Potential CSC fishing club searching for support

Tuesday, a group of CSC students stood at the edge of a pond at Chadron State Park, bathed in the golden light of dusk, smiling and relaxed as they cast their line into the water in hopes of a bite. Gone were the stresses of the impending end of the semester. 

CSC freshman Austin Persinger, of Hermosa, South Dakota, was in

his element.

In a county declared a disaster area following recent winter storms, the scene felt to one witness as some kind of forgotten paradise. Persinger hopes that in the near future more CSC students can have access to the joys of fishing. That’s why he and friends Dawson Helmer, freshman of Arthur, and Thomas Scherbarth, freshman of Hay Springs, are taking steps to create a fishing club at CSC. 

“What we’re trying to do is bring CSC students together. The anglers,” Persinger said. “We’re trying to get people to the outdoors.” 

According to CSC’s Campus Activities Board guidelines for student organizations, the club will need, among other things, at least 10 members, including five club officers and a full-time member of the general faculty, support staff or professional staff employed by CSC to act as an adviser. They’ll also need a constitution. 

Persinger, along with Helmer and Scherbarth, have already begun working on paperwork and are in the process of gathering the 10 necessary signatures from prospective members. So far they have six, he said. 

They’re also in the process of finding an adviser and sponsors. 

“We’re trying to get the club set up by the end of this semester,” Persinger said, “so that next semester when there’s a club fair we can set up a booth and get more freshmen and other students that can come join us.”

Persinger said the club won’t just be a gathering place for those at CSC who like to fish. He also hopes they can hold events to teach community members and kids how to fish. He also says he’d like the club to help clean up and maintain the area around local lakes and ponds.

He also has a long term goal of fielding competitive tournament teams within the club. He’s been in contact with the University of Nebraska fishing team who suggested starting with the club and working up to fielding competitive teams from there. 

College tournament teams typically include two team members to a boat. 

“My buddy and I, when we get the club set up we’re probably going to apply for tournaments with my boat,” Persinger said. “But until we get sponsors and funding we’ll just start off with what we have and go from there.”

He also plans to apply to Crestliner’s Angling Aces student program, a program from the popular boat maker that Persinger said provides scholarships and club funding. They also provide services for competitive college and high school fishing teams, including boats at factory prices.

The club will have several locations available for them to fish, including the Chadron city ponds, Box Butte Lake and Whitney Lake. For larger waters, Persinger said the group might also travel east at times to places like Merritt Reservoir south of Valentine, or north to Angostura in Hot Springs, South Dakota.

“Angostura is a big lake,” Persinger said. “We’ve thought about holding mock tournaments for the people who want to compete (to) see what their skills are and go from there.”

CSC currently has a wildlife club, but after meeting with club members, it was decided that it would be best for the angling group to be separate. 

Tuesday, on the banks of Chadron State Park’s pond, everyone was catching trout at a steady pace. Everyone except Persinger, that is. But that’s the way the fishing gods work. Let a reporter tag along on your outing and you won’t catch anything. 

Despite ribbing from his friends sharing the bank with him, Persinger knows his way around a body of water. 

“I was a fishing fanatic when I was a kid,” he said. “I always did it every time I could every weekend – maybe some days after school we’d go out.”

The freshman keeps his rod and tackle with him at the college and says he tries to fish nearly every day. 

“We don’t want to sit inside of our rooms all day. We’d rather just go out and enjoy the fresh air and wildlife,” he said. 

For those students interested in joining the group or community members who’d like to support the club, Persinger can be reached at [email protected].