A year ago, Franklin's bass fishing team ventured down to Kentucky Lake without knowing what it was getting into — and they still held their own.

Now armed with the benefit of a year's experience, the Grizzlies are ready to take aim at the nation's best.

"Having did this last year, it's a little bit easier to know what to expect," Franklin coach JT Volz said. "I walked into this not really knowing, other than just taking my own boys to (high school) nationals, this is the type of quality of anglers we're fishing against."

Despite being in its first full year and fielding only one boat for several events, Franklin finished 61st nationally in the Collegiate Bass Fishing Series School of the Year standings last season — ahead of much larger schools such as Florida, Missouri, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin. Volz has even more ambitious goals for the Grizzlies' second year of competition.

"My goal is to be in the top 25," he said.

The quest begins this weekend with the Big Bass Bash, a two-day tournament with seven weigh-ins. Volz said that approximately 400 boats are entered in the event, making it one of the biggest of the season, if not the biggest.

The Grizzlies will then stay at Kentucky Lake through Tuesday for a Major League Fishing collegiate series event.

One major difference is that after entering just one boat last fall, Franklin can now field two. In one boat, sophomore Carson Volz will pair with classmate Jakob Dreher. Junior Drew Kristoff and freshman Caden Paris will team up in the other.

Carson Volz and Kristoff competed together at last year's national championships, finishing 132nd in a crowded field. This year, JT Volz went with different pairings because of how the anglers' techniques can complement one another. Dreher (who competed at Bethel last year) and Kristoff excel at utilizing the sonar locators, while Carson Volz and Paris are classified more as "power fishermen."

The Grizzlies will add junior Seth Rindfuss back to the roster in the spring once football season concludes, and coach Volz hopes to bring on some others for the back half of the season as well in hopes of being able to compete with three boats — the maximum amount that any one school can score with at most tournaments.

"If we have three boats, we can compete with Montevallo," JT Volz said, referencing the reigning national champion.

Additionally, the coach wants to build more depth by starting a developmental club team that will allow more inexperienced anglers to train and compete locally.

The two season-opening Kentucky Lake events will offer a challenge; these are, according to JT Volz, the "dog days" of bass fishing.

"The bass are real sluggish," he said. "They've been hit for probably four months, five months of just getting baits thrown at them all the time; they're really, really smart and they're really lethargic right now."

Still, the Grizzlies are hopeful that they'll be able to come away with plenty of points, starting the season off on a high note. But beyond the weigh-ins and series points standings, the coach has other goals for his crew as they embark on these long road trips with one another.

"What I'm wanting out of these guys is to become a unit, one team," JT Volz said. "Even though they're separate, two individual teams, I want them to work together and create a team atmosphere. I want them taking care of each other out on the water."

Take care of each other, and the results may well take care of themselves.