I recently asked a couple of the talented young anglers competing in Ultimate Match Fishing College Edition to share their experiences from the tournament. This is what Steve Mui, of the University of Illinois, and Scott Brown, of Louisville, had to say about the cold day they met up on Oneida Lake...

Steve Mui, University of Illinois

Round 1 in the Ultimate Match Fishing College Edition was an experience I'll never forget.

In the first quarter being in the back of the boat first worked out to be an advantage for me. I wasn't quite sure how the match would pan out. I hadn't quite put a game plan together either. So it was a good thing that Louisville's Scott Brown decided to take the boat in the first quarter. I was quite nervous at the start and I received a penalty right away which put me behind from the start. The cameras made me nervous but after a while I just started fishing. I hooked a nice smallie off of Scott's rock pile, and that really made me settle in.

Going into the second quarter I started to develop a game plan. In practice I noticed nobody had fished the river right by the launch. This water was crystal clear and had numerous docks. I knew there was some big largemouth lurking around these docks, and the docks were very protectable. I was able to put the trolling motor on high and target the docks with finesse style baits. I put 2 keeper largemouths in the well and had backed Scott so far up the river he didn't want to waste time idling all the way out to the main lake.

The third quarter I could tell Scott was down and he needed 3 fish to catch up. I figured I had this thing in the bag until about 15 minutes were left. Scott picked off a nice largemouth, however I didn't get a good look at it and I was unsure of its size. So I made the worst decision of the day and decided to fish the fourth.

The fourth quarter I was in a panic and thinking I needed one more keeper, so I decided to head to a main lake spot. However the main lake was a windblown watery mosh pit. I almost fell out of the boat more times than I can remember. This was the worst decision all day. I was throwing a crankbait and killed 4 reels in the process. Towards the end of the match Scott hooked a big smallie out of the back of the boat and my heart just sank because I knew he had it won if he landed the fish. Luckily for me he tried to swing the fish and the leader broke with the fish half way out of the water. The fish plopped back into the water and I headed in.

Feelings on the match: I felt excited after I had the first fish in the livewell. I was very confident fishing the river, and with 3 fish to zero I felt overly confident I had won the event. However I lost my cool and made a bad decision to fish the fourth quarter. I got very lucky that Scott had made an even bigger mistake by trying to dead lift that fish. I dodged a bullet and advanced.

Scott Brown, Louisville

As for thoughts on my match, I can basically sum it up in two words, "cold front." The fish that I had found during the two days of practice leading up to the tournament were pretty much gone when I went after them, due to that BIG drop in temperature.

I haven't ever had the chance to target smallmouth like I did on Oneida, and my lack of experience hurt me in the fact that I didn't really know how to adjust when the weather changed. I guess I could have backed off of the shoals a little more and gone with a deeper and slower approach, but my mind didn't start thinking that until later when I was a long ways back in a no idle zone!

If I had it to do all over again, I should have paid closer attention to that river during practice. From the way it sounded prior to my match, everyone was trying to target largemouth, and I thought I could do something a little different and stomp the competition with some monster smallmouth... but that strategy went to pieces with the high winds and cold front. The river was much more sheltered, less affected by wind, allowed for some sight fishing, and had a good supply of largemouth, which I have more experience catching anyways. Mui's strategy really worked against me since I was targeting smallmouth on the main lake, and his fish were easier to defend.

My inexperience with smallmouth not only hurt me in adjusting, but also in landing them. Usually when largemouth get to the boat, they are pretty much done. Smallmouth seem like they pretend to be done, until they get right next to the boat, and then they make one last charge... a charge that can break one's line, frayed or not! Lesson learned, and one that will never be forgotten, no matter how hard I try!

Oneida Lake is a beautiful lake, and one that I hope to soon return to. I even got to see Niagara Falls on my way home for the first time, and it was amazing! The experience as a whole was one I won't soon forget. It was an honor just to be able to compete in such an exciting event. All people involved were extremely nice and a pleasure to hang out with. Mark Randolph, as stern as he may look on television, is a heck of a great guy and one whom I enjoyed talking to the most. I wouldn't mind spending a day on the lake with him, he could probably teach me a few things... and maybe even Joe Thomas too! Ha ha ha!

I really do appreciate, along with every other college angler, what Joe Thomas and Reel in the Outdoors is doing for college angling. College angling is still a relatively new concept, and getting bigger every year. It takes shows and events like these to help make it even bigger, and it is something the sport really needs to help draw new anglers. I was lucky enough to get in on college angling late in my college career, and I am very proud of the work and effort I have done to help the University of Louisville's bass club continue to expand and progress. Probably the most rewarding aspect of it all was introducing new guys to the sport, and seeing them catch the bass fishing fever. It seemed like after their first tournament, or even their first ride in a bass boat, they were hooked and making trips to the tackle stores on a daily basis! The excitement and camaraderie of each and every member was a lot of fun, and I hope that many others get to experience the same. Ultimate Match Fishing College Edition is awesome and I thank everyone involved for letting me compete and to have an experience of a lifetime!