FLW College Fishing is headed to the California Delta May 21 for the final stop of 2016 in the Western Conference. A full field of college teams will be competing for a top award of $2,000 and a berth into the 2017 College Fishing National Championship.
“Unlike other popular bass fisheries around the country, you don’t need to be in a specific area on the Delta to catch the big ones,” said Walmart FLW Tour pro Mark Daniels Jr., a California-native who spent his early years fishing the Delta. “It can be won literally anywhere on the lake. These teams will be able to target bass that are in all three spawning phases, which means we’re going to see many different techniques in play.
“In addition to topwater baits and swimbaits, I think we’ll see finesse tactics being utilized to catch the giant ones,” continued Daniels. “Drop-shot rigs and wacky-rigged worms will be the deal. I also see running a ChatterBait near grass and a square-billed crankbait bite along levee walls being strong choices as well.”
Daniels said that flipping matted grass, water hyacinth and primrose could also produce some heavy limits for competitors.
“When I go out flipping on the Delta, I always have crawfish imitators in different shades of red rigged up, as well as a handful of green-pumpkin bluegill imitators,” said Daniels. “You can’t go wrong with those on your deck.”
Daniels said that a five-bass limit nearing 25 pounds should be enough to take top honors.
“It’s a team deal, so I could see a limit weighing as much as 30 pounds winning it all,” said Daniels. “The Delta is one of the top three fisheries on the country in my opinion. It can produce some impressive bags.”
Anglers will take off from Russo’s Marina, located at 3995 Willow Road in Bethel Island, at 6:15 a.m. PDT Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 12:30 p.m. Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.
Schools are allowed to register up until the morning of the tournament. Entries may be made either by phone or at CollegeFishing.com.
Schools currently registered to compete in the California Delta tournament, which is hosted by Russo’s Marina and Sugar Barge RV Resort & Marina, include:
California Polytechnic State University – Christopher LeClair, Santa Clarita, Calif., and Clayton Lauchland, Lodi, Calif.
California Polytechnic State University – Johan Eide, Sebastopol, Calif., and Colton Farquer, Oakdale, Calif.
California State University-Chico – Alec O’ Rourke, Newcastle, Calif., and Cole Lauchland, Lodi, Calif.
California State University-Chico – Andrew Loberg, Rocklin, Calif., and Travis Bounds, Roseville, Calif.
California State University-Chico – Carson Leber, Dixon, Calif., and Lucas Boxwell, Auburn, Calif.
California State University-Chico – Chas Brannon, Santa Maria, Calif., and Michael Woods, Olivehurst, Calif.
California State University-Chico – David Griswold, Oroville, Calif., and Jeremy Andreasen, Chico, Calif.
California State University-Chico – Frank Tomasello and Jakob Conlan, both of Morgan Hill, Calif.
California State University-Chico – Sean Huber and Travis Strain, both of Chico, Calif.
California State University-Sacramento – Daniel Rodriguez, Selma, Calif., and Jeff Taluban, Salinas, Calif.
California State University-Sacramento – Edward Worden, Salinas, Calif., and Gerardo Reyna, Colusa, Calif.
California State University-Sacramento – Tanner Austin, El Dorado Hills, Calif., and Ethan Clark, Elk Grove, Calif.
Humboldt State University – Alex Robbins, Novato, Calif., and Joseph Schiavoni, Fairfield, Calif.
Humboldt State University – Drew White, Auburn, Calif., and Graeme Lock, La Crescenta, Calif.
Humboldt State University – Jeffrey Teel, Vacaville, Calif., and Spencer Butler, Fairfield, Calif.
Northern Arizona University – Jim Herrero and John Herrero, both of Kingman, Ariz.
Oregon State University – Eric Strickler, Florence, Ore., and Max Kitzmiller, Wilsonville, Ore.
Oregon State University – Zach MacDonald, Willits, Calif., and Zach Martinez, Linden, Calif.
University of Idaho – Tanner Mort, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Austin Turpin, Moscow, Idaho
University of Southern California – Nick Nikchevich, Thousand Oaks, Calif., and Elliott Beckstrom, Santa Cruz, Calif.
FLW College Fishing teams compete in regular-season qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top ten teams from each division’s three regular-season tournaments and the top 15 teams from the annual FLW College Fishing Open will advance to the 2017 FLW College Fishing National Championship.
College Fishing is free to enter. All participants must be registered, full-time students at a college, university or community college and members of a college fishing club.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2016 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 235 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros.
By: Brian Johnson, FLW
