A bad day of fishing is better than a good day at school, according to Ryan Bollinger.

When Bollinger isn’t at school coaching football or wrestling, he is probably out on the water somewhere.  He has been fishing his entire life and has loved every second of it.

“I’ve been fishing my whole life, even before I could walk I was in the boat with my parents.  My dad used to fish bass tournaments when I was little. In high school, I started fishing a couple tournaments with him and it just grew from there.”

Bollinger’s regular fishing partner is his brother, Shaun Bollinger. The duo compete regularly in tournaments. The two have done well this year.

“This season, I have fished 11 tournaments so far, which includes 9 club tournaments that my brother and I have fished together and we won the overall points standing for the club season.”

Bollinger likes to fish for many different types of fish, but his favorite species to fish for is the Black Bass, which has three common subspecies: Largemouth, Smallmouth, and Spotted Bass.  

“Because they are a predatory fish and they are more aggressive, and at the same time, you have to find out what they want to eat that day. A lot of different things affect what they want to eat:  temperature, time of year, water conditions (clear, muddy, current, ect), weather conditions, type of forage the bass eat in that particular body of water, and even barometric pressure plays a role,” Ryan Bollinger said.

Bollinger enjoys tournaments because of the competition factor. But how do tournaments work?

“The majority of tournaments have a five fish limit, so you weigh your five biggest fish. Depending on the lake, there is a minimum length that the fish have to be to keep and the majority of the ones in the area are 15 inches minimum. The tournaments are won by the heaviest combined weight of the five biggest fish.”

Winning the club season is quite the accomplishment, especially considering the number of fishermen at these tournaments.

“The average participation in our club tournaments are 20 boats. I have also fished in quite a few bigger tournaments across the country that have 150+  boats participating,” Bollinger said.

While Bollinger loves coaching at Windsor, it is hard to beat a day on the water.

“Fishing for me is a way to get away from the chaos of everyday life as well as spend time with family and friends,” Bollinger said.