Standout baseball, football and soccer stars aren’t the only high school athletes earning college scholarships.
Just ask Durant senior Nick Hawkins, a rising angler who has made waves in the world of competitive bass fishing. Except in his case, it’s not goals or touchdowns that made Hawkins a standout star but his ability to hook hefty fish.
Hawkins has secured a scholarship to Webber International University, thanks to his exceptional skills on the water.
“I’ve liked fishing since as long as I can remember but after winning second place in my first tournament at age 12 I knew I could see myself doing this the rest of my life,” he said.
His journey began as a toddler, when his parents introduced him to the art of fishing on their property’s 80-acre lake. “It was a family pastime and fun tradition,” said his mom Jessica.
He quickly became a fish whisperer. “We can both fish off the front of the boat with the exact same everything and he’ll catch a fish, unhooks it and then catches another one and I’m still waiting for a bite,” said mom. “We have a photo of him when he was three or four and he’s holding an entire stringer of 20 or 30 bluegill.”
When he got older, a friend reached out and invited him to be his partner in a bass fishing tournament. He eagerly accepted and was officially “hooked.”
He quit baseball, a sport he had been playing since he was young, to focus his time and energy on perfecting his fishing technique. “He feels like God gave him a gift, he feels like this is his gift that God gave him and he was meant to do this,” said Jessica.
Hawkins quickly rose through the ranks of junior angling competitions, earning recognition for his prowess on the water. Competing in his first state championship, when he was in eighth grade, he saw a senior earn a full-ride scholarship to a Georgia school. “That was the first time I realized I could do this for a living,” he said.
He’s competed in more than 130 tournaments, most recently in those sponsored by Florida B.A.S.S. Nation. Generally, most tournaments include a set limit of five fish but once an angler has five fish, they release their smallest bass with each bigger fish caught. The fish are weighed and the standings are based on weight caught during the event. The largest bass he’s caught to date weighed in at eight pounds four ounces.
He and his partner, longtime friend Hagen Keen, have qualified for and will compete in this year’s state championship in June, where he will earn his fourth championship ring and hopefully earn a spot in the national championship later this summer.
Hawkins’ dedication paid off when, at last year’s High School Bassmaster Combine in Decatur, Alabama, scouts from several colleges took notice of his impressive track record. He considered all their offers, ultimately deciding to sign with Webber, located on Crooked Lake near Lake Wales. “I talked to my family and said I didn’t want to leave home,” he said. “I love Florida fishing better and I also don’t like cold weather.”
Hawkins’ signing ceremony will be held at Durant on Thursday, April 25 and will be the first step toward a career he’ll spend on the water doing the thing he loves the most.
“When I’m on the water my mind is clear and there are no problems with the world at all,” he said. “Fishing is my escape.”
He hopes that escape will one day turn into a profitable career.
At the professional level, there are multiple different circuits for anglers, including Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour, Bassmaster Elite Series, Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and the National Professional Fishing League.
According to Zip Recruiter, as of April 15, 2024, the average annual pay for a professional bass fisherman in the United States is $51,755, which works out to approximately $24.88 an hour. The most elite anglers pull in six figures.
“I’d rather try to chase my dream than work at a job I don’t love,” he said.