With his wet boots squeaking against the floor, junior Mitch Sauls strolls up the north hallway before first hour. Nearby students stare in confusion; it’s a clear and sunny morning, yet Sauls is soaking wet.
What they don’t know is that on this morning, like many mornings recently, he woke up while the majority of them were still asleep. He drove his silver Jetta, covered in Bass Pro Shop stickers, to a nearby lake to fish while the sun was still creeping over the horizon. Unlike most mornings, today Sauls lost his footing and fell in the lake.
Given his passion for fishing, it is probably not very surprising that Sauls is one of the founders of the new fishing club at East, along with fellow junior Grant Sitomer.
“Mitch and I figured if we were going out and fishing with our friends, we might as well get it to be school sponsored, and get people who might not have gone with us to come along,” Sitomer said.
With their informational meeting only a month ago, the two estimate that at least 20 students have already signed up, which is more than they expected.
“My good friends have always been interested in fishing, so when I heard about the club, I decided to join and try something new,” junior Chris Watkins said, one of the first-time fishers to join the club.
Although they have been fishing all of their lives, Sauls and Sitomer only actually began fishing together at the end of last year.
“[Grant and I] just wound up fishing at the same spot one day, and from then on we just started fishing together,” Sauls said, “At the time, [the idea of starting a fishing club] was a joke. We were like, ‘That could never happen.’ Then we thought about it and we realized it could be a good use.”
Their plan for the club is to organize students for fishing outings, where they can enjoy nature and the pleasure in reeling in nice-sized Bass or Catfish. Sauls and Sitomer want to attract people who may not be able to experience fishing otherwise.
“[Our] main goal for the group is to get younger kids and first-time fishers caring about fishing,” Sitomer said.
With winter on the way, the fishing will have to be put on hold until the spring. That hasn’t kept Sauls and Sitomer from considering the possibilities of ice fishing. They have also already thought out the plans for the club after winter.
The guys would like to have a club fishing outing every weekend, at some local fishing spots such as Lake Longview and Lake Olathe. Club members would come down to the lake, cast a line, and have fun with fellow East students as they wait for the fish to bite.
One way the students plan on using their passion to give back to the community is hosting a tournament. It will be held amongst the club members, and they’ll raise money by charging the fishermen $5 to buy into the tournament. Then, they’ll donate all of the proceeds to cancer research. The club members who place in first, second, or third will also get gift cards to Cabela’s or Bass Pro Shops, the leading stores in fishing and outdoor gear.
While Sitomer uses fishing as a way to pass the time, Sauls finds a deeper connection.
“My grandpa started me on fishing at a young age. He died in 2008, so after that, dad took over the fishing duties,” Sauls said, “That’s when I started hanging out with my dad a lot more; we’d just go out in the morning, bring our rods, and just go fish.”
The two have fished at distant fishing spots as well as local ones.
Sitomer’s favorite place that he’s fished was on a deep sea fishing trip off of the coast of Saint John’s, Bahamas. His dad grew up in Miami, and spent a lot of his free time fishing with his buddies in the vast Atlantic Ocean. Sitomer’s grandmother still lives there, and once when they went to visit her, his dad took him and his brothers out in the middle of the ocean, where they fished during the middle of the night. Although he didn’t end up catching anything, his dad reeled in a Moray Eel.
“With deep sea fishing, everything is bigger,” Sitomer said. “The rods, the reels–everything is more heavy-duty.”
Sauls prefers the isolated areas of the Boundary Waters, found in southern Canada.
“[The Boundary Waters] are located 50 miles away from any civilization. There’s no electricity, no shelters, no nothing,” Sauls said. “You bring your food, your tent, your rod, and you go and survive for a week. It is rare to see someone else there during your entire trip.”
Sauls and his family have been going there every summer for the past nine years. He goes with a few family friends from around the country, along with his dad and sisters. His sisters have failed to make it some of the past few years, but as Sauls is quick to point out, he has never missed a year.
“That’s what fishing is to me,” Sauls said. “Peaceful.”
Overall, the club will be an opportunity to enjoy time outdoors and learn how to fish. Even if the members join for some extra time to hang with the guys, the new fishing club is quite the catch.
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