When you think of UNI, you might think of business or education. The perfectly-sized campus. Hands-on experiences. But for a group of students, they think of fishing, especially this semester given the success of the UNI Fishing Club. The club is the highlight of the college experience for club president Cole Siebenahler and Jacob Lange.
While the team often fishes simply for fun, they also compete in collegiate competitions, sometimes drawing as many as 250 teams. This semester the UNI Fishing Club earned the top spot at the Midwest College Bass Coalition in La Crosse, Wisconsin and a second-place finish in the Iowa Bass Nation College State Tournament in Haper’s Ferry off the Mississippi River.
“Winning gave me a feeling of confidence, knowing we were the best fishermen that weekend and our hard work paid off,” said Siebenahler, who has dreams of becoming a professional fisherman. “I also had a feeling of joy because it’s not easy to win one of these events.”
Both competitions are two-day tournaments that combine the weight of the anglers’ five heftiest fish. Whatever team pulls in the highest weight total wins.
Although an amateur may not see the sport as anything more than a game of chance, Lange explains there is a lot of technique and skill that goes into luring bigger fish to your hook.
“For tournaments, just knowing what the fish want, the time of day, the weather conditions … all of that plays a role,” he said. “There’s a lot that goes into it. It’s not just popping out a lawn chair and casting out a hook and bobber, for us, at least.”
Siebenahler and Lange started fishing at an early age. Siebenahler, a West Des Moines native and environmental resource management major, recalls fishing for bluegills with his dad. His senior year of high school, a fishing club started at his school, and he began fishing competitively.
“I like the creativity of it,” he said. “I also enjoy the toughness of the sport, where you’re not going to catch them every time you’re out there. It’s going to be a grind most of the time.”
For Lange, a Marion native and technology and engineering education major, his early experiences fishing began at just two or three years old, at the Mississippi River with his grandparents. He began to compete in tournaments in seventh grade. Bass fishing in particular has become such a passion for him that he would love to make it a full-time job someday.
“I don’t know if I’d call it relaxing,” he said. “All the older guys we talk to always say even when you’re having a rough day of fishing, it beats working, and it definitely beats being in class.”
When Siebenahler and Lange were deciding what college they wanted to attend, they both chose UNI for three major reasons: the proximity to home, the availability of their majors and the UNI Fishing Club. They both sent direct messages to the UNI Fishing Club Instagram page to ask questions about the group.
“It’s good to be with your buddies and just go fishing and talk about the outdoors or even hunting and stuff,” said Siebenahler. “It’s neat to have a friend group that’s close and has a lot of the same interests.”
Lange and Siebenahler both believe involving themselves with a student organization in college has enhanced their college experience.
“It’s just a good way to make friends, and those friendships last a long time,” said Siebenahler. “Guys that have been in the clubs from years past still reach out, and I’m still hanging out with them. I still fish with them sometimes on the weekends, if they live close.”
Siebenahler and Lange hope to see the club continue to grow. In addition to competing in tournaments, the group holds regular meetings, doing everything from fishing the Cedar River to going to Chad’s Pizza together. They also go on three fishing trips throughout the year.
In addition to fishing professionally, Siebenahler is considering working with fisheries and conservation after his graduation in December. Lange, a sophomore, would like to teach industrial technology at the high school level.
