December 9th, 2009
Bass Cats bring home $25,000 and national bid

SUBMITTED REPORT

The Texas State University Bass Cats team of David Cosner, a business marketing sophomore from Austin, and Jay McCollum, a agricultural business senior from Athens, returned from the Forrest L. Wood Texas Regional Fishing Championship with a $25,000 second place prize and a spot in the 2009 FLW National Championship.

The tournament was held on Sibley Lake Nov. 14-16, where Cosner and McCollum competed on behalf of Texas State against 40 other universities, including Baylor University, Texas A&M University, Louisiana State University and the University of Texas.

Going into the last day of competition, the Texas State Bass Cats were 8 ounces behind first place Baylor. The Bass Cats were unable to capture the lead on their final day, though finishing in second with 13 bass weighing in at 27 pounds, 9 ounces.

The Bass Cats organization was established in 2008 by current President David Cosner and currently has 27 students that compete in approximately 30 tournaments annually. Their recent success brings the Bass Cats overall winnings for the current year to $37,500.

These winnings will help the Bass Cats cover expenses for these tournaments, such as travel costs, T-shirts and gas expenses.

“Fishing is an expensive sport in general,” said Cosner “We have to cover tackle, hotels rooms and gas, it all adds up quickly.”

As vice president of the Bass Cats, McCollum was pleased that their spectacular performance in the FLW Texas Regional Fishing Championship will be televised December 20 at 10:30 a.m. on Versus Country channel.

“We had a professional camera in the boat the whole time,” said McCollum. “There are even featured interviews with our team.”

This broadcast will cover the major events of the tournament, as well as interviews with the Texas State Bass Cats.

The Bass Cats will be competing in the FLW National Fishing Championship at Lake Telew in Knoxville, Tenn., April 10-12. The winner of this tournament will receive $25,000 cash, a $25,000 Ranger 177TR bass boat for the fishing club and $50,000 for the university.

For more information contact David Cosner at (512) 484-2979 or visit their website at www.basscats.com.