One of the more well-known verses in the Bible is Jesus’ call to fishermen to follow him:

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. (Matthew 4.18 – 20, ESV)

My dad was a fisherman. My son Matt is a fisherman. It skipped me, but when we lived in Montgomery, AL, 2001 – 2006, I would read about the annual bass fishing tournaments on the Alabama River. It’s big business. And now I found out that one of my Alma Maters, Auburn University, is the home of the National Collegiate Bass Fishing champion:

Auburn is home to another college sports juggernaut, likely swimming under your radar, unless you’re the dedicated sort of athlete who likes to rise in the darkness, drive to the lake and flip and pitch mats. This team is ultra-accomplished, famous inside fishing circles, and has students earning real money—while still in school.

Meet the Auburn bass fishing team, which recently captured the National Collegiate Bass Fishing title, the latest feat from a student-run program that has no coach and limited scholarship money but consistently wins big tournaments and produces stars, like Jordan Lee, a 2013 Auburn grad who won back-to-back Bassmaster Classics in 2017 and 2018 and now competes in Major League Fishing. 

“Some people have no idea, and some do,” said team president C.J. Maddux, 22. “It’s not just football. We have a championship bass-fishing team, too.” – Jason Gay, Wall Street Journal, June 21, 2023.

Who knew? Not I.

I was struck by this quote from champion fisherman Tucker Smith in the context of it’s more than high-tech equipment:

Everybody’s like, “You go out, sit down and throw a bobber out there.” I’m running 50 to 100 places every tournament. I don’t like to sit and wait for them to feed, I like to fish for fish that are feeding.

“I like to fish for fish that are feeding.”

How to find the fish that are feeding? How to find people who are hungry? That’s what The Navigators used to teach. Jesus said we were to be fishers of men. What does that look like? Waiting for fish to feed or finding fish that are feeding, fish that are hungry?

One who is full loathes honey, but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet. (Proverbs 27.7. ESV)

There’s more, but I think I’ll save it for tomorrow…