Two of Southeastern’s anglers competed in the Fishing Western Regional as part of the Southeastern Fishing Club, a new club that has been participating in fishing competitions around the south.

The Fishing Western Regional took place on Lake Somerville in College Station, TX on Oct. 13 through Oct 15. The competition consisted of 20 college teams competing to catch the heaviest fish. Southeastern’s team, consisting of anglers Austin Crowson and Andrew Cavell, both juniors majoring in industrial technology, qualified for the regional by placing fifth in a competition at Lake Texoma in Denison, TX.

For club founder Alan Langlois, a junior industrial technology major, this was a positive start for the new club.

“I have a team competing in regionals on Lake Somerville,” Langlois said. “Having only fished two tournaments and having qualified one team for regionals, I’d say that is a pretty solid start.”

The club consists of six members that make up the club’s three teams. Current members include Crowson, Cavell, Langlois, junior industrial technology major Billy Smith III, sophomore nursing major Patrick Whisnant and sophomore industrial technology major Zac Venable.

According to Langlois, Cavell and Crowson were able to practice fish prior to the tournament. This allows the team to search for the best fishing spots and anticipate any problems they might encounter during the tournament.

“We were able to locate the fish quickly, but we were not able to base our performance for the rest of the tournament on this because the weather took a drastic turn,” Langlois said. “We were still able to get on the fish and catch a significant amount.”

Additionally, Langlois said that the practice day was further complicated because the team struggled with size issues. Despite these issues, the team still placed, coming in at the 11th spot.

The tournament, part of National Guard FLW College Fishing, is scored over three days of fishing. According to www.collegefishing.com, the teams who place in the top five qualify to move on to the Fishing National Championship. The winners of the tournament receive $12,500 cash, a $25,000 fishing boat and $12,500 cash prize for the school they are participating for.

According to Langlois, the idea for creating a fishing club at Southeastern came from watching fishing competitions on the VERSUS TV channel.

“I first found out about college fishing on VERSUS while they were broadcasting the national championship,” said Langlois. “That’s when I realized I wanted to be a part of it so I met with Student Affairs and filled out the paperwork for starting a new club.”

Langlois also expressed his desire for the club to grow and build based off the performance of their members.

“With this being a new club, we are still a work in progress,” said Langlois. “We are still trying to get a feel for this level of tournament fishing and are going up against good competition and doing well.”

For more information on college fishing and the tournament, visit www.collegefishing.com. Those interested in joining Southeastern’s Fishing Club can contact Langlois at [email protected].