Recent Morgan County graduate Will Thomas signed with the University of Montevallo Falcons last month to continue his fishing career into college.
Thomas is just the third Morgan County angler to ever take his skills to the collegiate level since the program started back in 2016.
Will is set to join his older brother Ryan, who has been fishing at Montevallo since he graduated from Morgan County in 2020. Will’s father Gregg Thomas, who is also the Bulldogs’ head fishing coach, acknowledged how special Will is out on the water.
“He understands fish, where they should be, why they’re there and how to catch them,” Thomas said. “His mindset is like a squirrel’s. You can tell when his brain is going 900 miles per hour trying to process the weather and lake conditions, and I think that’s what makes him successful.”
According to Major League Fishing, Will has fished in multiple bass tournaments around the southeast. Of the 13 events he has participated in, Will has four top-10 finishes and three first-place finishes.
In most of these tournaments, Will fishes off the back of the boat as a co-angler, and his father says the other angler on the boat always seems impressed with Will’s fishing ability.
“He’s not fishing against the guy in the front or with him as a team, he’s fishing against all the other co-anglers,” Thomas said. “Every tournament we’ve been to, I introduce myself at the end of the day, and the anglers have said ‘this kid can do things, he needs to stick with it.’”
Will has the ability to strategically chart movement patterns and think ahead, which is something his dad attributes to his success.
However, it’s the method of how Will should fish the water that brings him good results.
“His strongest asset in fishing, and what he’s really good at, is bed-fishing,” Thomas said. “When the fish pull up and start spawning, he can read those fish and when they’re going to be there and how to catch them.”
There’s a lot more to Will’s ability out on the water than a good cast.
His father believes it’s Will’s preparation before an event that truly allows for him to perform his best on tournament days.
“Even some grown men don’t understand it,” Thomas said. “We find some bed-fish and mark them on our graphs and chart their movements. They change from day to day, so if Will sees they aren’t going to bite, he wastes no time going to a different spot.”
Ultimately, Will’s character off the water rivals his ability on it.
According to his dad, one of the most important qualities Will has is his ability to communicate with others and reciprocate respect.
“Any sport you go into, you can be good at it but the people skills are really important,” Thomas said. “How to communicate with people and overall be a good person. Even if he had a bad day, you wouldn’t be able to tell that from talking to him. Good people are good for the sport.”