Meet the team
shane fussell
I am a Geology sophomore at the University of Florida. I have been fishing since the age of three. Though I grew up mainly saltwater fishing, I got into competitive bass fishing quickly through the UF Bass Team. My first tournament ever was the Bassmaster College Series Southern Regional Qualifier during which I qualified for the National Championship. My favorite lake to fish is Lake Guntersville because this was the site of my first tournament and it holds some great memories for me. Plus it changes so diversely throughout the year and it is always a phenomenal fishery.
Mark gipson
I call Niceville, Florida home. Niceville is a small town outside of Destin with a strong military population from nearby Eglin Air Force Base. I grew up fishing in the Choctawhatchee River and Hurricane Lake. I'm currently in my 5th year at the University of Florida studying Chemical Engineering. I'll be graduating in the spring of 2013. I've been with the University of Florida Bass Team since it was created in 2008. I've fished a number of BASS, FLW, and BoatUS tournaments as a collegiate angler and I've met top anglers such as Shaw Grisgby, Casey Martin, and Chris Lane during my fishing career. I'm a Florida fisherman through and through. I'll take flipping and frogging over offshore fishing any day.
shelby concon
I've been fishing all my life, but didn't get addicted to bass fishing until high school, and it wasn't until I joined the UF Bass Team that I really started tournament fishing. My first major college tournament was on Lake Guntersville, and my team did well enough to qualify for the National BASS College Championship. Since then tournament fishing has taken me all over the Southeast. I call the Harris Chain of Lakes my home, however I'd have to say my favorite lake is Lake Guntersville as it was the lake that really got me into tournament fishing, and it is a truly an amazing fishery. I'm a Sophomore at UF majoring in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
kyle smith
I was born and raised in Macclenny, FL. I started bass fishing with my dad when I was a little kid. I got my first bass boat in 2005 for my graduation present and started fishing a lot. In 2008 I started fishing local tournaments and in 2009 I joined my first bass club, Baker County Bassmasters. I knew I wanted to get involved in College Fishing so I applied to UF and started in the summer of 2011. In the Spring of 2012 I competed in 3 national tournaments; Santee Cooper-6th Place, Lake Seminole-12th Place, Guntersville-didn't place. While in Guntersville, I was able to meet Chris Lane fresh off of his big win, Bassmaster Classic! I was fishing a 3 fish limit charity tournament on lake orange in the fall of 2011 and won with 3 fish for 18.5lbs. Because of the win I was able to meet Bernie Shultz. My favorite lake to bass fish is Lake Toho in Kissimmee, FL. I am currently a senior in Civil Engineering. I plan to own my own design/build company post graduation if professional fishing doesn't pan out.