Starting A Bass Fishing Club At My College! Need Huge Help!

[RMcDuffee726]

Hello everyone, I have been on Bassresource.com for about a year now, and I have fallen in love with this website for helping me with anything related to bass fishing, but now I must ask for a massive favor.  I attend Plymouth State University in Plymouth, New Hampshire.  The school is based around the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and one could call this college very "outdoorsy"  There are multiple clubs such as mountain biking, golf, snowboarding and even horseback riding.  There is only one problem, and that is that there isn't a bass fishing club or even a fishing club at this college for that matter.  I've decided that I want to create a bass fishing club for Plymouth State University.

 

The task itself is absolutely massive.  I have to present to the college board (including the actual President of the university) on multiple occasions to plead my case for funding.  I also need to write a huge paper on the club itself and how it will run efficiently.   Setting up the club won't be too difficult, considering I know of multiple bass fisherman on campus who would love to join.  The problem is that I don't know where to start or how to organize the club.  So I would like to take a sort of poll from all of you who answer.  Honestly, please everyone who reads this post please answer because this will be a massive help.

 

If you were in a fishing club how many times would you expect to fish during a full week (include days and hours)?

 

If you joined the club would you expect to be going on bass boats, kayaks, canoes or even bank fishing?  Which would you prefer if you had a choice?

 

Would you expect the club to run all year or just for the Fall & Spring time?

 

Would you want to hold tournaments within the club, which would have a prize for 1st, 2nd and 3rd at the end of the "season"?

 

***Also does anyone know how you would go about getting bass boats take people in the club out on the water?  I know that I see high school fishing team members on bass boats during tournaments, but how does that work?  Do I need to call up a bunch of local guides to help out or is there something I am missing.  Literally any response will be awesome, and I really do appreciate your time to answer my questions and help me out.  Thank you!

 

 

[buzzed bait]

Don't know that I can help address those specific questions. However one area you may focus on would be the club's impact off the water. By that I mean community events, fundraisers and community service projects. This shows you are thinking big picture. Also, this project should help you out down the line if you ever try to get a business or project off the ground. I wish you much luck.

[Scott F]

Instead of beginning as a funded club, why don't you start an informal one where you solicit potential members who will share the burden of setting up the "official" club. Meet with interested fellow students to judge how popular the club might be. Work to build the foundation before trying to fund it. No sense going through a lot of work if there aren't enough other students to make a go of it. You never know, there might be others who have the connections you need.

[corn-on-the-rob]

My club is fairly small for being 5 years old or so. It has about 20 members. We are recognized by the university and are affiliated with the FLW college series but we do not get direct funding from either.

 

- We do 4 tournaments in the fall, 4 tournaments in the spring all spaced 2 weeks apart. If it were any more frequent attendance would be spotty. Also, many students go home for the summer so it typically isn't ideal. But in the summer there might be other collegiate events that club members can do to fill in that gap (we have a tournament or two against neighboring colleges that we set up together for bragging rights).

 

-We require a $25 club fee for each semester which covers the permits/ramp fees at the lakes we fish. With these fees we are able to fully support our selves.

 

-We do fish from boats. The only two requirements are that it can fish two people, and has a working live-well. (a couple boats made their own live-wells out of coolers and aerators that sat in their boats which you can look up how to online). I feel fishing from shore or other methods where you wouldn't be able to keep and weigh the fish at the end of the day would be a last resort, and you would have to do a paper tournament.

 

-Now, not many college anglers own big bass boats, but any that have a live-well, almost no matter how small, will work. A couple of us go home and get our dad's boats for the tournaments. If there are not enough boaters then on the full size bass boats we will throw 2 non-boaters in which is tight but manageable.

 

-We use the club tournaments to keep a total points standings which determine who gets to fish the FLW college events in the summer.

