There are plenty of well-known club sports at the
University, but there are also some people may not know about. Enter the bass team.
The bass team practices year-round, but competes in tournaments mostly in the fall and spring of each school year because of weather constraints in the winter. They fish at lakes all over Oregon, including Lake Mercer, Dexter Lake, Fall Creek, Cottage Grove and Tenmile Lake. Team members compete against each other during the year in a fun atmosphere.
“We have a great group of guys,” said Joe Cote, vice
president of the team. They catch and release using artificial baits, and record the weights of only the three heaviest fish they catch. At the end of the season, the top four fishermen team up to go to a national championship, which is held near Dallas, Tex., at Lake Lewisville during the first five days of June. There, teams all over the nation will attempt to defeat last month’s champion, Arkansas, for a national title.
Before school began in 2007, Oregon was featured on FSN for its road trip to the championship from Eugene to Lewisville. Team President Carter Troughton made the trip, along with teammates Joe Cote, Chris Parks and Ross Richards, and says the best part was the sponsor giveaways.
“In some ways it paid for my trip,” Troughton said. He also nabbed a life vest, $250, $100 gift card to the outdoor store
Cabela’s, and some small items such as tackling gear. He also received promotional discounts on sunglasses, shoes and poles.
The Pacific-10 Conference only has one other bass club team, Arizona State University, which happens to be Oregon’s biggest rival. The southwestern states like Arizona,
especially Texas, tend to be the biggest areas for bass fishing. Texas A&M is always one of the top finishers in tournaments.
The bass team was founded in 2005 by Gregor Crowell and Chris Parks. Parks, a recent graduate, says the bass team is “structured around learning and competitiveness. There is more than just fishing; you are out there to learn things, like
patterns on the lake.”
Crowell, the second co-founder, came in third place last year in the Ultimate Match
Fishing College Edition, where he won $5,000.
The team gets help from the Emerald Club, which is the state of Oregon’s Bass Club. The
Emerald Club supplies bass
fishing boats and a tour guide.
“Tournaments are always a blast,” Cote said. “We get a
guided trip for the day.”
The team’s next and final tournament of the fall will be Oct. 21 at Tenmile Lake in
Lakeside, Ore.
Richards is one of four
members who are going to the championship this year. This year, it is one of the team’s
favorite lakes. Troughton said it is where the team has been most successful.
Ross Richards’ favorite part of the tournament is analysis at the end, because he likes
“seeing how everyone had done, and what was working for the people who were successful.”
They look to build on last year’s success at Tenmile, where Parks pulled in 10 pounds, 15 ounces, and Troughton caught 9 pounds, 8 ounces. “I am excited to see who comes out,” said Richards.
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