UMHB A T H L E T I C S
It's Oh-fish-ial!
Students create new competitive bass fishing club
One afternoon on the banks of Lake Belton, the idea of the UMHB Bass Fishing Team was forged by students Carter Vaughn and Caleb Ramm. “We took a risk not knowing if anyone else at the school had a passion for fishing like we did, and the turnout has been unbelievable,” said Carter, a senior communications major and president of the club. The idea arose from the desire to have a bass fishing team at UMHB since East Texas Baptist University and Dallas Baptist University have teams. In a year and a half, Carter and Caleb made their vision happen with the help of Dr. Aaron Baggett, associate professor of psychology. Baggett is the faculty sponsor for the club and aids the students in various ways, including fabricating team logos, completing sponsorship applications, and helping the team create strategies for tournaments. “One of the goals is to have
one team member be responsible for delivering a fishing-related presentation to the team during each meeting,” said Baggett. “For example, their assignment might be to spend time researching and learning about a particular fishing presentation like the dropshot, Carolina Rig, or even identifying bass habitats through the use of lake topographical mapping and underwater sonar.” The current team consists of nine undergraduate males. Six of the anglers attended and competed in two tournaments during the 2020-2021 school year. Both tournaments were held by the Major League Fishing Abu Garcia Collegiate Fishing Circuit, which is a well-known competitive fishing tournament organization. To be on the team, students must be willing to pay a membership fee between $250 to $375 to cover tournament registration fees, team equipment, and other various
necessities to compete in this sport. They also must attend a club meeting every month. Members are also planning to volunteer at the Central Texas Boat Show. To help bring down the cost of fishing gear and equipment, the team was able to secure several sponsorships from national fishing companies. “My goal was to leave UMHB better off than when I came in as a freshman, and I hope by starting the bass team, I achieved that!” said Carter. To see additional photos and videos of the UMHB Bass Fishing Team in action, visit their Instagram page @crubass. – Victoria Kuntz, student writer Bass team members enjoy a day of fishing. Pictured at left are Colby Hamilton, Carter Vaughn, Jordan See, and Nobel Smith; at top are Jacob Froese and Caleb Ramm; and below is Jacob Froese.
F A L L 2 0 2 1 | UMHB LIFE 7
