ADN Fishing
“Best club ever invented” -Parker Simmons
There has been a new addition to the range of clubs Athens has to offer. Now the school offers offer a fishing club. Many of the members of this club refer to it as a team to make it sound more serious. Parker Simmons and Andy Kuoch, both seniors at Athens Drive High School, teamed up with Jeffrey Liles, teacher/coach at Athens, to create the new club. This club has attracted many new members after starting up in January 2014.
When asked why Simmons wanted to create this club, he responded saying, “I like to fish and Liles knows everything about fishing so he’s a good teacher, also, it’s chill. I like being able to bond with and make new friends. It’s like a father son thing.”
In order to keep the members coming back for more, the fishing club has a well developed plan for each month of fishing. One of the main members of ADN (Athens Drive Nation) Fishing, Junior Grant Baker, provided inside information on the club.
“Right now Bass Pro sponsored our club, so we developed a tournament/competition where every month there is a different species of fish and whoever catches the longest of that species that month wins a $15 gift card to Bass Pro. Members gain different points for coming in first, second, third, and fourth of that month and at the end of the school year, whoever has the most points wins,” said Baker.
This sponsorship has kept the competition strong throughout the months of the club being created. Each member goes fishing each month hoping to catch the monster species needed to win the gift card. For example, the month of February consisted of members trying to catch the biggest largemouth bass. It was a heated month as many members were one-upping each other by catching a largemouth bass that was an inch or so larger than the previous record holder. In the end, sophomore Devin Thorpe won with a 17.5 inch largemouth bass.
“Everybody likes fishing. It will definitely be here when we’re gone,” said Colin McCormick, senior.
Fishing is affected by the weather, meaning starting in Spring is ideal. This club has caught a lot of attention at Athens. If anyone is interested in joining, the club meets every other Thursday in Coach Liles room. Also, follow @ADFishingteam for more information.
Grant Baker, junior, posing with the 15.25 inch bass he caught.
Photo via https://twitter.com/ADFishingteam
