FLW COLLEGE FISHING WESTERN DIVISION HEADED TO CLEAR LAKE
Bass fishing phenomenal on Clear Lake due to strong resurgence of shad and other baitfish
CLEARLAKE, Calif. (Sept. 14, 2011) – National Guard FLW College Fishing is headed to Clear Lake Sept. 24 for the fourth and final stop of the Western Division qualifying tournaments. Forty college teams will be competing for a top award of $10,000 to be split between the school and bass fishing club; $7,500 for bass club and $2,500 for their school.
“The fishing should be great this fall,” said FLW pro Zack Thompson of Alameda, Calif. “The strong resurgence of shad and other baitfish have really fattened up the bass and turned on the bite. Clear Lake is a fun place for the college teams to come and catch fish. They are going to have to be disciplined though so they don’t get caught catching 2-pound fish all day long and are fooled into believing that bringing in a 10 to 13 pound bag is going to win. It is going to take about 22 to 23 pounds to win. The bigger fish are out there, teams are just going to have to go out and find them.
“Teams should do their homework before coming here and stick to their strengths,” Thompson went on to say. “If they like to fish deep they should go south, if they like to fish shallow they should go north. Crankbaits, jigs on rock piles, big worms and topwater baits will all work depending on what they like to do. Numbers of fish shouldn’t be a problem, getting stuck catching two pounders will.”
Anglers will take off and weigh-in at Redbud Park located at 14655 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake on Saturday. Takeoff is scheduled for 7:00 a.m. while weigh-in will begin at 1:30 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Schools competing in this week’s tournament hosted by Twin Pine Casino & Hotel include:
Arizona State University (2)
Boise State University
California Polytechnic (2)
California State University, Long Beach (2)
California State University, Monterey Bay
Chico State (3)
Colorado State University (2)
Eastern Washington University (2)
Fresno State (3)
Humboldt State University (3)
Northern Arizona University
Oregon State University (2)
Sacramento State (3)
San Jose State University
Sonoma State University (2)
University of California, Davis (3)
University of California, Santa Cruz (2)
University of Nevada, Reno (2)
University of Oregon (3)
College Fishing consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consists of four tournaments and the top five teams from each tournament in their respective division will qualify for the regional championship where the first-place team wins $12,500 cash for their school and $12,500 cash and a Ranger 177TR bass boat with a 90 horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard wrapped in school colors for their fishing club.
The National Guard College Fishing Western Regional is scheduled for Nov. 17-19 on Saguaro Lake in Tempe, Ariz. The event is being hosted by Arizona State University and the Tempe Tourism Office.
College Fishing is free to enter and FLW Outdoors provides boats and drivers for each competing team along with travel allowances. All participants must be registered, full-time undergraduate students at a four-year college or university and members of a fishing club recognized by their college or university.
ABOUT FLW OUTDOORS
FLW Outdoors is the best in fishing, on and off the water. Anglers worldwide can compete for millions over the course of 191 tournaments in 2011. FLW Outdoors has taken fishing mainstream with the world’s richest fantasy sports game, FLW Fantasy Fishing presented by Straight Talk, where competitors can play for free as well as sign up for Player’s Advantage to gain an edge. For more information about FLW Outdoors and FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FLWOutdoors.com or FantasyFishing.com.
Visit the FLW Outdoors Media Center at FLWOutdoors.com/mc for additional information or contact:
Chad Gay, Public Relations Manager, (270) 703-3346 or cgay@flwoutdoors.com
Julie Huber, Communications Specialist, (612) 337-1810 (w), (612) 812-9512 (m) or julie.huber@jacobs-mgmt.com
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