FAU sophomore Chris Cardella, a member of the university’s
bass club, shows a bass caught in one of the many small canals
connected to Lake Ida in Delray Beach. The bass was released.
Willie Howard/The Coastal Star
By Willie Howard
Students in Florida Atlantic University’s Bass Fishing Club practice the art of fooling largemouth bass with artificial lures at Lake Ida in Delray Beach and sometimes between classes hone their fishing skills at ponds on the FAU campus.
FAU’s bass club is one of a growing number of bass-fishing clubs at colleges and universities nationwide whose student members compete in college tournaments organized by FLW Outdoors and B.A.S.S.
FLW College Fishing attracted 1,038 student anglers from 637 colleges and universities nationwide last year.
FAU bass club member Chris Cardella, a sophomore studying ocean engineering, is a Delray Beach native who enjoys the challenge of figuring out what will make bass bite in a variety of locations and weather conditions.
Cardella, 20, keeps a rod in his car and practices catch-and-release bass fishing when he gets a few moments between his classes, which include Calculus 2 and physics for engineering.
Vance DeMartini, a junior studying management of information systems who founded FAU’s bass club two years ago, says it’s technically against school policy to fish on campus ponds. The administration told him fishing distracts students who are supposed to be focused on instructors during class.
“That’s a good argument,” DeMartini said. “I can’t argue with that.”
The Bass Fishing Club at FAU still has only a handful of active members. But DeMartini hopes to lure new student members to the club in the months ahead.
It takes only two talented anglers on a boat to represent a college or university in tournaments such as those sponsored by FLW College Fishing and Bassmaster’s Carhartt College series.
On the FLW circuit, collegiate anglers compete in five regional conferences. They pay no entry fees. Travel allowances are offered to student anglers headed to invitational and national championship events.
Prizes for winning teams include cash for the bass clubs and a chance for top collegiate anglers to fish against touring pros in high-profile competitions including the Bassmaster Classic and FLW’s Forrest Wood Cup.
To participate in FLW College Fishing, students must be full-time undergraduate students at a four-year college or university. B.A.S.S. has similar eligibility requirements for its college tournaments.
This is a building year for FAU’s bass club. Cardella said members plan to focus on South Florida tournaments this year in preparation for an FLW regional qualifying tournament in early 2015.
Members of the FAU bass club include one female angler, who happens to be DeMartini’s fiancée. But the club president said it has been hard to attract new members to the bass club.
“It’s fast-paced world, and bass fishing is a very slow thing to do,” DeMartini said.
The FAU bass club is looking for sponsors to help cover the cost of practice and equipment. The club also needs a bass boat.
Any FAU student interested in the bass-fishing club can contact DeMartini by email at Vdemarti@fau.edu.
Boat Show: The 29th annual Palm Beach International Boat Show is set for March 20-23 along Flagler Drive (between Banyan Boulevard and Fern Street) in downtown West Palm Beach.
Hours are noon to 7 p.m. March 20; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 21-22; and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 22.
Show entrances will be on Flagler Drive at Evernia and North Clematis streets. Show-goers can follow signs to city parking garages and private parking lots.
Admission is $16 for adults in advance or $18 at the gate. Tickets for youths 6-15 are $6 in advance or $8 at the gate. Children under 5 will be admitted free. For details and tickets, go to www.showmanagement.com or call (800) 940-7642.
Tip of the month: Run the beach to search for cobia in 10 to 25 feet of water. Boats with towers or observation platforms are best for cobia hunting. No boat? Fish from the Lake Worth pier. Polarized sunglasses are a must. Be prepared to cast. Try casting a colorful cobia jig with a worm tail, or live baits such as sardines, pinfish, greenies (threadfin herring) or small mullet. Steer clear of swimming areas along the beaches. Note that cobia are powerful fish that can batter the inside of a boat when taken aboard. Regulations: Cobia must be at least 33 inches to the fork of the tail to be legal to keep. Daily bag limit: One per person or six per boat, whichever is fewest.
Willie Howard is a freelance writer and licensed boat captain. Reach him at: tiowillie@bellsouth.net.
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