From left to right front row: Cam Neely, Mclane May, Cody Harris, Ross Parsons (MSU Student and MCBC Founder) Back Row: Cody Roy, Mike Guthard, Danny Sprague, Tyler Andrews, Guy Procopio at the second School of the Year for Michigan Collegiate Bass Circuit. (Photo courtesy MSU Fishing Club)
For fisheries and wildlife senior Mike Guthard there is more to the sport of fishing than throwing a line in the lake and hoping to reel in a five-pound fish, which is why he is an avid member of the MSU Fishing Club.
The MSU Fishing Club was established in 1997 by a group of students who wanted to spread angling throughout the university.
“Being a fisheries and wildlife major I always had an interest in outdoors, and it was always something I liked to do,” Guthard said. “It was a hobby that gave me opportunities to learn and meet new people.”
The aspects of MSU Fishing Club consists of meetings and fishing tournaments. The meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. every Tuesday in room 1420 of the Biomedical and Physical Sciences Building.
During a typical meeting, members discuss upcoming events, search for sponsorships from fishing companies to help with their traveling expenses and give short presentations about specific fishing techniques or bodies of water they enjoy fishing in.
Tournaments are a significant part of the fishing club. Their most prominent tournament is the Bass Tournament, where Guthard said “two people in a boat work as a team together to catch the legal limit of fish, three fish or five fish. You try to have the biggest weight of fish and you get about eight hours to fish."
Certain species of fish, like the walleye bass, have limits. Members competing in the tournament must make sure they do not over harvest fish. So they catch and release the fish so there is a sustainable population.
Guthard said he enjoys competing in tournaments.
“I have always been a competitive person," he said. "The competition really feels like a game, not you against the competitors, but you against the fish."
If a fisher places high enough in said competitions, they are eligible to receive a cash prize ranging from $100 to $1,000
Accounting sophomore Danny Sprague was fortunate enough to win a $1,000 prize at tournament held in New York.
“It (was) exciting for all the work we put in," Sprague said. "It’s a really big accomplishment all guys on the team are working for a common goal."
Sprague’s advice to beginning level fishermen is to spend a lot of time on the water because it can be huge when it comes to being a better fisherman overall. He likes to see people he introduced to the club go from beginners to becoming really passionate about the sport.
Guthard wants to make it known that they are not just a tournament club, but an all-species club.
“We have people who fish saltwater and people who fly fish,” he said.
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