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Marion native helps N.C. State win national championship

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McDowell native Will White (right) and N.C. State BassPack teammate Chris Wood show off some of their fish from the final day of the Under Armour College Bass National Championship on the Arkansas River earlier this month. The team captured the second national title for N.C. State in the last three years.

By Marty Queen | The McDowell News

Published: July 23, 2009

Will White had a clear-cut goal in mind when he joined the N.C. State University BassPack fishing team.
"I wanted to be able to Google my name," said White with a laugh. "Now I can."
Can he ever.
Enter the 22-year-old Marion native's name along with a few key words like 'bass' and 'N.C. State' in the popular Internet search engine, and you'll be deluged with articles about his victory (along with partner Chris Wood) in the Under Armour College Bass National Championship in Arkansas earlier this month.
For White, the championship was both the culmination of several years of diligent fishing and — hopefully — the springboard to bigger and better things.
"I always wanted to make something out of it (fishing)," said White, who began fishing local tournaments with his dad, Frank, in 1996. "But I didn't think I was really that good."
His success at N.C. State has proven otherwise. White is the only member of the BassPack — one of collegiate fishing's most successful programs — who has qualified for both national championship tournaments (Under Armour College Bass and Boat U.S.) in each of the last two years.
He earned a trip to Arkansas with a dominant showing this season in the BassPack's club tournaments. White won an astounding four of the six events and ran away with the club's points championship. That's no small feat considering N.C. State has one of the nation's largest fishing teams with nearly 40 members, not to mention the fact the majority of the qualifying tournaments are held at Triangle lakes like Jordan and Shearon Harris, vastly different bodies of water from White's home lake, Lake James.
The key to White's success is simple.
"We have six club tournaments, and you have to place well in them," he said. "So I have to practice about 200 days a year. The main reason I'm getting to be better at it is just time on the water."
White has another, perhaps more subtle advantage.
The deep, clear water and easily spooked bass in Lake James combine to make it an extraordinarily difficult lake to fish. Other local anglers over the years have said that fact works in their favor, and White is quick to agree.
"I'm not taking anything away from them (his BassPack teammates)," said White. "They're all good fishermen. But the first thing I told those guys was, if y'all had to fish the lake where I'm from…if you can catch fish on Lake James, you can whack them anywhere else."
That was certainly the case on the final day of competition on the Arkansas River. White and Wood's two-day total of 14.54 pounds was just good enough to land them in the top five, therefore earning them a spot in the finals.
On the last day, the other four teams didn't have a realistic chance.
White and Wood, fishing rock piles and grass beds near a bridge, caught a huge bag of fish: 14.43 pounds. The second-place team managed 6.23 pounds.
The duo's big day gave N.C. State its second national title in the last three years.
It also gave White some big-time exposure, and he hopes to garner even more. The senior, who is majoring in Wood Products in the College of Natural Resources, is currently fishing the fledgling FLW College Series. He hopes to be accepted into graduate school and continue fishing the college circuit.
After that, White wants to turn pro.
"My goal is to be an elite fisherman in three years," said White. "College fishing is getting big right now, and I want to show people I can fish."
That should be pretty obvious by now. And if folks still aren't sure, they can always Google him.