By Brooke Jansen ‘18
Central College’s Fishing Club participated in its first ever nationally sanctioned event with Fishing League Worldwide (FLW) Oct. 7. The team finished 10th out of over 120 boats, beating all other Iowa colleges that were entered. Two of the members qualified to fish in the national championships in Louisiana in June.
Central’s Fishing Club found success at a recent tournament. Left to right: Cameron Timok ’19, Dillion Peters ’20, Kyle Berst ’20 and Spencer Welch ’19.
Two Central teams participated in the tournament. Cameron Timok ‘19, president of the Fishing Club, and partner Dillon Peters ‘20 finished in 10th place overall. Teams were scored by the size of the fish caught. Timok and Peters’ fish weighed 13.3 ounces, just three ounces behind ninth-place UNI. The second team, Spencer Welch ‘19 and Kyle Berst ‘20, finished 51st at 9.5 ounces.
Timok talked the night before the event with his boss and mentor who told him, “If you’re not catching anything, just sit down and stay calm.” Timok says this is the best advice he’s ever received, which he put into practice the day of the tournament.
Timok’s dream is to be a pro bass fisher. When he found out about the Fishing Club his freshman year, he contacted the head of the club, and his sophomore year, he became president. Not many people knew about the club, so to get the word out, the group held outings, sold T-shirts and had meetings. The Fishing Club currently has 10 sponsors, including major fishing supply companies and local businesses. Sponsors help by donating fishing supplies. The group also received funds from Student Senate.
The club plans on continuing to expand and participating in benefits and other events. One event Timok is looking forward to is bringing a group of kids to the lake for Central’s Service Day and teaching them how to fish.