Fishing For A New Club

By: Zach Dietiker

O'Dea's finest Nick Burroughs and Simon Olech start the first ever Fishing club, and it’s a hit!

Nick is a great student and teaches suicide prevention lessons through a program called Safe Talk, and Simon is the school Chaplain always leading us in prayer during assemblies and at the start of school being a great leader in faith at O'Dea. These two make an outstanding duo and I asked Simon personal questions to get a look into the process in making this club.

I was interested in what made them start this club and Simon says "I've always loved fishing and I noticed that many other students also enjoy fishing, so I thought it would be a good idea to start a fishing club. I am also part of a competitive fishing club, so I know how to organize tournaments and make it more exciting."

For the people timid about fishing club, I asked what you could expect when joining. "You can expect to learn a lot more about fishing," said Simon, "including the different types of fishing, fish species, techniques, knots, strategies, and also participate in fishing trips and tournaments. We hope to travel around the Seattle area and beyond for our competitions. Additionally, if anyone is interested, we can join professional high school tournaments."

I was interested in Simon's background with fishing and his experience. Simon said, "I've been fishing all my life; however, I have been competing for two years. I belong to the Rainier Bass Club down in Tacoma, and I participate in their tournaments. I have won 4 and been awarded the 2022 Angler of the Year award. I hope to continue fishing competitively in the college league."

Finally, I asked Simon what his favorite fishing memory was, and it was a tricky one for him; he said, "This is a hard one. It is probably a fishing trip I went on with my friends last summer. We went to a beach on the eastside of Lake Washington, don't exactly remember where, and I caught a huge bass. I remember I had to get on my stomach to reach it from the elevated dock, and it turned out to be the biggest fish I have ever caught. We didn't get an exact weight, but it was massive."