FLW College Fishing is headed to Crescent Lake Jan. 30 for the first of three regular-season stops in the Southeastern 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.
“Crescent Lake is a great place to fish right now,” said Walmart FLW Tour veteran Glenn Browne of Ocala, Florida. “The lake is full of eelgrass beds so anglers will have plenty to work with.
“Teams will likely be targeting prespawn bass in areas along the edges of the beds,” Browne continued. “In current conditions, black and blue-colored worms, vibrating jigs, spinnerbaits and swimbaits should do well. If the weather warms, I could see competitors pitching worms into grass holes to entice bass that are spawning early.
“Crescent Lake also has a lot of wood and docks,” said Browne. “Casting darker-colored worms in those types of cover could make a good secondary pattern if the grass edges aren’t firing.”
Browne said that the winning team will likely need an 18-pound catch to take home top honors.
“There are a lot opportunities out there on Crescent Lake,” said Browne. “It’s really going to depend on how much the water warms in the days leading up to the tournament.”
Anglers will take off from Bull Creek Fish Camp, located at 3861 W. County Road 2006 in Bunnell, at 7:30 a.m. EST Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at the takeoff site beginning at 3:30 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 Crescent Lake tournament, which is hosted by the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce & Affiliates, include:
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College – Blake Yarbrough, Fitzgerald, Ga., and Taylor Thompson, Kennesaw, Ga.
Auburn University – Mitchell Jennings, Auburn, Ala., and Christopher Knight Jr., Sylacauga, Ala.
Bryan College – Chandler Fogg and Conner Fogg, both of Kelso, Tenn.
Bryan College – Cole Sands, Dayton, Tenn., and Caleb Luzader, Cleveland, Tenn.
Bryan College – Conner Thompson, Fort Payne, Ala., and Christopher Kanute, Warrior, Ala.
Bryan College – Jalen Smith and Dylan Pritchett, both of Dayton, Tenn.
Bryan College – Nathan Bell, Riceville, Tenn., and Dylan Kear, Clinton, Tenn.
Bryan College – Robert Gibson, Decatur, Tenn., and A.J. Barnes, Harrison, Tenn.
Bryan College – Thomas Peck, Louisville, Ky., and Tyler Chumley, Lafollette, Tenn.
Clemson University – Ross Burns, Columbia, S.C., and Baylor Ronemus, Augusta, Ga.
Coastal Carolina University – John Duarte and Jonathan Kelley, both of Middle River, Md.
Darton State College – Wesley Griner and Corey Brown, both of Leesburg, Ga.
Daytona State College – James Oltorik and Thomas Oltorik, both of DeLand, Fla.
East Carolina University – Austin Warmus and Michael Corbishley, both of Raleigh, N.C.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Cody Wilson, New Smyrna Beach, Fla., and Tyler Woolcott, Port Orange, Fla.
Florida Gulf Coast University – Beau Clymer and Hunter Bozeman, both of Ocala, Fla.
Haywood Community College – Ryan McLaughlin and Justin St. Onge, both of Fairview, N.C.
Mississippi State University – Caleb Garvin, Hamilton, Miss., and C.J. Holbrook, Smithville, Miss.
Mississippi State University – Kyle Alford, Brandon, Miss., and Cody Peak, Centreville, Miss.
Polk State College – Austin Bell, Winter Haven, Fla., and Trever Stephens, Auburndale, Fla.
Polk State College – Jerod Gadd, Bartow, Fla., and Luke Ferguson, Lakeland, Fla.
Polk State College – Matthew Bedenbaugh and Kyle Stafford, both of Lakeland, Fla.
Southwest Mississippi Community College – Logan Morel and Cole Nunnery, both of Smithdale, Miss.
Southwest Mississippi Community College – Tucker Adams and Justin Reynolds, both of Smithdale, Miss.
Tennessee Technological University – Daniel Holt, Maryville, Tenn., and Jesse Garren, Lenoir City, Tenn.
University of Central Florida – Caleb Bundy, Lake City, Fla., and Jake Carter, Clermont, Fla.
University of Central Florida – Hunter McKamey, Shelbyville, Tenn., and Kyle Oliver, Winter Garden, Fla.
University of Florida – Matthew Cantrell, Macclenny, Fla., and Hunter Bland, Ocala, Fla.
University of Georgia – Daulton Smith, Dacula, Ga., and Garrett Stone, Atlanta, Ga.
University of Georgia – Jordan Parisian, Alpharetta, Ga., and Collin Chandler, Donalsonville, Ga.
University of North Carolina-Charlotte – Robert Kerr, Huntersville, N.C., and Benjamin Hager, Iron Station, N.C.
University of North Georgia – Justin Thompson, Gainesville, Ga., and Blake Milner, Alpharetta, Ga.
University of North Georgia – Reid Daniel, Flowery Branch, Ga., and Ben Adams, Buford, Ga.
University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee T.J. Sroufe, Adrian, Mich., and Tom Patten, Bradenton, Fla.
University of South Carolina – Brian Sweeney, Frederick, Md., and Shawn Callahan, Cincinnati, Ohio
University of South Carolina – Chris Blanchette, Irmo, S.C., and Lucas Cornwell, Aiken, S.C.
University of South Carolina – Dylan Allison, Inman, S.C., and Zack Catoe, Lancaster, S.C.
University of South Carolina – Max Korfhage, Columbia, S.C., and Kevin Szczech, Cranford, N.J.
University of South Carolina – Patrick Walters, Summerville, S.C., and Robert Brannon, Gaffney, S.C.
University of South Carolina – Trevor Gann, Huntersville, N.C., and Aaron Fewell, Winfield, W. Va.
University of South Carolina – William Miller, High Point, N.C., and Ethan Ingle, West Columbia, S.C.
University of Tennessee-Chattanooga – Eric Endsley and Ryan Hastings, both of Chattanooga, Tenn.
Valdosta State University – Max Gresham, Milner, Ga., and Cody Cleary, Dalton, Ga.
Wake Forest University – Ryan Edwards, Stuart, Fla., and Lance Berry, Charlotte, N.C.
Western Carolina University – Jason Ashe, Cullowhee, N.C., and Justin McClure, Franklin, N.C.
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
