The skilled angler cast his fly fishing line into the sea of green grass and waited for a nibble. Moments later, the line started to jerk, and he began to reel. Instead of a hook, he used a peanut, and he didn’t catch a fish — he caught a squirrel.
A group of University students has brought the art of squirrel fishing to campus, and now they’re trying to make it an official Club sport. The sport involves using fly fishing rods with peanuts tied to the line to attract squirrels. Once the squirrel latches on, the “fisherman” tugs on the line until the squirrel lets go or scurries away with the peanut.
“The reactions we get around campus are usually really enthusiastic or really upset,” said Jason McIlhaney, the club’s co-president, adding that people who get upset don’t understand the sport.
“The best analogy really is like playing tug of war with your dog,” McIlhaney said.
And the sport has definitely raised a few eyebrows around campus.
The University Club Sports executive committee, made up of five students, met to determine the club’s fate Friday, but the members decided they needed to learn more about the sport before making a final decision.
Executive committee member Lauren Anas said none of the members were familiar with the concept of squirrel fishing.
“I just want to make sure that we’re not doing anything offensive to squirrels,” she said, adding that with any proposed sport, the committee members try to familiarize themselves with the activity before making a decision.
Students proposing a new sport need at least 10 initial members, and they also need to show they can represent the University competitively, Anas said.
McIlhaney said there are plenty of ways to make it a competitive sport, which generally involves performing skillful fly fishing techniques. Members can compete in casting distance and precision, or they can compete to catch the same squirrel, he added.
He said about 30 students are currently in the club, but as the word spreads, and if the club gets sponsored, he expects about 100 people would be interested in joining. He said with the base funding that initial sponsorship would provide, the club could make T-shirts to use for fundraising.
McIlhaney said the West Coast has a strong history of squirrel fishing, and one of the largest clubs currently resides at University of California, Berkeley, which has 84 members, including faculty and staff. With a number of other clubs competing, including those found at University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of Arizona, he said there would be plenty of opportunities to compete.
While some students use the sport to practice for traditional fly fishing, McIlhaney said that’s not his intention for the club.
“I don’t do it for that,” he said. “I do it to squirrel fish.”

The sport has also raised concerns among members of the University’s Species Equality Through Action group, formally Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
“We’re not too thrilled about it,” SETA member Nate Oester said.
However, Oester said the group has more important issues to deal with, such as eliminating animal research testing, or vivisection, on campus. He said he does have a problem with people using animals for entertainment rather than “valuing them as individuals.”
“I’d just be more concerned with the moral aspects,” he said. “It seems kind of degrading to me.”
But others say the sport provides an opportunity to connect with nature.
Architecture Department Head Christine Theodoropoulos said when she heard about the sport from McIlhaney, she knew her 9-year-old son would want to give it a try.
“I think it’s kind of a springtime diversion,” she said. “Having a kind of connection, a moment, with a wild animal is kind of a special thing.”
She said she was initially skeptical of the sport, but after watching her son participate, she doesn’t see a problem with it.
Club Sports Director Sandy Vaughn said she likes learning about new activities she’s unfamiliar with. She said the last questionable sport that came up for sponsorship was Ultimate Frisbee, which has become increasingly popular.
“The majority of people were very skeptical,” she said. “Of course, now it’s one of our largest team sports.”
Although she was also initially concerned about the squirrels’ welfare, she said it’s important to consider new ideas.
“It’s just important always that our program keeps an open mind to the interests of the students,” she said.