by Steve “Tuna” Tornovish
It started with an email that I received on my fishing account last summer: “My son Matt and his family arrive (next week). They live in Louisville Kentucky where Matt is the bass fishing coach (varsity sport) at Saint Xavier High School. He has been fishing every chance he gets ever since he could stand up!”
Bass fishing coach? Lifetime fisher? Oh yeah, I’m all in on fishing with this guy! Matt’s mom Maggie continued: “I loved your story in this week’s Yesterday’s Island. I hope you have an opening during the time the Yarborough clan are here on Nantucket.” Maggie is utilizing the double hook technique here. She had me at “bass fishing coach” and that certainly would have been enough. But the subtle appeal to my ego had me flopping on the deck like a giant Bluefin! Heck yes, I’m fishing with this crew!
Let’s break this down a bit. When I hear about bass fishing teams, I feel slightly like baby Simba getting lectured by big daddy Mufasa about far-away lands. This is simply a concept that I didn’t quite grasp. I couldn’t wait to fish with Coach Matt and find out about a varsity sport where I might actually have been viable. Sure, I played football at good ol’ Nantucket High (go Whalers!) but, as Dr. Lepore is fond of saying at family gatherings, I was the worst player on the last bad team. Ouch!
“I started teaching at Saint Xavier High School (Matt teaches a variety of music classes) in the fall of 2006, just after I graduated from the University of Louisville. The bass fishing team started in 2012. I have been coaching and teaching ever since.” Spending time with Matt quickly revealed why he would be a great coach. First and foremost, Matt Yarborough is a kind man. Kindness simply radiates from him. But don’t mistake his kindness for weakness (an old cop phrase right there, kids)—Matt is not a pushover. Although Matt is a large man, he doesn’t try to be physically imposing: he’s just one of those guys who knows how to set boundaries. In this regard, Matt reminds me of one of the greatest mentors I ever had the honor to know—Earl Girroir, the long-time director of the Nantucket Boys & Girls Club. Earl didn’t have to raise his voice. He’d clearly let you know if you disappointed him. That’s all it took: the profound respect we all had for Earl would make us get back in line. Matt gave me those same vibes.
So what does a high school bass fishing coach do? Matt told me that some of his more important jobs involved logistics and keeping everyone safe. “We have anywhere from five to ten boats on the water, depending on the year. We usually start the year with about 35 to 45 students interested in fishing. About 20 to 25 of them show up for the meetings in the first few weeks. There will be around 15 guys who are really fired up about it and are wanting to fish as much as possible, and have the skill set to be competitive.” Yikes—ten sleek, high-powered bass fishing boats on a lake, operated by kids who are 14 to 18 years old—what could possibly go wrong?
Matt laughs and says that he’s been blessed to have very high character team members. “We have had some incredible young men on the Team over the years. We have been fortunate to win our Regional Tournament four times over the years (there’s four regions in Kentucky and ours is the biggest). We have had two particularly talented and dedicated anglers these past four years and they have won it three times!”
Matt explained that the kids tend to understand the significant responsibilities that they have when they’re on the water. They also understand that their families have made a significant investment in boats and related equipment (bass boats properly set up usually start around $30,000, not that I’m looking, of course). Thus, the team members understand that they need to pay significant attention when they’re on the water.
“I was very fortunate this past season to have a great bunch of seniors. They’re on the water a lot more than I have been recently so a lot of times I let them help coach the younger kids in group discussions. Four of my graduating seniors are going to join their college fishing teams next year, with three of them going to Western Kentucky and the fourth to a college in Alabama.”
Matt explained that he’s ready to help any and all students learn about freshwater bass fishing. “The first thing that we do is work on casting. Freshwater bass fishing requires proficiency with both the baitcasting rig and spinning gear. The next thing that we teach is how to break down a lake. Understanding structure is a key to bass fishing.”
I decided to put Matt to the test. My freshwater adventures in Florida have helped me understand the need for employing the baitcasting setup in order to gently pitch a fishing lure into an area where a fish might be hiding, waiting to ambush an unsuspecting food source. Of course, my pathetic attempts to quietly land a lure close to a downed tree limb or other promising structure often sounded like I was throwing bricks into the water. Matt helped me out as we waited out a tide change at Point O’Breakers last summer. Of course I had brought my underutilized baitcasting rod and reel to the beach. Coach Matt eagerly worked with me: “The key is to keep the bait low to the water during the whole cast. Just get comfortable with the pendulum of the lure. Keep your elbow close to your side and get the pendulum to accelerate as it’s going out. The momentum needs to all be forward, all in one motion.” Matt’s pitching motion was beautifully fluid. Mine looked like a guy falling out of a tree. Thanks to Matt’s good coaching, I am much smoother now. I still refer to the instructional video I took of Matt last summer!
Coach Yarborough is a fishing madman. His mom’s Nantucket house is on Quince Street, so Matt and his daughter Emma (16) and son Ted (14) have been walking down to Brant Point to fish for scup. Matt adapted some freshwater bass fishing techniques to Nantucket scup fishing and the results were great. Matt and I laughed at how it doesn’t matter what we’re catching, as long as we’re fishing!
I was treated to a Great Point fishing trip with Matt, Emma, and Ted this week. The wind was howling at maybe 25 knots at the Point, but the Yarborough crew were not deterred. We eventually moved to the eastern edge of Great Point. Although the fish were not cooperative, Matt and I witnessed a Great White shark breaching offshore, an absolute WOW moment!
Matt Yarborough is a fascinating guy for reasons that don’t involve fishing. His teaching includes guitar classes, percussion, keyboard and a class called Advanced Instrumental Music, aka Rock Band. Matt also teaches a digital music composition class using the GarageBand app. He plays in a variety of bands, most significantly playing trombone in a 70s cover band called Caribou.
“One of my former music students is Ian Abel. He’s going to blow up real soon. He’s a great guy and a good friend.” Hmmmm… That name was familiar. I searched for Ian Abel on Spotify and listened to his most popular song listed called “Home.” I recognized it immediately from the Sirius XM Outlaw Country music station! Yeah, Matt, I’m with you about Mr. Abel—he’s about to launch into the stratosphere!
And why wouldn’t Ian Abel excel? Like the graduating high school students who will represent their respective colleges next year, he had good coaching. And good coaching builds excellent fundamentals. These young men were all blessed to be coached by Matt Yarborough. I was glad to get to fish with him again and can’t wait to do it again next year!
Matt’s daughter took the Brant Point photo of her dad holding the scup with the Lynx in the background. Also, the students pictured with Matt in the fishing photos have granted permission for the pictures to be used in this publication.
Steve “Tuna” Tornovish is a Nantucket native who has spent his life fishing from the beaches of his beloved island. He loves to introduce clients to the joy of fishing with his Nantucket Island Fishing Adventures: stevetuna.com
