“I’m excited. I really want to do well this year,” said Dylan. He hopes having the experience from two years ago will help him and his grandfather, Kevin Farris, do much better this year.
“It was pretty rough two years ago,” Dylan admits. “We placed pretty far back but I learned a lot about how to fish down south. So this year I think we’ll do better. We’ll be up against the best of the best. If we do well it will give me a lot of confidence for the future.”
That future, he hopes, will include a lot more fishing after high school graduation and moving up into the pro series. To do that, he must qualify through national contests and maintain his pro status by earning points throughout the competition year.
“I’m constantly learning every time I go to different tournaments,” said Dylan.
He started fishing when he was young but only in the past seven years has he turned to competing in tournaments. “I love fishing. There are two main reasons really. One is that every time you go out it’s always a little different. Things are always changing. And the second thing is the hunt. I like trying to figure out where the fish are and what they are eating and how I can catch them.”
What makes fishing even a little more special for Dylan is that he gets to do it with his grandfather. “It’s really nice to go fishing with him. He’s been with me every step. When we decided to start competing, we pretty much just jumped in and went for it. He’s always been there for me all my life and he always wants me to do well and encourages me to keep trying.”
Dylan’s younger brother, Cole (a freshman at TKHS), also often joins him in the boat or teams up with him for competitions. “I like having my brother in the boat too. It’s just a lot of fun fishing together and we make a pretty good team.”
This year’s national competition takes place Dec. 6-9. Every two-person team will compete the first two days. Each day, each team brings in their top five fish. The top three teams in a two-day total weight advance to the final two days. During these final days, the teams split up and each person is fishing against each other. There are no more teams.
Dylan and his grandfather qualified for the tournament by winning the West Michigan Division title, then placing in the top 10 in the Classic Tournament. Top teams from the classic tournament qualify for the nationals where they’ll meet nearly 200 other top teams from across the country.
“My grandpa pretty much got me hooked on fishing,” said Dylan. “I love to fish and I’ve just been learning a lot on my own to get better and better in the tournaments.”
He’s been fishing all over the state this year, competing in at least 50 tournaments and reeling in winning catches. He’s won at least 10 tournaments this year and placed for prize money in about 90 percent of them. His winnings have earned him sponsorship deals to help with travel and entry fee costs of future events.
While he’s had a lot of success in Michigan, Dylan said fishing is much different in southern states. “The fish patterns are different in different parts of the country and they have different eating habits.”
He realizes he still has a lot more to learn before he can make it into the pro series but he’s also optimistic he can one day achieve that goal. “Even if I don’t make it the first year, I’ll keep trying. I really want to do this,” he said.
After high school graduation, Dylan will work for his grandfather and continue competing and pursuing his dream of making it into the pro series. When he’s not fishing or learning about fishing, he said he enjoys fall and winter hunting seasons and enjoyed being a member of the high school football team.