On a nice and rainy day, the Carterville Bass Fishing Team had its only Carterville fishing tournament on Saturday, April 29. 

There are multiple teams on the fishing team. The fishing team is very fun and has many fishing tournaments that anyone can participate in. Junior Toby Hollister said, “I would say it is a fun opportunity for kids not in other sports.”

If anyone ever wants to join the bass fishing team, all anyone  has to do is go to a meeting, have a boat, and have a boating captain. If anyone does not have one, find a partner who does have one and anyone  can be on the bass fishing team.

Senior Briar Marks says, “The best way to get practice is to go out with anyone or family on a day off of school and go fishing to get some practice in to become better for the fishing team.” If  anyone is just now trying out for the fishing team for the school, the teams that are around anyone teach anyone more than just fishing. Coaches are looking for teamwork with partners and problem-solving if something were to go wrong while anyone  were on the boat with partners or boating captains.

If anyone is looking for some way to get into college, many colleges now offer fishing scholarships and competitive programs. Not every student connects with their team members, but fishing offers a good amount of space for different personalities and interests. Junior Cameron Gossett says, “Getting a scholarship would have to take a lot of work, such as commuting to the sport as much as possible by getting a captain before the season and pre fishing each tournament.” 

Universities offer scholarships for students who compete on the school’s fishing teams. These schools provide partial or full scholarships based on skill, competition participation, and academic standing. 

The team had a very good turnout, the biggest fish caught was 5lbs caught by senior Myra Anderson and sophomore Jake Anderson. Anderson says, “The Carterville Fishing team is an opportunity to do something that I love, competitively. The best advice I have is to be patient and do not get down on yourself when there is a bad day of fishing. It happens to everyone. Just have fun and enjoy fishing!” The second biggest fish caught was a 4lbs by Toby Hollister.

Only a couple more tournaments to get all the teams scores up, whoever places first and second place will go to sectionals.