National Guard FLW College Fishing is headed to Kentucky/Barkley lakes May 2 for the second of four stops in the Central Conference. Forty college teams will be competing for a top award of $5,000 and a berth in the Central Conference Championship tournament.
“You are going to see some pretty big weights at this tournament,” said FLW pro Kevin Snider of Elizabethtown, Ky. “It’s probably going to take 20 to 22 pounds to win. We have had a pretty early spring; typically the bass don’t start spawning until late May or early June, but the bass are about a month ahead of schedule. I am guessing that most of them have spawned out and are going to be stacked up on ledges.
“The Alabama rig is going to work in this tournament,” Snider went on to say. “But it won’t be the only thing that works. Fishing shallow ledges with crankbaits, jigs and worms always produce. The key to winning is really going to be finding multiple schools of big fish.”
Anglers will take off from Moors Resort & Marina located at 570 Moors Road in Gilbertsville, Ky., at 6:30 a.m. Saturday. Weigh-in will also be at the marina beginning at 12:30 p.m. Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.
Schools competing in the Kentucky/Barkley lakes tournament, which is being hosted by the Marshall County Tourist Commission, include:
| Ball State University | Josh Friend, Fort Wayne, Ind., and Nathan Herman, Decatur, Ind. |
| Eastern Illinois University | Chase Sanford, Charleston, Ill., and Lee Buehnerkemper, Teutopolis, Ill. |
| Eastern Kentucky | John Smith, London, Ky., and Kyle Raymer, Brandenburg, Ky. |
| Georgetown College | Mike Huff and Vincent Timperio, both of Corbin, Ky. |
| Grace College | Christopher Valentine, Warsaw, Ind., and Mike Depositar, Winona Lake, Ind. |
| Illinois State University | Steve Jurgens, Batavia, Ill., and Jacob Bouldin, Girard, Ill. |
| Indiana University | Dustin Vaal, Bloomington, Ind., and Steven Bressler, Fremont, Ind. |
| Kansas State University | Tyler Hetzel, Overland, Kan., and Austin Twite, Manhattan, Kan. |
| Marian University | Justin McDonald, Noblesville, Ind., and William Pfund, Sellersburg, Ind. |
| MidAmerica Nazarene University | Jacob Johnson, Lenexa, Kan., and Ryan Rockwell, Des Moines, Iowa |
| Missouri State University | Brennan Halbersma, Springfield, Mo., and Joe McBride, Olathe, Kan. |
| Missouri University of Science and Technology | Scott Kuhl and William Kleine, both of Rolla, Mo. |
| Missouri Valley College | Daniel McCaddon and Kalen Brady, both of Rolla, Mo. |
| Morehead State University | James Martin, Carlisle, Ohio, and Brandon Johnson, Salt Lick, Ky. |
| Murray State University | Therron Shaw, Nortonville, Ky., and Stephen Barga, Benton, Ky. |
| Northern Illinois University | Jason Penuel and Steve McClone, both of Dekalb, Ill. |
| Northwest Missouri State University | Blake Beahler, Cosby, Mo., and Benjamin Schilmoeller, Le Mars, Iowa |
| Northwestern University | Jimmy Morrow, Arlington Heights, Ill., and Matthew Kestufskie, Evanston, Ill. |
| Purdue University | Nicholas Schuetz, Loogootee, Ind., and Elliott Myers, Anderson, Ind. |
| Purdue University-Indianapolis | Alex Harshbarger, Plymouth, Ind., and Colan Connon, Henryville, Ind. |
| Saint Cloud State University | Dave Saterbak and Eric Schreurs, both of Maple Grove, Minn. |
| Southern Illinois University | Tyler Campbell, Dieterich, Ill., and Heath Houchin, Olney, Ill. |
| Southern Illinois-Edwardsville | Zach Hartnagel, Edwardsville, Ill., and Mitch Dowdy, Dorsey, Ill. |
| Southeast Missouri State | Tim Randell and Adam Zielinski, both of St. Charles, Mo. |
| St. Ambrose University | Conor Salvino, Burr Ridge, Ill., and Kyle Gates, Decatur, Ill. |
| University of Dubuque | Marcus Prull, Monticello, Iowa, and Jarett Svihlik, Dubuque, Iowa |
| University of Illinois | Luke Stoner, Pekin, Ill., and Brock Phillips, Pawnee, Ill. |
| University of Iowa | Jim Vojahosky, St. Charles, Ill., and John Mercer, Burlington, Iowa |
| University of Missouri | Taylor Knight, Columbia, Mo., and Champ Caldwell, Perry, Mo. |
| University of Nebraska | Sean Mulholland, Deerfield, Ill., and William McCabe, Lincoln, Neb. |
| University of Nebraska-Omaha | Eric Tesarek and Matt Tesarek, both of Omaha, Neb. |
| University of Saint Thomas | Andrew Heitzman, Andover, Minn., and Dan Reichert, St. Paul, Minn. |
| University of Wisconsin | Levi Warner, Shiocton, Wis., and Kevin Yeska, Madison, Wis. |
| University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh | Jordan Mortenson, Iola, Wis., and Chad Janke, Oshkosh, Wis. |
| University of Wisconsin-Platteville | Ty Iverson, Burlington, Wis., and Travis Ketterhagen, Bassett, Wis. |
| University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point | Jake Koebernik, Stevens Point, Wis., and Tim Dobbins, Rhinelander, Wis. |
| University of Wisconsin-Stout | Alec Beigle, Oakdale, Wis., and Jeremy Anibas, Colfax, Wis. |
| University of Wisconsin-Whitewater | Paul Taylor, Whitewater, Wis., and Shayne Chelminiak, Franklin, Wis. |
| Winona State University | Cade Laufenberg, Stoddard, Wis., and Harrison Barton, Winona, Minn. |
| Western Kentucky University | Cody Napier, Lewisburg, Ky., and Andy Southard, Hanson, Ky. |
Four regular-season qualifying events are held in each conference – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southern and Western. The top five teams from each qualifying tournament will advance to one of five televised three-day National Guard FLW College Fishing Conference Championships, where the first-place team wins a Ranger 177TR bass boat with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard. The top five teams from each conference championship advance to the national championship.
College Fishing is free to enter and FLW 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.
For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow College Fishing on Facebook at Facebook/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter/FLWFishing. Visit the CollegeFishing website to sign up or to start a club at your school.
ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing unparalleled fishing resources and entertainment to our sponsors, fans and host communities. FLW is offering anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2012 over the course of 191 tournaments across five tournament circuits, each providing an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water,” through a variety of platforms including tournaments, outdoor expos and the world’s richest fantasy sports game – FLW Fantasy Fishing. For more information about FLW and FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit the FLWOutdoors or FantasyFishing websites and look for FLW on Twitter and Facebook.By: Julie Huber,
