Not all clubs on campus can say they put students through school.

The Bass Fishing Club at Sacramento State has donated half of the $39,000 they have won to Sac State’s general scholarship fund.

Chris Wong, senior business management major and a member of the club, said the organization is the closest thing to being a Sac State sports team.

“We compete for money. We actually give back to the school quite a bit,” Wong said.

Stephen Lesieur, senior organizational communications major and club president, said the club is going to try and fish more outside of competition. The members have not had a chance to fish together for fun, but the club hopes to expand this year.

“This year, we’re going to try to do more fishing as a club. (We are) trying to get people who have not fished, teach them the sport, (and) just have fun,” Lesieur said. “We’re also going to try to get girls this year.”

The club does not have a school boat, but it is something they hope to gain along with $100,000 from the National Championships in Knoxville, Tenn., in April. The club will also be among those competing on the Versus television network on Oct. 8 at 9:30 a.m.

Lesieur said the club uses his brother’s boat or other people’s boats to fish.

“We only get a boat during the tournament, otherwise we have to find our own mode of transportation,” Lesieur said.

The club participates in the Forest L. Wood Championships and National Guard-hosted tournaments at both the state and national levels. The club has fished at Clear Lake, Oroville, the Sacramento Delta and Lake Roosevelt in Arizona.

Wong, along with teammate Alec Brassington, junior recreation, parks and tourism administration major, won second place in the Western Regional Championships Sept. 21, winning $25,000. Fishing in the championship, unfortunately, came with the consequence of missing class time.

“It’s not an actual sport, so professors don’t have to excuse students from class,” Wong said. “The adviser writes a note. Ultimately, it’s up to the professor to let us go.”

While Wong was not missing crucial lessons, one of Brassington’s professors did not excuse his absence from class to go compete.

“(Brassington) basically took a zero on a quiz,” Wong said. “He missed an exam just so we could fish, so we could earn money for Sac State; not for us,” he said. “We advanced to nationals this coming April 10. That’s finals or midterm time.”

Missing class is worth it for Brassington because entry fees, sometimes as high as $3,000, are waived.

“It’s the fact that we don’t have to pay to get into competitions. The National Guard pays. That’s why I like the club,” Brassington said.

Cole Mayer can be reached at [email protected]