 

-We also do some community service activities like working with the dnr to clean up local lakes or help with children's fishing derby's. Also, an occasional fundraiser to make money for the club. (saving to buy cheap club boats for the small tournaments)

[Djf3864]

I am not sure how much advice I can provide for starting a college fishing club, however there are a few ideas that I can offer:

1. This will be a huge undertaking so you need to break it into small pieces while working through it, otherwise you could end up overwhelmed and just give up on the whole idea.
   1. Not sure if you have ever head the anecdote:  How do you eat an elephant?  The answer is one bite at a time, and that is the tact you need to take with something like this.  There will be a lot of politics and second-guessing about the College putting any money into a fishing club, but if you continue to push with a clear and concise plan you will persevere.
2. Scott F. had a great suggestion, get an unofficial club going first so that you can gauge the response to this new group.  If you get a good response you will have more help in trying to develop your clubs plan, as well as more potential connections within the College itself.  You can also show a history of the meet-up that this club had, which will help you show the College that there are people interested in being a part of this.
3. The community outreach will be a huge factor in getting this accomplished.  You need to show that this is more than just a bunch of folks getting together and fishing, but rather a community of people who are committed to the stewardship of the environment (specifically the water in this case).  I live in Mass and have been to the white mountains a number of times, it is the pristine untouched nature of the area that makes it special.  Your club should espouse making sure the places you fish stay that way.  

 

Best of luck with your club.

[CollegiateAngler]

I fish for Tennessee Tech University. Currently 2nd in Cabelas School of the Year points.

 

I fish all events and this fall we have had 5 tournaments. I pre fish the weekend before and leave thursday nigh before the tournament on saturday, miss one day of school per tournament.

 

Bass boats is the only way to go. If you qualify for any of the big tournaments, FLW, BASS, BoatUS, You got to be in a bass boat.

 

Fish bite year round, people also want to fish year round. Theres your answer.

 

See if there is a college trail in your area. We fish another schools trail with many other teams in Tennessee. If theres not then yes. There has to be some sort of competition or people will lose interest.

 

If you have any more questions just send me a PM 

[blongfishing]

Hello everyone, I have been on Bassresource.com for about a year now, and I have fallen in love with this website for helping me with anything related to bass fishing, but now I must ask for a massive favor.  I attend Plymouth State University in Plymouth, New Hampshire.  The school is based around the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and one could call this college very "outdoorsy"  There are multiple clubs such as mountain biking, golf, snowboarding and even horseback riding.  There is only one problem, and that is that there isn't a bass fishing club or even a fishing club at this college for that matter.  I've decided that I want to create a bass fishing club for Plymouth State University.

 

The task itself is absolutely massive.  I have to present to the college board (including the actual President of the university) on multiple occasions to plead my case for funding.  I also need to write a huge paper on the club itself and how it will run efficiently.   Setting up the club won't be too difficult, considering I know of multiple bass fisherman on campus who would love to join.  The problem is that I don't know where to start or how to organize the club.  So I would like to take a sort of poll from all of you who answer.  Honestly, please everyone who reads this post please answer because this will be a massive help.

 

If you were in a fishing club how many times would you expect to fish during a full week (include days and hours)?

 

If you joined the club would you expect to be going on bass boats, kayaks, canoes or even bank fishing?  Which would you prefer if you had a choice?

 

Would you expect the club to run all year or just for the Fall & Spring time?

 

Would you want to hold tournaments within the club, which would have a prize for 1st, 2nd and 3rd at the end of the "season"?

 

***Also does anyone know how you would go about getting bass boats take people in the club out on the water?  I know that I see high school fishing team members on bass boats during tournaments, but how does that work?  Do I need to call up a bunch of local guides to help out or is there something I am missing.  Literally any response will be awesome, and I really do appreciate your time to answer my questions and help me out.  Thank you!

Never actually done this myself but I started the club at my middle school  here is my answers.

1. You have no real certain amount of time spent of the water. I would just spend as much time needed to practice for tournaments and of course just fish for fun with your club. i would probably got 2-4 a month for just fishing for fun.

2. If I was on a college team and I plan to be on one in the future I would like to fish out of a bass boat. the way that goes is you have to have people buy boats for your team or have your school buy them. My local schools (I have 2 in the area) have a bass boat wrapped in the colleges sponsors and logos and all that stuff.

3. If I was in the club i would personally want to meet year round but my college around here stop for the whole winter. (I am in SC so it dosent snow or ice up alot here so i dont know why?) I would like to meet year round to just talk about fishing and learn.

4. You can fish tournaments throughout the school but you should get on the Cabelas Collegiate Tour and fish on it. If you do fish tournaments throughout the club you should award  them with trophys and stuff too.

[etommy28]

I started the Fishing Club at Florida Gulf Coast oh 7 years ago and was a member until this semester when i graduated. I have fished most everything there is and dealt with many issues. 

