March 7, 2025
By: Dwayne Page
Bryan College, known for its award-winning fishing teams, has landed another big catch from DeKalb County High School.
Senior Mason Taylor signed a letter of intent Thursday to further his education career at Bryan in Dayton, Tennessee on a fishing scholarship for the Lions after he graduates in May from DCHS. This is the second ever fishing scholarship awarded to a DCHS student. The first was to Jaxon Humphrey in 2023.
Mason was accompanied at the signing by members of his family including parents Jeff and Kim Taylor, sisters Elicia Puckett and Olivia Taylor, brother Casey Taylor, brother-in-law Johnathon Puckett, and Bryan College Coach Dustin Henderson. Mason’s father is the DCHS fishing coach.
“Bryan is located in Dayton, Tennessee close to Chattanooga and right on Lake Chickamauga. I really like the school, and they have all the accommodations for fishermen,” said Mason when asked why he chose Bryan College.
A member of the DCHS fishing team, Mason said fishing is his passion. “We fish just about every other weekend. It’s a year around sport. The biggest largemouth bass I have caught was actually about two weeks ago on Lake Nickajack. It weighed 9.33 pounds. We count the total weight of the best five fish caught and that was our biggest bag so far. We had a little over 25 pounds for our best five fish. I fish all the time. Whenever I am not working or not in school I am on the water. I think we have maybe a little less than 10 tournaments left and after I graduate the only tournament left for me will be the high school national championship tournament. After August I’ll be fishing on the college circuit,” said Taylor.
Mason said he plans to study criminal justice or business at Bryan.
Coach Taylor said he and his wife are proud of their son Mason and excited for him.
“My wife and I are really excited about Mason signing today and we look forward to seeing how his future turns out. We have been looking forward to this moment for the last five years for him to be able to go to college and fish. As his father and coach, I have enjoyed being out on the water with him. They call me coach but by the time a kid gets to high school they pretty much know how to fish. Sometimes we have meetings to show them some things that maybe they haven’t already learned and we stress safety. The organization that we usually follow is Tennessee Bass Nation and they have real strict safety rules so we make sure everybody has and makes use of all the safety gear for their boats and they always have an adult captain with them. A lot of people don’t consider fishing a sport but these kids are up at 3:30 or 4 o’clock in the morning and they are out there on the lake in the heat, cold, rain, and wind trying to find the productive areas. Mason and his partner have been out on the water no telling how many hours during their high school years,” said Coach Taylor.
Coach Henderson said when it came to signing Mason, it was a no brainer because he checked all the boxes.
“I am pretty picky about the guys I’m looking at to sign. In order to represent Bryan well, not only do they have to be good fishermen but they have to be good guys who don’t get into trouble, maintain good grades and do what they are supposed to do. Most tournaments they go to our anglers weigh in their five best bass fish for the day. To go to different lakes and different times of the year, it takes a good fisherman to be able to do that. We compete all over the country from Florida to Oklahoma, Virginia, etc,” said Coach Henderson.
Bryan College is a regionally accredited, liberal arts college in Dayton, Tennessee dedicated to educational excellence with a foundation in biblical principles. With both on-campus and online programs, more than 50 areas of study are offered for Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degrees, as well as professional certificates. Founded in 1930, Bryan College has a rich legacy of educating students to become servants of Christ and make a difference in today’s world. Bryan College is also a member of the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) which includes sixteen full members in seven southeastern states, making it the largest NAIA-affiliated conference.