FLW announced today the schedule, rules and entry dates for the 2016 FLW College Fishing season, highlighted by the 2016 College Fishing National Championship hosted by the Mountain Lakes Convention and Visitors Bureau on Lake Keowee in Seneca, South Carolina and the second annual FLW College Fishing Open on Kentucky Lake.
The first FLW College Fishing Open on Kentucky Lake in 2015 was the largest collegiate bass tournament ever assembled when 194 teams from schools around the country competed for a new Ranger bass boat and to finish in the top 10 to qualify for the FLW College Fishing National Championship. New for 2016, the top 15 teams from the Open will now advance to the National Championship.
To ease the travel burden on teams for 2016 FLW eliminated the Conference Championships and will instead advance the top 10 teams from each regular-season qualifying tournament to the FLW College Fishing National Championship. That means 105 more teams will have the opportunity to win a Ranger Z175 boat and send a representative to the Forrest Wood Cup for a shot at the biggest payday in bass fishing, all with lower out-of-pocket expenses. All of the championship action will be internationally televised on NBC Sports Network, the Pursuit Channel and the World Fishing Network.
2016 FLW College Fishing Schedule:
FLW College Fishing OPEN
• April 1-2 Kentucky Lake Gilbertsville, Ky.
Central Conference
• April 9 Table Rock Lake Kimberling City, Mo.
• May 14 Lake Barkley Kuttawa, Ky.
• July 9 Mississippi River Prairie du Chien, Wis.
Northern Conference
• April 23 Smith Mountain Lake Huddleston, Va.
• June 4 Potomac River Marbury, Md.
• July 23 Chautauqua Lake Bemus Point, N.Y.
Southeastern Conference
• Jan. 30 Crescent Lake Bunnell, Fla.
• May 21 Lake Guntersville Guntersville, Ala.
• Sept. 24 Lake Chickamauga Dayton, Tenn.
Southern Conference
• Jan. 16 Lake Somerville Brenham, Texas
• April 30 Fort Gibson Lake Wagoner, Okla.
• Oct. 8 Ouachita River Monroe, La.
Western Conference
• Feb. 20 Lake Shasta Redding, Calif.
• April 23 Clear Lake Lakeport, Calif.
• May 21 California Delta Bethel Island, Calif.
FLW College Fishing National Championship
• March 17-19 Lake Keowee Seneca, S.C.
Complete rules can be found online at FLWFishing.com.
Registration for the 2016 season opens Dec. 14, 2015, for teams from clubs represented in the 2015 FLW College Fishing National Championship. All other teams may register beginning Dec. 15, 2015. You can register at FLWFishing.com or by calling 270.252.1000.
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 industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2015 over the course of 240 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed outdoors-sports television show in the world.
By: Joe Opager, Director of Public Relations
