The Nicholls Bass Fishing Club hosted the Central Regional Tournament of the Carhartt Bassmasters College Series this month, sending four teams on to the Series finals.

With Bob’s Bayou Black Marina in Terrebonne parish serving as the launching point for 21 collegiate fishing teams, the familiar waters were a blessing and a curse for the Colonels. This was the first time the CBCS has held a tournament in Southeast Louisiana, in waters that some of the club members grew up fishing since they were able to hold a poll.

Alyson Marcel, a senior Nursing major from Houma, said she kept going back and forth between special hot spots she fished growing up instead of sticking with her planned areas for the day which cost her valuable fishing time. Marcel is also the first woman ever to compete in the CBCS.

“Being the first woman competitor means a lot to me,” Marcel said. “It blows my mind though, I actually know a lot of girls who fish.”

Within three years of starting up on campus, the club enjoyed success in almost every tournament they have sent student-anglers to. In fact, Marcel and Tyler Rivet, a Petroleum Engineering and Safety Management sophomore from Raceland, competed in the CBCS National Championship last year on Lake DuBay, Stevens Point, WI.

On the final day of the championship, Marcel and Rivet landed the largest catch of the tournament but were shocked at what followed. Louisiana State University weighed in right before the Nicholls squad, but with zero fish in their basket, they announced to the crowd to pay attention to “their fellow Louisianans.”

As the two walked up the stage to “Trap Queen” by Fetty Wap and weighed-in their record-setting fish, the crowd erupted in applause.

“It was the best experience of my life,” Marcel said. “I get goosebumps every time I think about it.”

Assistant Professor of Education Dr. Alyson Theriot, who is the faculty advisor for the group, witnessed the active roster grow from about 10 to 32 students. Rivet, one of the founding members, swelled with pride when looking back on the growth of the club.

“Every year we have grown. It’s a great feeling, I never thought it would be this big,” Rivet said.

Using their intuitive Louisiana hospitality, the duo befriended tournament director Hank Weldon and expressed interest in hosting a tournament while at the National Championship last year. Bob’s Bayou Black Marina holds many tournaments throughout year, so the regional was nothing new to the owners who said the event brought larger than expected crowds and revenue.

Weldon remarked to Theriot at the weigh-ins, held inside John L. Guidry Stadium on campus, that this year’s regional was the largest crowd he has ever seen.
Rivet said it is the adrenaline rush of competitive fishing that he enjoys most, and what has pushed him to pursue a professional bass fishing career when he leaves Nicholls.

“Every weekend I have tournaments,” Rivet said. “Ever since I was eight years old, in a Gator Tale by myself, I knew this is what I wanted to do.”

The natural topography of the Lafourche/Terrebonne area, with countless bayous and lakes intertwining, provides plenty of freshwater fishing for kids growing up in the vicinity. With Nicholls gaining valuable, free publicity with each tournament they fish, the businesses from around the area stepped up to fund events to generate money to pay for the students to compete.

“Bass fishing is such a big thing in this area,” Theriot said. “I get told all the time, ‘man, if they’d of had that when I was in school.’ People are so happy we have local kids reaching those achievements.”