Ben Cartwright is the owner and creator of the Collegiate Match Fishing website, collegiatematchfishing.webs.com, that lets college students compete in bass fishing tournaments.
Much like the NCAA tournament, the winning anglers moves on to the play the winner of the previous match.
A native of Tyler, Cartwright is a student at the University of North Texas, studying for a degree in mechanical and energy engineering. Ben has been fishing tournaments for three years while working to produce shows for his website.
Cartwright started the competition last year with the idea taken from the TV show “Ultimate Match Fishing.” Collegiate Match Fishing consists of collegiate anglers on 3 on 3 competitions trying to catch the most weight in the time allowed. All six anglers fish from the same boat with equal times on the front and back of the boat. The location for each competition is agreed upon based on a lake that is closest between the two schools. Cartwright has recorded eight matches and hopes to add more schools future the tournament.
“It’s all about getting on the boat, competing one on one, and learning while you are out there,” said Cartwright about the sportsmanship of Collegiate Match Fishing “We encourage each other throughout the whole day. It doesn’t matter what team you are one.”
Currently the competition doesn’t have a prize for the winner but Cartwright hopes new sponsorship will help provide funding for future shows.
“This year we are looking for more teams to compete to put together a larger tournament,” he said.
This year’s tournament dates have yet to be announced. Keep checking LSONews.com for updates.
