St. Viator H.S. Bass Fishing Team Enters 3rd Season!

With the month of March beginning and open water fishing now upon us, the St. Viator H.S. Bass Fishing Team (Arlington Heights, IL) has begun to prepare for the 2012 IHSA fishing season. Under the direction of Head Coach Ray Nowak, the team has grown from just two participants in 2010 to four team members in the fall of 2011. Currently six students are trying out for the 2012 team.

The students have come a long way in just a few short years of fishing in the IHSA tournaments. Year one at Busse Lake, (Cook Co, IL) saw a few missed opportunities, with one rod/reel combination lost overboard, and two hooked bass that didn't make it to the landing net.  The boat returned that afternoon to the weigh-in with an empty livewell. The two young anglers learned many lessons in that first IHSA tournament, but most of all they learned that they were both hooked on tournament fishing.

After a full year of practice, some new tackle, and a better understanding of the behavior of the large mouth bass, the team came back in the spring of 2011 with renewed confidence. Under extremely tough fishing conditions the St. Viator team placed in the sectional and qualified for the IHSA State Finals. Unfortunately due to major spring flooding last year, the tournament was rescheduled to a later date, causing some scheduling conflicts and they were unable to attend the State Finals.

A fall fishing tournament held on Bangs Lake (Wauconda, IL) gave the team another shot at competitive bass fishing. Weather conditions were picture perfect and so was the fishing. Two boats from St. Viator were entered in the single day event with one of the boats placing second overall. The biggest bass of day was caught by Daniel Cleary (Senior) and weighed in at 5lbs! With each and every tournament experience the team builds confidence in their abilities. 2012 looks to be another good season for St. Viator. We wish them well in their quest for the sectional title and another birth in the state finals to be held May 5th & 6th at Carlyle Lake (Carlyle, IL)

Thanks for taking the time to visit with us at Cappy's Pond and at the Fishing Headquarters. Our latest issue of the Fishing Headquarters Magazine is scheduled to be released on Thursday, March 1st. Please share the link with anyone who lives to fish or fishes for a living. As always, remember that you can't catch any fish if your line isn't in the water.