While some people find fishing to be a fun weekend pastime, senior Grant Nore has shown major passion for fishing and will be attending Wabash Valley College in Mount Carmel, Illinois, in the fall to join their competitive fishing team! He also plans to major in Business Management in college. If there is one thing you take away from Grant, it is that he embodies determination and shows how he has followed his dreams! Grant is the perfect senior from DCG’s Class of 2026 to spotlight!
Discovering His Passion
Grant has been fishing for almost his entire life, and his love for it was sparked by his dad. He took him fishing at a young age, where he was able to learn all about what fishing is about. As he grew up, his dad would take Grant to all of his middle school and high school tournaments. His dad was one of his biggest influences and really got him into tournament fishing as a whole.
Grant decided that he wanted to continue his passion for fishing at the collegiate level around his sophomore year of high school, when he started to get competitive in tournament fishing. After exploring different options and looking at different schools to see what would be the best fit for him, Wabash Valley College stood out to him in every way imaginable. It was closer to home than a lot of the other fishing schools, which was a huge benefit since his family is very important to him. They also have a great fishing team, currently sitting in 4th place in the country! The last reason he liked Wabash Valley so much is the number of opportunities they offer, and Grant sees a lot of growth potential for himself there in the future.
Career Highs
Grant has accomplished many different things over the years, but one that will always stick out to him is winning the Iowa TBF State Championship this year. Winning this tournament has been a dream of his for a while, and he says it was “just crazy to see it actually happen.” Just to note, this championship did not just fall into his lap without hard work and lots of time spent on the water for this accomplishment. During the practice days for the tournament, the wind would blow about 30 miles per hour steadily, and it was very hard to fish; however, Grant would work hard the whole 12+ hour practice days. Grant mentions how much work goes into these tournaments because of how you have to fish through everything no matter what, “It could be 100 degrees, 0 degrees, you could be sick, it could be raining, and you just have to fish through it all if you really want to accomplish your goals.”
Amongst many other unforgettable memories in his lifetime of fishing, one that will always be highlighted for him was the boat ride back to the ramp during the state championship. While feelings were going every which way, unsure if their bag of fish would be enough to win them the championship, Grant had confidence that his team put together a really special bag of fish. Grant’s intuition led him in the right direction because he ended up winning the state championship!
Empowering Peers
There have been many people in Grant’s life who have not only pushed him to be a better fisherman but also to be a better person. These people often fly under the radar with how behind-the-scenes they are and deserve more recognition than they currently get because of how impactful they have been in his life. His parents have played a big role in his success because without them, he wouldn’t be in the same place he is in right now. Grant’s coaches and fishing partners have been a huge part of his success, too. They push him to become a better angler; they want to see Grant succeed just as much as he does, and they never stop working towards his dreams. Lastly, Grant’s sponsors, who have helped him out a ton by believing in him and supporting him along the way, are his sponsors, Bimini Apparel, American Shaman, Tint World, Gargoyle Baits, and Exodus 5:1. These sponsors donated the money for Grant to travel. In return, he wears their logo on his jersey and promotes them on social media and at tournaments! All of these people have helped him so much and have been very supportive of him for so many years.
Life Off the Water
While bass fishing isn’t in season currently, there are a couple of things Grant enjoys doing. He will ice fish on occasion, but it’s not his favorite thing to do. The main thing he enjoys is hunting. He doesn’t have a specific thing he likes to hunt; he will really hunt whatever he is feeling that day. He also likes to work at Shine Shop Carwash during the winter!
DCG’s Impact
While DCG has never had its own fishing team, they have done everything to be supportive and work with Grant in doing what he loves! He balances school and fishing by talking with his teachers about when he will be gone for fishing and making up any missing work before he leaves. He says, “DCG has impacted me by supporting what I’m doing by letting me make up work and miss school without my grades dropping.” He also enjoys talking to teachers about his fishing because a lot of them are very interested in it as well!
Mustangs on the Move
The Mustangs on the Move series is produced by Rylee Renz, a senior at DCG High School. Rylee is a school-to-work intern in the DCG Communications department.