Fishin' for Tuition: Unity College anglers try to reel in full boat

By Tina Shute
The Republican Journal Photographer

UNITY (July 29): More than $300,000 in scholarships, including one four-year tuition waiver, as well as other prizes and gift certificates, were available - albeit underwater — during the sixth annual Unity College Fishing for Scholarships Tournament on Sunday, July 27, on Lake Winnecook (Unity Pond).

Organizers had tagged 200 bass, pickerel, perch and crappies and approximately 400 participants tried to snag them — hook, line and sinker.

The human-powered event commenced at 7:30 a.m. with a starting horn sounded by Unity College President Mitchell Thomashow; it concluded at 1:30 p.m. Scholarships and other awards were presented at 2 p.m. at the college outdoor amphitheater.

The tournament, the largest collegiate inland, nonmechanized, one-day, catch-and-release fishing tournament in United States, was open to current Unity College students and incoming students who had paid deposits.

Susan Darling, front, catches the first fish with a tag within 10 minutes of the start. It was a $2,500 scholarship. In the fall, her son Ben Darling, back, will attend Unity College. (Photo by Tina Shute)

Students gather along the railroad trestle. (Photo by Tina Shute)

Kristin Collins and her father, Michael Collins of Greenville troll in three feet of water. (Photo by Tina Shute)

Rusty Cook traveled from Ashland, Ohio to participate. (Photo by Tina Shute)

Colleen Berry of New York relaxes in an inflatable kayak. (Photo by Tina Shute)

Liz Lincoln of Unity catches a nap. (Photo by Tina Shute)

Three generations fish together, including Bethany Boucher, her father, Bob Boucher and grandmother, Eileen Racine, all of Massachusetts. (Photo by Tina Shute)

Ben Wood and Ernie Wood of Vermont try their luck close to shore. (Photo by Tina Shute)

Media boat captain Roger Duvall baits a hook for a student with a 'guaranteed-to-catch fish' lure. (Photo by Tina Shute)

Tyler Stites of New York has plenty of lures with which to lure fish. (Photo by Tina Shute)

Brian Morway of New Hampshire hooks a crappie. (Photo by Tina Shute)

A participant fishes in the weeds next to shore. (Photo by Tina Shute)

This bass is hooked. (Photo by Tina Shute)

A bass is snared in a net. (Photo by Tina Shute)

Brian Morway of New Hampshire catches a bass, but alas no tag. (Photo by Tina Shute)

Ella Sawyer, 3, of Monroe, is introduced to a smallmouth bass by Brian Morway. (Photo by Tina Shute)

A smallmouth bass (Photo by Tina Shute)

Ella Sawyer, 3, of Monroe, enjoys her ride in the media boat. (Photo by Tina Shute)

The shore around Unity Pond is full of boats and people. (Photo by Tina Shute)

Students and their fishing partners call it a day. (Photo by Tina Shute)

Fishermen and women seem to favor this spot on the pond. (Photo by Tina Shute)