Everybody knows fishing tales come with a little stretch of the imagination (or truth) as anglers swap stories with one another, but in this case, there is no extra embellishments needed to make the final fishing story for these three Wylie senior anglers unreal.
As Kale Trumble, Carson Stone, and AJ Amonett round out their final year of fishing for Wylie’s Bass Fishing team, it just does NOT get any better! The three have been offered the opportunity to fish at the collegiate level, making them the first ever to achieve this opportunity since the club began four years ago.
Trumble and Stone on Signing Day.
On April 15, Trumble and Stone committed to Dallas Baptist University (DBU), each receiving over $60,000 in scholarship to compete for the Patriots. Amonett, also offered the same scholarships and opportunity with DBU, declined the offer to instead pursue serving as a firefighter, citing both personal experience and logic guiding his decision. His family lost most of their home to a fire in his freshman year of high school.
“It just didn’t make sense to earn a business degree when I could go into firefighting,” said Amonett. Who plans to earn his license as an Emergency Medical Technician at Texas State Technical College after graduating and then on to attend Fire Academy.
As for Trumble and Stone, they both plan to earn a degree in business management leaning towards the oil or construction sectors. Trumble plans to minor in finance as well.
However, regardless of how the fishing buddies post graduate lives look, fishing will still be in the picture – even after college. While Trumble and Stone will compete in college, Amonett plans to fish competitively in club tournaments, and when asked if any of them thought about going pro, the three laughed and humbly agreed they were far from that level of fishing. However, if you were to look at their stats over the past four years, the trio’s records aren’t shabby.
On the weekend after this interview, Trumble and Stone were the #1 team in the state and won Anglers of the Year for the Texas High School Bass Association (THSBA), and Amonett won Angler of the Year for the Texas Bass Nation Youth (TBNY). Wylie also won Team of the Year for the THBSA and TBNY trails.
The success this year embodies is a reflection of what the three seniors have brought to the program. Brady Beal, one of the founding parents for the fishing club, said Trumble, Stone, and Amonett have been a constant in creating such a strong program.
They’ve left a legacy for Wylie’s fishing program,” said Beal. “They are great guys, and they took it serious….I don’t know how many hours they spent practicing the sport of fishing and trying to compete and win…and the kids on the team go to see them mature-up.” Trumble, Stone, and Amonett enjoyed the ride, with their titles and winnings easily encouraging them to remain engaged and invested all four years of high school, but the three said the time spent studying their craft, practicing, and many hours competing on the water grew beyond seeking success – it became more about building – building something bigger than themselves.
“Watching the club grow into something much bigger than it began means a lot,” said Stone. “Carrying the weight of being a good example to the younger groups, showing them what to expect, as well as representing all who supported us. It’s a big deal.”
Trumble said the relationships and memories he has built over the years are priceless. “From the beginning to now, it’s been cool to see all levels of anglers bonding. Whether it was at our team tent or meeting people from other places. I have connections and friends from all over Texas, like Stephenville and Godley,” said Trumble. “That and the opportunity to mentor younger kids and seeing their success – it’s just cool.”