Paul Kimball grew up fishing. He even entered a few competitions.   So, when the Carnegie Mellon freshman comes across an ad for a college fishing tournament, he takes the bait. To enter, the mechanical engineering major needs only a rod and reel-no problem there-and to be part of a team. That's a bit trickier. Carnegie Mellon doesn't have a fishing club.

Unfazed, Kimball staples fliers across campus. He gets a few calls but no commitments until he hears from Ryan Buckheit. The IS and Computer Science sophomore fished throughout his childhood, too, though never competitively. Kimball and Buckheit become Carnegie Mellon's fishing team. But with their academic workloads, a school year passes before their schedules finally enable them to enter a fall 40-team tournament in Virginia. They are disheartened when they catch "the smallest fish" but later learn they finished in 18th place because 22 teams caught nothing. The following March, they compete in North Carolina, but their luck isn't any better.

Then they enter their third competition, the National Guard FLW College Fishing tournament on Lake Erie, close enough for the two-person team to practice there the week before to "get to know the water," says Buckheit.

The weekend tournament, in fall 2010, involves several Division 1 schools such as Penn State, Virginia Tech, and North Carolina. It begins on the lake at 7 a.m. With 40 teams cruising around everywhere, Kimball says, he and his teammate decide to "go down this shoreline, fish this rock pile, fish this weed bed, and hit all the key spots, and just keep moving." They end up in a spot where Kimball situates the 20-foot bass boat over yet another rock pile. There are still 10-15 other boats around, but, Kimball says, "everyone is doing something a little different." He suggests they use dropshot lures-plastic jelly worms that float mid-water. Buckheit throws one out and waits. Within 10 minutes, he gets a tug and reels in a 5.5-pound bass. Before day's end, they catch two more, about 1.5 pounds each.

At the official tournament weighing, Buckheit and Kimball learn they've come in second place for their catches, including the biggest single catch. Second place includes a $5,000 prize: $2,500 for the university and $2,500 for the club. The teammates say the prize money will help them ensure the future of the university's fishing club by making it possible to solicit new members and provide local fishing excursions for interested students.
-Kevin Trobaugh