The Cal State Long Beach Fishing Club was awarded the second place prize of $3,000 and a place in the Western Regional Competition, after competing at the National Guard’s Forrest L. Woods (FLW) tournament at Redbud Park in Clear Lake, Calif., on Sept. 25.
“The teams of two people are provided a boat and a tournament official and they go out from 7:30 a.m. until 1 p.m.,” said Alfredo Gutierrez, a senior mechanical engineering major and President of the Fishing Club at CSULB. “The team goes out and tries to catch the five biggest fish they can, and when they do, they try to upgrade and catch a bigger fish.”
The fishing club at CSULB began almost four years ago, according to Gutierrez.
It enters all four of the tournaments hosted by the FLW each year. The club allows its members to be in contact with other fishing enthusiasts that share the same passion for competitive and recreational fishing.
“I love it, I have been doing it since I was 10 years old,” senior kinesiology major Alex Cox said. “Any time I have a chance, I go fishing.”
The FLW fishing tournament hosts 40 different college teams competing for the grand prize of $10,000. The first five winners earn up to $2,000 for their fishing club — a portion of which goes to their school — and a guaranteed place in the Western Regional Competition in November.
“Some schools have up to five teams of two,” Cox said. “If we recruit more experienced fishermen, we can enter more teams.”
Cox and Justin Gangel made one team, and Gutierrez and Dane Christensen made up the other team. Both teams were entered in the tournament last weekend at Clear Lake. Cox and Gangel took second place after six hours and fifteen minutes of fresh water fishing, reeling in 5 bass that weighed 19lbs 03oz. The duo was awarded $750 for their institution and $2,250 for the Fishing Club.
The three-day FLW Western Regional Competition will take place Nov. 17-19 at Saguaro Lake in Meza, AZ. The top five teams will compete in this event in an attempt to win a spot in the National Tournament.
“We have a persistent team,” Gutierrez said. “We have had the same two teams for the past two years.”
The fishing team doesn’t leave winning up to luck, either. They practice different techniques and make sure they know what will be the best technique to use for the body of water and the time of year they are fishing.
“It’s like golf,” Gutierrez. “Different techniques for different times of the year and different bodies of water, it’s your call.”
While some criticize competitive fishing as cruel and inhumane, the rules of the tournament state that the five fish must be weighed in alive and the fish that are caught are later set free, in their natural habitat.
“We don’t want to harm the fish,” said Gutierrez. “The lakes wouldn’t want to host the tournament if we take more than 200 fish out of the ecosystem.”
Gutierrez and Christensen won first place for the CSULB fishing club at last year’s competition, taking home $10,000, which they used to buy their first fishing boat.
The boat is displayed during Week of Welcome each year in an attempt to attract other fishers on campus.
“[The fishing club] is open to everyone, all experience levels are welcome,” said Cox. “It’s surprising how much you can learn, how much experience you can gain from other people in the club.”
The fishing club has about 30 members this semester, according to Cox. For more information on the fishing club or how to join, contact a member of the club or visit their club meetings on Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. at the University Student Union Room 307.
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