Central Iowa Student Anglers Coach and President Jeremy King says that fishing is a sport students can get involved in that has been growing the last several years.

King mentions that there are many rules and regulations in place to keep both the students and the fish population safe. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio how the competitions and tournaments are run.

“These kids fish as a team together. So both kids in the boat try to collectively catch the five biggest bass that they can, at whatever lake or river we’re at.”

King explains that there is an adult boat captain as well, who runs the gasoline engine. The captain can also run the smaller electric trolling motor, or the students can. King adds that the captain is not allowed to do any fishing, but can give advice to the students on where and how they might catch a fish. He also mentions what the students are allowed to use and do to catch fish.

“These kids have to use artificial baits, and only one rod at a time, so they aren’t throwing a nightcrawler underneath a bobber and sitting there. You have to use artificial baits only. So after that, if the kids are lucky enough to catch five bass, they are allowed to cull. And the term culling in the fishing world means that if I have a small bass and I catch a bigger one during the day, I can take that small bass out of my live well, where it’s still alive, and I can throw it back in the lake, replacing it with the bigger bass.”

Once the competition is finished, teams take their fish to be weighed, and the team with the highest total weight wins. King explains that all the fish are then returned to the body of water, where they go back to living normally. He does mention that if a fish happens to die, the team gets a half pound penalty, bringing their total weight down. This helps the students make sure they are taking good care of the fish they catch.