High School Fishing Partner Turns Pro!!!
Opens profile: Schroeder’s dedication is paying off
Posted onJuly 2, 2025
Written by
Mark Hicks
Photography by
Solomon Glenn
Former Bassmaster High School All-American Trey Schroeder earned a berth to the 2026 Bassmaster Classic by winning a Div. 1 Bassmaster Open in April on the Tombigbee River. He is one of several High School All-Americans who have found success on the professional level.
After the first two events in Div. 1, the 25-year-old Missourian holds ninth place in the point standings. He is 29th in points in Div. 2 with one event left on that schedule. His dream of qualifying for the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series lies within reach.
That wasn’t the case last year when Schroeder fished all nine Bassmaster Opens. After the first five events, his best finish was 82nd place. He turned things around at the next three tournaments, finishing fifth at Lake St. Clair, 11th at Leech Lake and 49th on the Mississippi River.
“I was well out of the points by then,” Schroeder said. “But those three tournaments up north gave me the confidence to trust my instincts, stick with the process and to keep working hard at it.”
Despite falling short of his goals last year, Schroeder hasn’t lost his zeal for fishing. It all began at Bull Shoals, where his parents, who live in St. Louis, have a vacation retreat.
“My parents have pictures of me fishing with Snoopy poles,” Schroeder said. “I was so young then I can’t remember it.”
Although his father Troy enjoyed water skiing more than fishing, he happily acquiesced to his son’s fishing passion. Saturday mornings at Bull Shoals followed the same routine.
“I would usually wake my dad up early and drag him out of the house,” Schroeder said. “We’d go fishing in our old 18 1/2-foot Ranger, come back for breakfast and watch the Bassmasters on TV.”
His favorite bait on these outings was a Heddon Spit’n Image, a walking topwater bait.
Schroeder got hooked on bass tournaments at age 8 when he and his father fished the Verne Cubbage Memorial Tournament on Bull Shoals. Soon after that event, they were regular contestants in “pickle jar” derbies.
When he attended Lindbergh High School in St. Louis, Schroeder and his fishing buddy Grant Nisbet initiated a bass fishing team. His father served as their boat captain. The team grew from eight anglers the first year to more than 50 over the next two years.
He was Missouri’s Bassmaster state champion in his freshman year and notched several other victories during his high school career.
After graduating from high school, Schroeder enrolled at McKendree University in Lebanon, Ill., to major in environmental studies, minor in marketing and compete on the university’s bass fishing team.
He qualified five times for the Bassmaster College National Championship and six times for another league’s championship. He also qualified for the College Classic Bracket twice with his college partner Tyler Christy in their freshman and senior years. He finished third in 2019 and fifth in the 2022 rendition of this event.
When Schroeder graduated from college, the Bassmaster Opens season was already underway. He took a job at Denny Dennis Sporting Goods in Fenton, Mo., and honed his fishing skills on Bull Shoals at every opportunity. The next year, he launched his professional career by competing in the 2024 Bassmaster Opens.
His father, now retired, travels with him to his tournaments but does not compete. He is content to socialize and support his son in any way he can.
Schroeder isn’t surprised by his success this season and finds it immensely rewarding to see all the work and time he has invested in this sport beginning to pay off.
“My goal, as long as I can remember, is to be a Bassmaster Elite,” Schroeder said. “I’ve always seen B.A.S.S. as the highest, most prestigious trail. If you want to fish against the best, you fish B.A.S.S.”
Schroeder’s sponsors include Ionic Lithium Hub, Waterland, 6thSense, Denny Dennis Sporting Goods, Engineered Industrial Products (EPI), Rogue Custom Apparel, plus two restaurants — Super Smokers BBQ and Case and Bucks.