Contrary to popular belief, the N.C. State basketball program is not the only sport on campus that has won a national championship. Basspack Fishing Club has won three national championships, taking home the FLW Outdoors trophy in 2006, 2009 and most recently in 2012.
In addition to intercollegiate tournaments, the Basspack holds several club tournaments in which members compete against themselves.
“We have six club tournaments a year,” said Bryce Owen, a sophomore in business management and the promotions director for the club. “They’re usually on Saturdays, so we have to plan around football games in the fall.”
In club tournaments, each fisherman spends several hours on the water, beginning in the early morning and ending in the afternoon. Many club members have their own boats, and those who don’t tag along with those who do.
“We average around 15 boats per tournament,” Owen said. “It goes from about 7 a.m. till 3 p.m., depending on daylight. Each person gets to weigh in their biggest five fish, and all fish must meet North Carolina state standards in order to be kept.”
Saturday, the Basspack held an open tournament at Jordan Lake. The club members raised more than $800 for the club through the tournament. This is important because, as Owen points out, club activities are largely funded by the members themselves.
“We provide our own rods, boats and bait,” Owen said. “The school gives us a little bit of money, and a few sponsors give us some small things, but we mostly pay out of our own pockets.”
The Basspack maintains a points system to rank its top fishermen and to determine who will fish in intercollegiate tournaments. Currently, Owen sits atop the leaderboard with 354 points, followed closely by club president Tyler Faggart at 352.
“The top finisher gets 50 points, the second-best gets 49, and so on, down by one.” Owen said. “Whoever catches the biggest fish gets an extra point. Our top six fishermen go to qualifying for the Southeast Regional tournament in Florida.”
In addition to tournaments, the club members organize two community service events per semester. Every fall, members team up with the Army Corps of Engineers and spend a day cleaning up Jordan Lake. The club also annually helps out with the Senior Games, and organized an event at Lake Wheeler, teaching kids the finer points of bass fishing, as well as giving away rods and other fishing equipment.
“We try to do the same service events every year,” Owen said.
The Basspack meets every other Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in 159 Kilgore Hall and welcomes new members year-round, regardless of whether they want to fish competitively or casually. The club will hold another tournament at Jordan Lake on Saturday, and its next intercollegiate tournament is the Jack Wood Memorial Invitational Nov. 16-17 at Lake Gaston.
Owen said the team had 24 boats last year at the Jack Wood Invitational and the team is expecting about 30 on Saturday.
