Cedar Rapids fisherman wins $20,000 prize

A Cedar Rapids man who learned to fish through the Bass Federation youth program won $20,000 last week in a big-time tournament on the Mississippi River.

Cole Herb, 25, credits mental toughness and mentoring by several local anglers with helping him out-fish 149 other competitors to win the co-angler division at an FLW Tour event at La Crosse, Wis.

Herb's two-day total of 10 bass weighing 24 pounds 11 ounces gave him a 1-pound margin of victory over runner-up Jeremiah Shaver of Holmen, Wis.

Herb said the Mississippi can be mentally and physically tough on anglers, and it is especially so for co-anglers, who have little say about where and how they fish and almost always get the second shot at promising spots.

'You have to stay focused and keep making high quality casts, even when you've gone hours without a bite,” he said. 'You have to be alert and prepared when that bite finally comes.”

Herb said the $800 entry fee for his first FLW co-angler competition gave him plenty of incentive to stay alert.

In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers during the first two days of the tournament.

While the co-angler competition concluded May 19, the top 20 pros fished the third day and the top 10 advanced to the fourth day on Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition. Pro Bryan Schmitt of Deale, Md., caught 20 bass weighing 61 pounds 6 ounces to win the pro division's $125,000 top prize.

Herb started competitive fishing at age 14 as a member of the Cedar Rapids Bassmasters junior club and won the Bass Federation's state high school tournament at age 17. Among his mentors he includes Andy Sommerfelt of Waterloo, a long-time Bass Federation Nation competitor.

Sommerfelt said co-anglers must take advantage of the openings the pros provide.

'You have to pay attention to what the pro is doing,” Sommerfelt said. 'If it's working, copy it. If it's not, try something a little different. Cole knew what he had to do and he did it.”

Herb said his winnings are especially welcome as he and his wife Mackenzie are expecting their second daughter in September.

High and muddy from recent rains, the river presented fish-finding challenges for the competitors.

Herb said he caught all his fish in backwaters with grass, current and relatively clear water.

Though Herb has no official sponsors, he said several local businesses, including Kenway Sewer Service, Kenway Excavating and Keepsake Taxidermy, help defray his expenses.