted. "The whole process of being on the water as the sun came up just waiting for the announcer to call out our names was surreal. It was a great chance to just take in the amazing opportunity that we had been provided."

Unfortunately, the fishing on day one proved to be somewhat of a slap in the face. That slough the pair had found fish in during practice proved to be a bust for no apparent reason. Begier described the day as simply "brutal". "Our spot that we were so confident in kind of just burned down," Thompson lamented. "All of the conditions were the same, water looked the same, the bait was still there. The bass just weren't there." Scrambling after the morning bite window had come and went without having landed a keeper, the pair relocated to the only other place they had caught keeper bass during practice. "We eventually moved out to a shallow area of the main lake that had some scattered brush and Erich got a bite ,almost immediately, finally landing one shortly after. After that it was just chucking and winding but with no bites," Begier said.

Sitting in 141st after a disastrous day one, Thompson and Begier knew that they had to make a change. Thompson remembered thinking, "It felt like we had figured the lake out, but had nothing to show for it. After that, we were really just looking to have a moral victory and improve on day two." "I think I speak for both Erich and I in saying we did a lot of soul searching. We knew we could put together a limit in the shallow brush but wanted a backup so we did some more map study," Begier said. "We found a few other spots that could play and then tried to put day one behind us and focus on making day two better."

Calm, collected, and reset, the pair headed out determined on day two. Their shift in strategy quickly led to results, with a pair of keeper bass in the boat before 7:30, both caught off the shallow brush area they caught their lone fish on during day one. "There was definitely less pressure, especially when we had two keepers early," Thompson said. Begier also noted a clear shift in attitude and feeling. "There were no tears shed during the anthem or morning prayer. I wanted to go out and show how resilient Northern anglers are and how we can bounce back." 

Unfortunately, the shallow bite didn't last long, and the team quickly found themselves plying other areas, utilizing their forward facing sonar to target fish around schools of threadfin shad. "The shallow bite slowed down so we tried other shallow spots and did a little 'scoping', which presented us with fish that would react positively towards our baits, but sadly they just wouldn't commit," Begier reported. Shortly after that, a storm forced them to take cover under a nearby bridge with another nearby team. While anglers are expected to fish through rain, they are also expected to keep themselves safe in the event of lightning. After an hour the storm broke, and their tournament would come to an abrupt end. "We moved back to our pinging waypoints only to realize that we had no power to run our graphs, bilge pumps, or livewells and were forced to go in a full two hours before our weigh-in time in order to keep our fish alive," Begier said. "That was the most heartbreak I've felt in a while."

The combination of a rough day one and storms and electrical problems on day two proved too much for the team to overcome, with Begier and Thompson eventually finishing in 134th place. Their finish doesn't necessarily reflect the experience, though. Both reported gaining invaluable knowledge during their trip. Begier noted specifics, saying "I learned how a large majority of the largemouth set up on nearly 90 degree ledges under schools of shad, waiting to rocket up and bust the schools apart. I also learned that southern smallmouth, shockingly, act a lot like northern largemouth - phishing up shallow in the mornings to pin bait in backwater eddies and demolishing bait in brush." Thompson took away more macro-level lessons. "This was the most I've ever learned about fishing in a week. I had never really had to break down a large lake before. Even on tournaments on big lakes around here like Cayuga, they fish small for the most part. And, because I have some local knowledge, I have a good idea of what the fish are doing year-round." In Tennessee, he continued, "We had to go from zero idea of having the lake figured out in 3 days to have a chance, which is insanely difficult to do. I think we ultimately found a pattern we could have won on, it just didn't materialize." 

"I'm really proud of the guys," Coach Sanderson said. "It takes a lot to get to a national championship. From sponsors, logistics, to travel, qualification is difficult in itself. Actually fishing in one is a whole different game. Way more boats, totally different fisheries, and the quality of competition is just so high. Erich and Dom practiced hard, fished hard, and when things didn't go their way, they made adjustments instead of spinning out. That's what tournament bass fishing is all about. We'll be back for another swing of the bat soon."

Both anglers wished to express their gratitude to those that helped them on their path.

"First off I want to thank my parents and family for being my first and most supportive sponsors. They've always been there to push me when I need it and support me however they can. To Erich- this is the start of something special. I didn't know exactly what to expect taking you as my partner and only knowing a little about you but I can now say it was 100% the right choice and there's no one else out there I'd rather have on the boat with me. We didn't really know each other before this year and now it seems like we have since birth, to the point of thinking the same (I'm gonna pick up the jig for a bit)- thank you for being you and dealing with the craziness that is my tourney day energy. And I can't wait to load up the war rig and roll out to whatever lake Nattys is on the same time next year. To Douglas Rods- thank you for supporting the team and me personally (Shoutout Christian and Chelsea) and giving us the chance to put some of the greatest rods on the market in our hands. To Cortland line- thank you for equipping us with line that is more likely to loose its color before it breaks. To FishUSA- even though you're our most recent addition to our sponsor group I can't thank you guys enough for having the baits we need at a great price point and getting them to us quick. To Bill's Hooks, I don't have a favorite sponsor but you hold a special place in my heart (Love you lots Grammie). And to all of our other sponsors we couldn't do this without you, from the bottom of my heart thank you all greatfully for supporting us through thick and thin, and we can't wait to showcase you again on a national stage." ~ Dominic Begier

"A couple quick thank-yous. Above all else, thank you to my mom for never questioning my obsession with bass fishing or my tendency to spend obscene amounts of money on it. She always said "at least he's buying fishing lures and not drugs." Before I could drive, she would drive me to go bass fishing, which looking back, was a huge ask, but she did it nonetheless. Secondly, to my closest friend, Andrew. Without you, there is absolutely zero chance I would've gotten to stand on that stage. We got into bass fishing together and constantly pushed each other to get better, and for that I will always be thankful. Final thank you goes to Dom. Before this year, we barely knew each other, but you still decided to take me as your tournament partner. I'd say it turned out pretty well, as you're quickly becoming one of my closest friends and if I say so myself, we make a damn good team.  To all of our sponsors, this tournament simply wouldn't happen without you. Having the support of local, nationwide, and worldwide companies is crucial to be able to reach this stage. I also have to give a thank you to ESF for funding the vast majority of this trip and for being so accommodating in both this tournament and the tournaments that qualified us for it. Even though we didn't finish where we wanted to, this tournament just makes us want to go back even more, and we plan to be back next summer (hopefully up north)." ~ Erich Thompson

The ESF Mighty Oaks Bass Fishing Team looks to continue their season in September on Otisco Lake with the NYBassYouth. For more information about the team, please visit us on Facebook or Instagram at esf_bassmasters. For more information and photos of the tournament, visit https://www.bassmaster.com/tournament/2025-college-national-championship/.