Rivalry begins on lake

Mention "State versus Carolina" in a conversation and football or basketball is usually the subject, but there's a new rivalry brewing.

On March 30, the BassPack from N.C. State defeated the Carolina Fishing Club 43-16 -- that would be pounds instead of points -- in the inaugural bass tournament between the schools.

"They pulled out a lot more [bass] than we did," said Dalton Terrell, president of the Carolina Fishing Club.

The win was even more impressive for State because it came on Carolina's home water, 213-acre University Lake outside of Carrboro.

Terrell said that each team had 10 guys competing, fishing out of small johnboats powered with electric trolling motors. It was a tough day for fishing with strong winds, rain and temperatures in the 40s, But that didn't keep one State pair from taking a 17-pound bag to the weigh-in, impressive in any conditions, but not too surprising, given that in 2007 the BassPack won the first-ever national championship for collegiate bass fishing. Virginia Tech won this year, giving the Atlantic Coast Conference a lock on the award. (Take that, Big East.)

Terrell said the event went off without a hitch, although only two Carolina boats took fish to the scales and Terrell's partner took an unexpected swim during the event.

At the end of the day, the BassPack won rights to a $100 pot destined for charity and will vote soon on where to apply it. (The Carolina men had earmarked possible winnings for the Eve Carson Memorial Fund.)

Terrell said the Carolina Fishing Club, about a year old, differs from the BassPack in that it is a general-interest fishing club, not a bass club. English professor Henry Veggian is the faculty advisor.

"Last fall, we took three trips to local lakes and one trip to the mountains to fly fish for trout," Terrell said.

The club has about 30 members including "six or seven" women, some of whom have little experience with fishing, Terrell said. Of the members, about half are primarily bass fishermen.

The club is slowly gaining sponsors as well, including local rod builder Skeet's Custom Rods and fishing apparel maker Lateral Line.

The thought of competitive collegiate bass fishing may sound humorous to some, but it's accessible to any student with a rod and reel, and you probably won't read about cheating or untoward attempts at competitive advantages, unless coffee and Skoal are considered performance-enhancing drugs.

Terrell said he hopes the tournament ratchets up the State-Carolina rivalry as a whole.

"We definitely want to do an annual tournament," he said.

Jonathan Phillips, faculty advisor for the BassPack, concurred.

"It's huge to add another ACC team," he said. "I'm excited we have someone to play with close by."

When asked about the N.C. State's national fishing success, Terrell replied in true Tar Heels fashion, "Apparently, in the last 10 years, it's the only thing they've been ranked in."

Ouch. This rivalry could have legs after all.