Marble Falls High brings back fishing club
CAPTION: Benjamin Gregory (left) and Kayden Forren celebrate a top 10 finish at bass fishing tournament. Courtesy photos
The Marble Falls High School fishing club returned during the 2025-26 school year
Marble Falls High School Principal Patrick Hinson, who is entering his fourth year, said he wanted to resurrect the club earlier and asked Agriculture Science and Future Farmers of America Adviser James Conner and high school administrative assistant Crystal Perez to help him.
“We got it all up and going again,” Hinson said.
The club participated in the Texas High School Bass Fishing Association and the Faith Angler Network tours.
Though students weren’t in the club for the last decade, the school district still had it as one of its activities with money in the account. That money as used to take “care of all the entry fees for the tournaments,” the principal said.
“I would sign them up, pay the entry fees,” he said. “Then the gas and the fishing and the lures and the rods and the boats and all that stuff was on the students to secure. So they brought their own equipment and then they paid for the gas. We covered the fishing shirts and fishing hats and the entry fees for any of the tournaments they wanted to enter.”
Like before, Hinson said each angler’s family played an important role in getting the students to the tournaments. He contacted them at least two weeks before each event to inquire about who is available to serve as the fishing boat captain and allow use of the family vessel. Each team had two anglers who competed. The boat captains were the drivers.
“We probably had about five or six teams that were pretty active,” the principal said. “Some were more successful than others. I think the highest we finished was third place in one tournament with Kayden Forren and Benjamin Gregory. Kayden also won the Big Bass Award.”
Sawyer Smith and Braxton Blair, a Faith Academy of Marble Falls student, finished in the top 10 of another tournament.
“They stayed in the top 10 pretty much all year,” Hinson said.
The reason he wanted to restart the club?
“It’s just another way to get kids involved in something with school and it’s a passion for some of our kids similar to the barbecue team,” the principal said. “Just another outlet that our kids can have.”
Hinson believes offering school-related activities is one way to keep students engaged in academics. Therefore, the fishing club will continue for the upcoming school year.
“I’d love to start a skeet and trap team,” he said. “My son and I were part of the ones that got it started over in Lake Travis. Just anything to incorporate more kids. The esports (structured, multiplayer video game leagues) that we did a couple of years ago was an idea of mine to, again, get more kids involved in.”
