Sunday, November 7, 2010

Truman State Leads FLW College Fishing Central Regional Championship On Lake Monroe

The Truman State University team of Mike McCarthy Jr., Chesterfield, Mo., and Spencer Clark, Kirksville, Mo., jumped from fifth place to first place after day two at the National Guard FLW College Fishing Central Division Regional Championship on Lake Monroe with six bass weighing 14 pounds, 2 ounces; their two day total is 10 bass weighing 21-15. The team holds a 1 pound, 12 ounce lead over Indiana University, Jesse Schultz, New Albany, Ind., and Dustin Vaal, Bloomington, Ind., who have a two day total of six bass weighing 20-3. Teams are competing this week for a top prize worth $50,000 and qualifying for a shot at the FLW College National Championship.

“We mostly used crankbaits today, but yesterday we caught them on a jig,” said McCarthy Jr., a junior in accounting. “The pattern really changed between yesterday and today; tomorrow we will probably start with crankbaits again, but we’ll be ready to change if we have to.

“We weren’t able to cull today and we know tomorrow is going to be another tough day, but we’re ready and we plan to go out there and whack ‘em again.”

So far the team from Truman State has brought the only six bass limit to the scales during the first two days of competition. Lake Monroe has not been easy for most of the young anglers. A chilling cold front seems to have scattered the fish and sent them in all directions. Anglers have tried a plethora of baits and presentations and only a handful have bitten.

“There are a lot of places with big fish,” said Clark an undeclared junior. “It’s just a matter of timing. Mike and I were lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time when some of them started to bite today. We seemed to have caught all of our fish when they were feeding. I got my first fish, the 4 ½ - pounder, in the first 30 minutes of the day and then the flurry started.”

“We were catching a lot of predator fish so we knew there had to be big bass in the area. We were mostly fishing along the banks close to the ramp targeting windy points and rip rap about 5 to 10 feet deep. I was using a Lucky Craft RC 1.5 most of the day. We can’t wait for tomorrow!”

Rounding out the top five teams are:

3rd: University Wisconsin, Stout – Jeremy Anibas, Colfax, Wis., and Ryan Helke, Menomonie, Wis., four bass, 17-4
4th: Eastern Kentucky – Kyle Raymer, Brandenburg, Ky., and Jonas Ertel, London, Ky., 10 bass, 16-9
5th University Wisconsin, Whitewater - Jordan Truttschel, Kiel, Wis., and Tyler Netzer, Lake Mills, Wis., six bass,13-2

Each school team represented in this televised regional championship has team shirts and boats provided by Ranger. The purse for each regional championship includes a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard wrapped in school colors for the winning club and $25,000 for the school they represent. Awards of $6,000 extend through fifth place for the club and school to split evenly.

Anglers will take off from Cutright Ramp located at 8012 Knightridge Road in Bloomington, Ind., at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday. The final weigh-in will be held at Indiana University – Memorial Stadium located at 700 E 17th Street in Bloomington beginning at 3 p.m. on Saturday following the Hoosier football game. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

The University of Indiana has also been hosting the College Fishing Festival throughout the three day tournament. Students and fishing fans alike have been treated to live music, the National Guard Warrior Challenge, a Ranger Boat simulator, tailgate games, a sports zone along with contests for cash and several prize give-aways. The festival will continue Saturday from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. at Indiana University – Memorial Stadium.

Schools competing in this week’s tournament included:

Eastern Kentucky – John Smith, Richmond, Ky., and Christopher Davis, Lagrange, Ky.
Harding University – Seth Presley, Harrison, Ark., and Todd Johnson, Harrison, Ark.
Henderson State – Justin Westfall, Nashville, Ark., and Michael Jennings, Arkadelphia, Ark.
Missouri State University – John Rose, Ballwin, Mo., and Brad Dunaway, Sedalia, Mo.
Northwestern University – Matthew Kestufski, Georgetown, Ill., and Jimmy Morrow, Arlington Heights, Ill.
Purdue University – Chad Dunham, West Lafayette, Ind., and Alexander Lowe, Greenfield, Ind.
Purdue University – Charles Spicer, Arcola, Ind., and Chris Kaiser, Carmel, Ind.
Purdue University – Chris Bookout, West Lafayette, Ind. and Michael Ruhana, Greenwood, Ind.
Southeast Missouri State – Andrew Pinkley, Malden, Mo., and Jim McDevitt, Eldon, Mo.
University of Arkansas, Little Rock – Brian Duckett, Little Rock, Ark., and Trent Gephardt, Benton, Ark.
University of Iowa – Tyler Mehrl, Cedar Rapids, Iowa and John Mercer, Burlington, Iowa
Western Kentucky University – David Stephens, Louisville, Ky., and Andy Southard, Hanson, Ky.
Winona State University – Jerry Jonsgaard, St. Charles, Minn., and Zac Cassill, Fairfax, Iowa,

The top five teams from each regional championship, 25 total teams, will advance to the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship that will be hosted by Murray State University on Kentucky Lake, April 7-9. The National Championship is a three-day televised event. Teams will be provided jerseys and wrapped Ranger boats towed by Chevy trucks for this competition. The first-place team will win $100,000 with $50,000 of that for their school and $25,000 cash and a Ranger 177TR bass boat for their fishing club along with a berth in the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup.

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.

Coverage of the Central Regional Championship will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS. “FLW Outdoors,” will air Dec. 12 from 1 – 2 p.m. ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide.

ABOUT FLW OUTDOORS

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing awarding the largest prizes in the history of fantasy sports. FLW Outdoors memberships are available featuring numerous benefits including Player’s Advantage. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FantasyFishing.com.

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