New MHS fishing duo catches on
The Madisonville High School fishing team, consisting of freshmen Colby McVey and Hayden Hurst, concluded their season eighth in their division and earned a trip to the Regional Tournament at Lake Palestine Saturday. The team, coached by Michael Lawless, accomplished this feat in their first season in existence.
“This is the first year, so I think (McVey and Hurst) are going to be the benchmark,” said Lawless. “Once they know the pro gram is there, I think kids will show more interest, because there are a lot of people who love to fish and competitive fishing is growing.”
The duo did not qualify for state Saturday, but did qualify for a competition in June reserved for teams that finished in the top 10 of their respective districts.
The season’s competitions included tournaments on Lake Livingston in October, Lakes Conroe and Somerville in November, Sam Rayburn Reservoir in February and Lake Conroe again in March.
Lawless stated the biggest challenge for the new team during the season has been battling Mother Nature.
“We have had lots of cold fronts and lots of diverse weather we had to deal with,” said Lawless. “That changes a fish’s habit, so that was the most challenging part of the year.”
Each tournament featured roughly 125 other teams with some schools boasting as many as 10 duos. The scoring for tournaments was based on total weight and took the five largest bass caught by each squad. Each catch had to be a minimum of 14 inches long.
Lawless, who is McVey’s uncle, was approached by the two freshmen before the season and asked if he was willing to be their boat captain as they were attempting to start the program.
“Madisonville has never had a fishing team and the kids were both interested in it,” said Lawless. “I love to fish, it’s my number one hobby. If I can pass down the stuff I’ve learned to someone who is younger that can actually build off that, they’ll be way further ahead just by me showing them the things I’ve learned rather than having to learn it on their own.”
