College Fishing 101 by Jen Edgar

College Fishing 101 by Jen Edgar

college fishing

ColleGe FIshINg

By JEN EDgAR

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ollege fishing is well established and con- tinues to get more and more attention. Whether you’re an incoming freshman or a current student with a passion for bass fishing, summer is the time to start your career in college fishing. does your school have a fishing club? do they compete in any collegiate bass tour- naments? How do you get involved? There are over 150 colleges and universities nationwide with fishing clubs. each year more clubs are being formed and are entering in collegiate bass fishing circuits. if you run an internet search for collegiate bass fishing, you become overwhelmed with results and may not be able to make heads or tails of it all. in this article i am going to break

down each collegiate fishing circuit and help you successfully begin your collegiate fishing career.

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gEttIng StartED

in order to fish on a collegiate circuit your team must be formed under your university’s fish club. This means your first job is to locate your school’s existing club or start a new one. each university is different, but most have a club day where you will have an opportunity to seek out the fishing crew and make your interest be known. if you are unable to attend the event, find the club’s office and they can get you in touch with the right people. running a club requires work. trusted officers are vital and so is an advisor whom is willing to be supportive year round; because bass fishing often goes into the summer and

collegiate Bass Fishing Championship - supported by the aCa (association anglers) and The Bass Federation, was of Collegiate started in 2006. Most of their tourna me nts are in the eastern US, except for texas. They provide scholar ships, contingency and discount progra ms. They are televised on Versus which is incorporated into NB C Sports. Their website is www.colle giatebasschampionship.com  FLW College Fishing - Supported by the FlW and National Guard, was started in 2009. They have separated the US into different region s, and is one of the few circuits who com e to the west coast. They provide boats, travel assistance, scholar ships, and incentive programs. The reg ional and championship rounds are televised on Versus and online at www.flwoutdoors.com . Their websit e is www.collegefishing.com  Bassmaster College Series - Suppor ted by BaSS, is a circuit which seems to keep changing sponsors and layout every season. They mainly host tournaments in the eastern US , wit h one “Western Wildcard” tournament every year, which is not nearly as supported as the other we stern events. They televise events on eSPNU and their website is www.b assmaster.com/college

Here is a quick breakdown of collegiate bass fisHing circu its:  BoatUS

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