Earth Sports Article on The Saluki Bassers

One of our sponsers, "Earth Sports" had posted an article about our team, and you can read it below.....

Original Link - http://www.earthsports.com/m/news/view/Work-Ethic

Article -

Work Ethic

Just what does it take to be a competitive college bass angler? Time, effort, and a willingness to travel—and a good casting arm doesn’t hurt, either. The Saluki Bassers prove this point, travelling to about 20 tournaments a year. They aren’t new to the collegiate trail, having been established in 2004 by four founding members. Today, the team has grown to include 20 die-hard anglers.

The work and time investment have paid off: last season the Saluki club placed fourth in the regional championship on Kentucky Lake, qualifying them to participate in the National Guard College FLW National Championship. They also took first and second in the Murray State Invitational, and one of their teams made the top 25 in the Boat US National Championship.

The payback? According to Saluki Basser Dominick DiNovo, bass fishing actually helps him with school. “Fishing for sure helps me in my studies,” he said. “It keeps me focused on what I have to do in order to stay at this school and to be a member of the bass team. Fishing keeps me motivated to do well in school. I’m sure I can speak for my teammates when I say we would rather be on the water fishing and learning as much as we can instead of sitting in the classroom. But school comes first, and in order to succeed as college anglers, we need to succeed as students, first. But I’ll admit, there are a few times where I’ll be sitting in class, thinking about the tournament we had the weekend before.”

Of course fishing is more than merely casting a rod or soaking a bait—it has great mental challenges which help not only with studies, but all forms of critical thinking. Unfortunately, people who don’t fish might not understand just what goes into the sport; Dominick does. “Bass fishing is a puzzle you have to figure out,” he explained. “I love going out to the lake and putting together a pattern and fishing that pattern the rest of the day.”

When asked about the future of competitive collegiate fishing, this Saluki Basser is bullish. “The college anglers you see now are the next generation of pro fisherman,” he said. “We are going to be the next Kevin Van Dams, the next Mike Iaconelli, and the next Skeet Reese’s. We’re all a bunch of college kids trying to live the dream and do what we love—and watch out for the Saluki’s in the 2010-2011 season.”