For those students who want to be involved and like the outdoors, the LCM Bass Fishing team may be the perfect spot for them. This is the team’s second year and it already has around 60 members. Even though it’s a fairly young team, it has already had at least one team, if not more, place in the top five at each tournament.

“Each team has done well at each tournament,” sponsor Jennifer Doyle said. “Even those who didn’t weigh-in still had competitive bass but didn’t meet the length requirement.”

There are many accomplished fishermen on the team, including Camiron LeBouef, Kenny Marple, Bryce Rambo, Dustin Daigle, Taylor Hulsey, Trent Manuel, Bruce Burns, Reese Soliz, and Tyler Freeman.

To prepare for competition, the team holds two meetings before each tournament. The first meeting is to go over regulations and rules, and the second is to go over what to expect.

“Ms. Doyle goes over what baits are working best for that time of year, water levels, water temperatures, the effects of these factors on fish and how/ where they’ll bite,” junior President Bruce Burns said. “When it comes to it, you throw everything you got until you catch a rhythm.”

The team formed last spring because several students were interested after hearing that Lumberton had started their own team.

“It has never been a struggle recruiting members to the team, nor do we intentionally advertise/ recruit,” Doyle said. “There have been many articles in the paper and on the news that has shown how well the team has done and therefore we get multiple students inquiring every week.”

As well as competing, the team also volunteers locally. Last year, members held a benefit for Prostate Cancer awareness and raised $2,000 dollars for the cause.

“We also plan to have many club tournaments where the LCM teams challenge each other on water,” Doyle said.

For those students who love the outdoors and want to get involved, the Bass team is the only club that isn’t exclusively an academic, volunteer, or athletic club.  It’s a little bit of everything.

“The best part of being a sponsor is seeing the kids that aren’t normally involved in school activities or organizations become active not only with other students but the community,” Doyle said. “I’ve seen many kids benefit from being involved with the team in many ways. This includes giving them an outlet from personal struggles at home, school struggles, and having a sense of belonging.”