While his former college team, the Florida State Seminoles, was battling the archrival Florida Gators on the football field last Saturday, Matt Frier had hoped to be on Lake Okeechobee, working on his new career as an aspiring bass tournament pro. Unfortunately, a ruptured appendix suffered during practice for the tournament put those plans on hold.
A little over a decade ago, the 33-year-old Florida angler wore the garnet and gold of the Seminoles as an accomplished wide receiver and captain of FSU's first national championship team in 1993. The 5-foot-11, 194-pound standout pass catcher went on to the National Football League where he played two seasons with the Baltimore Colts.
After hanging up his cleats, Frier dove into the 37-year-old family business, Wayne Frier Home Centers, which has 29 franchises in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. With his dad now semi-retired, Matt oversees the selling of manufactured homes and real estate, as well as the buying of real estate developments.
Last week, Frier was one of 180 bass pros practicing for the Florida Southern Open on the Big O before being hospitalized in Okeechobee.
"I love what I do in the mobile home business," the Florida angler said. "I love working with my brother and my father, but this competitive thing just won't go away. So, yeah, I'd like to make a career out of fishing one day.
"I'm young enough, and I'm very fortunate to be financially able to do this."
Having made the cover of Sports Illustrated and earned a national championship ring, Frier has now set his sights on making the cover of Bassmaster Magazine and qualifying for the Bassmaster Classic.
Judging by his early success, he might be on his way. In 2003, Frier won the Florida BASS Federation Angler of the Year title (awarded to the best amateur angler in the state). After competing in the amateur division of two Bassmaster Tour events last year (posting respectable finishes of 27th and 33rd), he jumped up to the Bassmaster Southern opens this season in hopes of earning his Tour card on the pro side.
Make no mistake, Frier is serious about his new profession.
"I've been fishing my whole life and playing football my whole life," Frier said, "but it was time to move on. I was drafted in the World Football League, and I could have played for Galen Hall, but I decided it was time to move on. It would have been hard to play for a Gator," Frier joked.
Frier claims the adrenaline rush he gets from fishing is comparable to what he used to get on the gridiron. It fills an important void for the lifelong athlete.
"Something was missing after football," he admitted. "The Lord's number one in my life and my family is second. I love what I do working with my brother and my father, but I still need competition.
"And, yes, I get the same excitement from fishing that I got from football. I was fortunate enough to be captain of the national championship team, which was a lot of fun, and I played for the Colts, and we went to the playoffs and were one play away from going to the Super Bowl. That was awesome. I've been playing football since I was knee high to a grasshopper, but I've also been fishing since I was knee-high to a grasshopper."
When his younger brother, Todd (a special teams captain on FSU's 1999 national championship team), joined the family business, it freed Matt up to pursue his longtime dream of matching casts with the big boys.
"I really started hitting it hard about three years ago when my brother started working with me," Frier said. "I've been fortunate enough to catch a lot of fish. I've done real well with the Federation and done real well on other circuits.
"But there isn't anything like BASS. I had an opportunity to fish these Opens, and, unfortunately, I haven't done as well as I'd like, but I understand tournament fishing, and I know how it works."
Entering this week's final Southern Open, Frier has struggled at the Open level. He finished 158th in the season-opener in Mississippi, where he was hampered by outboard problems. Frier was more successful at Alabama's Lake Eufaula (72nd), coming within 1 1/2 pounds of making the top-50 final round.
BAGGING A BIG ONE
Former Classic qualifier and Lake Fork big-bass specialist Richard McCarty recently proved that he has a penchant for finding trophies of all species when he bagged an enormous east Texas white-tailed deer.
McCarty, who owns an archery shop near Lake Fork, arrowed a 16-point buck that scored 183 7/8 on the Pope & Young Club scoring system for archery-harvested deer. The buck weighed more than 300 pounds and had a 15 1/4-inch antler spread and 14-inch antler tines.
"I did everything right, but I still had to be lucky," McCarty told the Dallas Morning News. "It's not just the deer of my lifetime - it's the deer of a thousand hunters' lifetimes."
DID YOU KNOW?
Interestingly, Texas pro Jay Yelas has never cashed a check in six BASS events held on Lake Guntersville. This is the same guy who won the 2002 Classic and wrapped up the 2003 BASS Angler of the Year title on Alabama lakes.
PRO BIRTHDAYS
North Carolina's Guy Eaker will be 64 on Nov. 23rd, while Randy Blaukat turns 43 a day later. Jim Bitter (62) and Terry Baksay (44) share Nov. 28th as their birthday.
IF I HADN'T BECOME A BASS PRO,
Kentucky pro Mike Auten would likely still be working as a fishing guide on Kentucky and Barkley lakes.
THEY SAID IT
"I believe with the increase in tournaments and payouts, the $1 million mark is going to become more attainable. This sport is well on its way to being mentioned in the same breath as other major sports." Former Angler of the Year Tim Horton comments on the place of tournament bass angling in the sports world.