Coming this fall to NC State, a proud tradition will be renewed. No, not on the football field of Carter-Finley Stadium, but on the water. Instead of counter-traps and ten yard out routes, spectators will see and hear talk of C-rigged trick worms, wacky-rigs, slow-rolling spinner baits, and deep-diving cranks. BassPack, NC State’s Club Bass Fishing Team will have to step up their game to break into the national limelight in intercollegiate Bass Fishing. Honing their ability on local lakes, BassPack members are ready to face other anglers in two intercollegiate tournaments this fall.

Under the leadership of club President Bryce McClenney and Vice President Randall Hess, the BassPack has grown and taken on an active role in expanding bass fishing as an intercollegiate sport. In October 2005, BassPack attended an intercollegiate contest against Liberty University on Liberty’s home water, Smith Mountain Lake near Roanoke, Virginia. Following a tough loss to a team made up of four Liberty students, three local guides, and one professional, the BassPack set their sights on hosting a tournament of their own.

That tournament, held in March of this year, became the first annual Rosco’s Collegiate Classic on Falls Lake, just north of Raleigh. The Collegiate Classic attracted teams from the University of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, Liberty University, and the University of South Carolina. Organizers of the two-day competition enlisted the help of Century BASSMasters and local pro staffers to provide boats and tips to the collegiate anglers. At the end of the tournament, Kentucky’s Corbin Marshal took the top weight of 15 lbs 11 oz. In a distance second came NC State’s Alex Freeman with 4 lbs 7 oz, followed by Kentucky’s Brandon Hunt with a 2 lbs 12 oz catch.

The recent flurry of activity in the BassPack community centers around the upcoming College Smashmouth Bass tournament in Arkansas this month. College Smashmouth Bass is an organization of 36 schools ranging from the St. Ambrose Fighting Bees to Big Ten powerhouses Illinois and Purdue. “I feel that it is a great opportunity for the club to see where we stand on the national scene,” BassPack President Bryce McClenney said. “These guys will meet a lot of people in both the collegiate and professional fishing worlds. It will be a great experience win or lose.”

To choose anglers for the Smashmouth tournament, BassPack held a two-day, two lake tournament at Lake Johnson and Lake Benson in late spring. The top two contestants became NC State’s face for the bass fishing world. After two days of catching “hawgs” the Smashmouth spots were awarded to anglers Jarid Church and Alex Freeman. Bryce McClenney and Randal Hess will represent the BassPack in a second intercollegiate tournament this fall. In late October, McClenney and Hess will travel to Dallas, Texas to participate in the Fox College Sports National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship.

Along with the national tournaments, the club is also planning club-level matches as well as community programs. BassPack will hold scrimmages September 16 on Falls Lake and November 18 on Lake Wheeler. In addition, McClenney said that the club is planning a “bass and trash” tournament, where participants would “pick up trash at a city lake to clean it up, and then use the weight of the trash and the weight of the bass to crown a winner.”

If you would like to get involved with BassPack, but do not want to participate competitively, McClenney said that you are welcome in the club. On August 30 and September 12, BassPack will be on the Brickyard recruiting new anglers. McClenney explained that the club is open to “advanced anglers and beginners alike.” Club activities include lectures on fishing techniques to help beginning anglers, as well as demonstrations in making tackle.

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