The Fresno State Fishing Club hopes to cast its magic at the Western Division Regional Championship in Stockton this weekend.

Fresno State business marketing major Sark Davidian and business accountancy major Kong Moua will compete in the National Guard FLW College Fishing circuit three-day event for a chance to win the top prize of $50,000 and a new boat. The pair will fish against 19 other Western Division college teams from California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington State.

Davidian and Moua won $5,000 last May in the qualifying tournament, advancing them to the regional championship, which starts Saturday on the California Delta near Stockton.

“The last qualifying tournament was at the same place and we won it, so we feel pretty good about it,â€Â said Davidian about their chance for success. “But on the other hand, there are schools like Sacramento State and Sonoma State University that are right by the Delta. Not only have their students fished it their whole lives, they’ve been fishing it ever since the last tournament.â€Â

For Moua, a longtime angler, the qualifying tournament in May was his first time fishing competitively.

Even more is at stake this weekend for the two bass anglers. In addition to the grand prize, if Davidian and Moua place in the top five, they will advance to the national championship tournament in April 2010.
“It’s pretty much like the WAC (Western Athletic Conference) conference for fishing,â€Â said Moua of the tournament’s magnitude.

Joe Ostarello, business marketing major, founded the Fresno State Fishing Club last spring. In its first semester, the club had 30 paid members and expects to have a bigger turn out this year, Ostarello said in a phone interview.

The club̢۪s first meeting will be in October or November, depending on how the team does this weekend, Ostarello said. Members pay a $10 fee to enjoy local fishing trips and tournaments throughout the season. Ostarello said the club has two Sierra trips planned for the spring, including a bus trip on opening day of trout season in April. A deep-sea fishing trip is also in the works.

“Our big thing when we started was we wanted to be able to have fishing, but we wanted it to be free and available to everybody,â€Â Ostarello said.

Established college fishing clubs have sponsors that help with expenses, Davidian explained. Since the Fresno State Fishing Club is just starting out, it is in the process of lining up sponsors, Ostarello said. The sponsors for the upcoming tournament will provide the college teams with boats, Davidian added.

According to the National Guard FLW College Fishing Web site, the collegiate anglers will start at 7 a.m. each day, with weigh-ins at 4 p.m. The limit is five bass per angler, and only three live bass per angler will be weighed.

“With these two guys, we’ve put together some of our most knowledgeable fishermen,â€Â Ostarello said. “I asked them purposely to team up together because I felt they may have been the most knowledgeable people as far as bass fishing goes in our club. I have high expectations and I imagine we’ll do very well.â€Â

The championship tournament will be televised on Versus, Davidian said. “It’s a pretty big deal,â€Â he said. “It’s just on the West Coast it hasn’t really caught on. But on the East Coast and in the South it’s a really big deal.â€Â

For more information about the Fresno State Fishing Club, contact [email protected].

To learn more about the competition, go to http://www.collegefishing.com/events.cfm?tid=6181