We caught up with Bailey McKinney for a little interview to catch up with him as he recently just took the role as President of the Marshall University Fishing Team back this summer. We wanted to dive in on what he has on his plate for the 2023 and what he is most looking forward to.

DockTalkWV: For the 2023 season what are you most excited about? Could be college tournaments, representing the team, fundraiser tournaments, or anything else.

Bailey: For 2023, I am really looking forward to not only the traveling and fishing, but the community involvement as well, we have an awesome fan base that supports us no matter what. They take care of us so I’m excited to get to hopefully give back some and become more involved with the team moving forward.
As for the fishing side of things, I’m really looking forward to the schedule for the 2023 season, Harris Chain is a phenomenal place to catch not only giant Florida largemouth as we saw last year with Matt and Lafe Messer’s big win but the number of quality fish is mind-boggling. On the other hand, the James river immediately caught my eye, I feel like that tournament will cater to the guys that can keep their heads down and grind, and as West Virginia boys we know a thing or two about a grinder-type tournament.

We are also looking to host our first (hopefully annual) swap meet again to try to gain some more community involvement for the future and get the chance to offer some sweet door prizes, and get to talk to and inspire the next generation of anglers following in our footsteps.

DockTalkWV: What are some things you are nervous about and some things you are confident in that you can do for the team?

Bailey: For me, the only thing I have been nervous about this last year has been upholding the standards Chase has set for our team, he established a premier tournament trail as well as countless relationships with some awesome people so I just hope I can keep that going to not only Chase’s standards but to our communities as well.

Moving forward I’m pretty confident that we can not only grow Marshall Fishing as a whole but put our team on the map, I would like to see us make some noise on the leaderboard in the following years and let others know we are not to be taken lightly.

DockTalkWV: Do you have any new plans for the team moving forward?

Bailey: Moving forward as I mentioned earlier I would love to be more involved with the next generation to hopefully inspire some of the High School and Junior division kids because ultimately when we are gone it’s going to be up to them to carry the torch and continue what we have been working so hard to establish here at Marshall. So in the future look to see more swap meet, meet and greet events, and speaking-type events because that is what I would like to get going.

DockTalkWV: Ultimately looking at this, 3 years from now when you are all said and done what are the goals you want to accomplish?

Bailey: In three years’ time I would love to see the Trail continue to grow as well as our support system and fanbase. Of course, at the end of the day, we all ultimately want to get our hands on a trophy and punch our tickets to the Bassmaster Classic. I really believe that there is enough talent on this team to make that happen. I would really love to see the integration of scholarships offered with our program as well as an official nod from the school to be deemed a “team” other than that I see the trail growing exponentially and a lot more events taking place to get some exposure within the community.

Personally for me after I graduate I would love to still be involved with the team as much as possible and hopefully begin my journey with the BFL or B.A.S.S. Open Series as a way to continue my love for this sport and drive to compete.

DockTalkWV: Anything extra add below.

Bailey: I can’t begin to thank our sponsors enough because without them none of this would be remotely possible, Chase for starting this train and getting the wheels rolling in the right direction, and my teammates for always being there and sharing the same dream as me. Because like I said we all share the same ultimate goal and will do anything in our power to chase it. At the end of the day, this is the Bassmaster College Series is the biggest tournament trail we can ever fish besides one day making it to the big leagues so to even have this opportunity to be able to chase a dream I have had since I was little is incredible to me in and of itself. GO HERD.