 

If you were in a fishing club how many times would you expect to fish during a full week (include days and hours)?

We hold a meeting typically either weekly or every other week, then have a tournament on the weekends, some are picture tournaments that last a couple days some are actual boat tournaments. 

If you joined the club would you expect to be going on bass boats, kayaks, canoes or even bank fishing?  Which would you prefer if you had a choice?

We dont require anything. When we have boat tournaments we have our members who have boats bring them then we work with the local clubs to get some more boaters. but most of our stuff is bank fishing until we get to actual like FLW or ACA or BASS tournaments. 

Would you expect the club to run all year or just for the Fall & Spring time?

We run all year. its florida we can fish all year. 

Would you want to hold tournaments within the club, which would have a prize for 1st, 2nd and 3rd at the end of the "season"?

we have an end of the year banquet to reconize sponsors and anglers who had good years. 

 

Also keep in mind some schools wont let you be funded if you charge dues so watch that be fore you charge any thing. 

[USCG_Anthony]

im thinking of taking on the same task for the local high school. i read up on http://www.highschoolfishing.org/and how they operate. ive also had to pitch ideas at work and justify why we need something as well. my plan of attack would be to comply and write a solid paper and have a few people proofread it. talk about the exposure for the school and how it will reflect positively in the community, get some numbers from schools who already have a solid bass fishing club or team and tie in how that could happen at your school. i would also ask some other school clubs about their funding and how the process works for them to be able to do stuff and be prepared to give them solutions on how you and your club will raise money with fundraising. i would really sell the fact that you said it is an "outdoorsy" school and that there are other people on campus you already fish with that said if there was a club they would be in (get a head count), also talk about how this club could inspire people who were curious about fishing or who may have never even fished before to come out and learn. your going to have to walk before you run and as much as i would love to get all my boys and fish cool places and have the school help fit the bill they want it to benefit the study buddy from the ground up. try and see how your club could work with other clubs or labs on campus (maybe there is a bio class who needs some research done and you could help them since your know the local waters and such) hopefully you can make it happen!

[BobbyRaeAllen]

I am part of the fishing club here at Longwood University in VA.

I understand the difficulties of having a fishing club being that it can possibly fall into a few different categories. Some schools (such as larger universities that compete on a national level, FLW, etc..) have funded teams that are official in every regard and offer scholarships and funds for equipment/boats etc... Then you have clubs that are merely a group of people who share the same interest of fishing and get together to fish and hang out. Our club falls somewhere in between and we are currently evolving into a more recreational club, and only a few of our anglers compete representing the school.

What I suggest you do is figure out what your goals are for the club as far as the things you actually do together. Dont be afraid to start small and grow. I would caution you against going straight for competing FLW or similar tournaments. Perhaps start as an interest club and organize meeting to discuss fishing, plan trips (even if its just a group outing to local waters for a day), and plan club events and fundraising.

Also, this might sound stupid, but I always find people who want to fish but dont know where to go since they moved to school! Talk to them and get them involved. Weve gained alot of interest and members just by randoms spotting me with my fishing gear or up at the lake, and I tell them to come check us out. Word of mouth is a powerful thing in college. Sometimes people are reluctant to get involved until you directly offer them a spot. We dont need anyone to have a bass fishing resume to fish with us. They ask me "What do I have to do to join?" and all I say is your in the club now! Meeting is this wednesday!

We do things like Relay for Life, host small tournaments on local lakes, go to fishing shows and expos together, fish small tournaments, and we just fish together! It is a great thing to be a part of and we have alot more interest than expected. We try to be as welcoming to beginners as we can by getting them involved with helping at weigh ins, and car pooling to Bass Pro and the expos etc..

I hope this helps! Just remember that at the end of the day even if its not something huge, having a club that simply enjoys fishing together and hanging out is the way to start things.

 

***Also, I forgot to mention: Find the organization at your school that handles clubs/club sports and do it through them. Here at LU is is the Sports Club Council. So we have meetings with them for budget, community service, etc... We are at the same level as club baseball, rugby, equestrian, etc... any sports that arent NCAA. Most likely, that organization will welcome a new club and actually assist you by providing publicity through thier FB page and such. Hope this helps!

Edited March 12, 2015 by BobbyRaeAllen