For every person who fishes, there is a moment when a spark flickered in just the right spot, lighting an ember in their psyche that fans into flames whenever they pick up a rod and reel.

The spark is the “Why” that guides anglers to pursue their passion for fishing. College football player turned pro bass angler Destin DeMarion recalls the time in his young life when fishing became more than a curiosity and began his chase for success in the major leagues of professional bass fishing.

Now, just over a week since he and teammate Tyler Woak of Niles narrowly missed an opportunity to compete in the Bassmaster Classic world championship tournament, DeMarion took a few moments to reflect on why he took to fishing, and specifically, bass fishing.

“It’s a deep, complex thing for me,” said DeMarion, who resides in Harbor Creek, near Erie, Pa. “When I was young, my parents divorced and I lived with my grandparents because Mom worked. My grandfather was a golfer, but he became handicapped, so he took up fishing. We learned it together.

“Fishing was our bonding thing. We watched fishing shows and fished together. It became our thing. Fishing is my release, in a sense, where I can have a safe place to enjoy life and have memories of my grandfather.”

His grandfather was a psychologist whose approach to challenges rubbed off on DeMarion.

“He looked at things very analytically,” DeMarion said. “Fishing is such a complex problem to solve. There is never just one solution; there are so many ways to succeed. If I wasn’t fishing, I’d be a psychologist. I’m also in marketing, which is kind of the same thing in that you find ways to address challenges.”

DeMarion believes his analytical mind is a factor in his passion for fishing and his competing for several seasons in the Bassmaster Elite Series.

“Tournaments are my release, where I can find a solution to a problem — finding the bass,” DeMarion said. “Ever since I was 6 or 7 years old, I’ve felt this way.”

Now 34, DeMarion looked back on his football days at Gannon University. He played as an H-back and today sees synergy between his football and fishing.

“It turned out that football backed up my fishing career by teaching self-discipline,” DeMarion said. “In college, at age 18 and living alone, you have got to get yourself up early and get going. My grandfather was a super-strict Marine guy. So I was more receptive to self-discipline because of him — plus working hard and seeing the fruits of my labors.”

DeMarion and his grandfather liked to fish for everything — the trout in the stream by the house, bluegills, catfish, crappies.

“But bass fit me better, because I liked to change baits and keep moving, to go after them,” DeMarion said.

His knack for problem-solving and fishing resulted in an opportunity for DeMarion to work in a marketing role with DuraEdge Products in Grove City, Pa., which led to sponsorship for his pro fishing efforts. DuraEdge produces and installs premium-engineered soils for baseball fields ranging from the Major Leagues to youth baseball and softball.

His DuraEdge work included taking baseball groundskeepers fishing, which soon put him in contact with Tyler Woak, who at the time was working with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers and at spring training with the Toronto Blue Jays. They went fishing at Mosquito Lake and quickly developed a friendship that led to DeMarion and Woak fishing in team tournaments.

But team fishing dynamics can be tricky.

“I’ve fished with a lot of people and much of the time it doesn’t work out,” DeMarion said. “A lot of good fishermen have big egos and they end up butting heads in the boat. With Tyler, we don’t have any of that. He has youthful enthusiasm and I’m a little past that, but you need his kind of energy. Plus, he’s not stuck in his ways, and is open to listening and makes great suggestions. Good fishermen are always willing to learn.”

DeMarion and Woak qualified for last week’s B.A.S.S. Team Championship on the Harris Chain of Lakes in Florida. Pitted against nearly 250 teams from around the world and cold front weather conditions that inflict lockjaw in Florida largemouths, DeMarion and Woak finished fourth, just 11 ounces shy of the Top-3 cut that would have put them in contention for the coveted Bassmasters Classic berth.

The near miss did nothing to extinguish the angling spark in Woak and DeMarion.

Next week’s column will examine Woak’s hot pursuit of ice fishing on the lakes around Youngstown and Warren.

Jack Wollitz is the author of “The Common Angler,” a book about the passion anglers have for fishing. He enjoys emails from readers, jackbbaass@gmail.com.