The Northwestern team of Jimmy Morrow, Arlington Heights, Ill., and Matthew Kestufskie, Evanston, Ill., grabbed the lead at the National Guard FLW College Fishing Central Regional championship hosted by Southern Illinois University on Kinkaid Lake Friday with three bass weighing 8 pounds, 7 ounces. The team holds a two pound, 8 ounce lead over their nearest competitor, University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, going into the final day of competition. Teams are competing for a total award of $50,000.
“I just hope it is windy tomorrow,” said Morrow, a junior marketing major. “The wind really helped us figure something out today. We are fishing one main area where we lost as many fish as we caught. It’s a pretty large area with a lot of productive spots that keep replenishing. Tomorrow we plan to camp there all day.
“The area seems to have a little bit of everything, Morrow continued. “We have two main baits that are working for us right now. The wind and shade really seemed to help us a lot too. What we found in practice is very different from what we are doing now.
“I am very nervous going in to tomorrow,” Morrow went on to say. “It’s only a one fish lead and in a tournament where most of the teams are only bringing in one fish it is still anybody’s game. We are just excited to be going to national’s and the rest is just a bonus.
Morrow and Kestufskie started the Northwestern Bass Club last year and remain the only two charter members. Fishing all four of the 2011 FLW College Fishing events the team double qualified for the Regional Championship by placing fourth at the Lake of the Ozarks tournament in Mar. and second at the Detroit River tournament in July.
“We have worked hard all week, it is a grind out there,” said Kestufskie, an undecided sophomore. “Like Jimmy said we are fishing one main area. Once we find the fish we slow way down and fish very slowly through it.
“These fish seemed to have transitioned into their fall pattern. There are a lot of fish there, it is just a matter of getting them to bite,” added Kestufskie. We lost two 4-pound fish today, if we could have landed them we would be sitting pretty going into tomorrow.
“First place is a lot better than second, but it is still not safe. This tournament is still wide open.”
Rounding out the top five teams, fishing tomorrow and qualifying for the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship are:
| 2nd: | University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, | Ted Johnson and Jody Derks, both of Waupaca, Wis. | four bass | 10-6 |
| 3rd: | Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville | Brad Lemasters, Maryville, Ill., and Justin Skinner, Taylorville, Ill, | three bass | 7-10 |
| 4th: | Kansas State University | Ryan Patterson, Goddard, Kan. | three bass | 6-13 |
| 5th: | Indiana University | Dustin Vaal, Bloomington, Ind., and Steven Bressler, Fremont, Ind. | two bass | 5-12* |
*This is an adjusted weight for the Indiana University team; due to a late check-in on day one the team suffered a 2-pound penalty making their official day one weight 1-14, not 3-14 as listed in yesterday’s results.
Overall there were 15 bass weighing 42 pounds, 5 ounces caught by 20 teams. There were no five-bass limits caught.
Final take off will be at the Kinkaid Lake Marina located at 2063 Marina Road in Murphysboro, Ill., at 7 a.m. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held outside the SIU Arena located at 1400 Arena Drive in Carbondale beginning at 5 p.m., or upon completion of the SIU vs. North Dakota State football game. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
SIU will also be hosting a College Fishing Festival on Saturday. Students and fishing fans alike will be treated to a Ranger Boat simulator, Sony PS3 Gaming Trailer, tailgate games, a sports zone along with contests for cash and several prize give-aways. The festival will take place outside the SIU Arena from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. There will also be a Sports Marketing seminar at 2 p.m. on the college fishing stage. Free pizza will be available following the football game and just prior to the final weigh-in.
Teams are fishing for a top award of $50,000 to be split between the university and the university’s bass fishing club – $12,500 and a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower outboard wrapped in school colors for the bass club and $12,500 for their school.
The top five teams from each of the five regional tournaments will advance to the national championship where the first-place team will win a top award of $100,000; $25,000 for their school and $50,000 cash and a Ranger 177TR bass boat with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard wrapped in school colors for their fishing club.
Coverage of the Central Regional Championship will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS. “FLW Outdoors,” will air Nov. 20 from 1 – 2 p.m. ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide.
College Fishing is free to enter and 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.
ABOUT FLW OUTDOORS
FLW Outdoors is the best in fishing, on and off the water. Anglers worldwide can compete for millions over the course of 191 tournaments in 2011. FLW Outdoors has taken fishing mainstream with the world’s richest fantasy sports game, FLW Fantasy Fishing presented by Straight Talk, where competitors can play for free as well as sign up for Player’s Advantage to gain an edge.By: Julie Huber,
