After almost a year of preparation, ULM’s Bass Fishing Team is up and running.

With the team placing second at the Arkansas Tech University Invitational, they are already making a name for themselves.

Jake Ormond, an art major and president of the team, practices every chance he gets. With his yellow 125 horse power Express and his fishing rod intact, Ormond speeds down Bartholomew Lake, where he has fished since he was young.

“Finding the fish is the hardest part. So everyone goes to the same spot that they’ve caught a fish before,” Ormond said.

Ormond explained the creation of this first team. “I would see other college teams and wonder why we didn’t have one, so I started talking about it to friends,” he said.

He continued, “It took a while for the team to get started though; it was really hard for us to find an advisor no one wanted to do it.”

After finding an advisor, they are now preparing for more tournaments.

“We have a club tournament once a month. It helps us get ready for regional tournaments.”

After just two hours of fishing, Ormond managed to catch 11 fish. “A tournament is very different from fishing for fun. There are more boats on the water,” he said.

The team holds a meeting every Wednesday at 7 a.m., in Coliseum Room 31 for those interested in joining.