The Sacramento State team of Peter Lee, Fresno, Calif., and Robert Matsuura, Sacramento, Calif., built on to their lead in the National Guard FLW College Fishing Western Regional Championship on Folsom Lake bringing in five bass weighing 8 pounds, 1 ounce on Friday giving them a two-day total of 11 bass weighing 21 pounds, 8 ounces. The team increased their lead over the field heading into the final day of competition. The top five teams have qualified for the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship and are competing for the $50,000 first place prize and title of regional champion.
“I am hoping for the same weather tomorrow,” said Matsuura, a junior majoring in geography. “It was killing my confidence because we didn’t have a fish in the boat until 11:40. That wait from 7 to 11, I was dying and my heart was dropping. I didn’t think we were going to make it. Today was the toughest day out of the three days we have been here.”
“Day one we were secluded, but today we saw a couple boats out there and they were pretty much on our spots,” said Lee, a junior studying criminal justice. “We had to work around that and Robert can find anything out there. It was a bad luck day today to the point where we caught a catfish.”
“We are going to try something totally different in the morning and then go to our fish in the afternoon,” continued Matsuura, who remained quiet on the baits the team is using. “Hopefully we will bring in a good one. I want a picture.”
Rounding out the top five teams and qualifying for the national championship are:
| 2nd: Chico State | Allison Shaw of Calapasas, Calif., and Thomas White of Fountain Valley, Calif. | 10 bass | 19-15 |
| 3rd: Chico State | Parker Moran of Carmel, Calif., and Marshal Smith of San Jose, Calif. | 11 bass | 19-0 |
| 4th: San Jose State | Anthony Lee and Tyler Swasey, both of San Jose, Calif. | seven bass | 18-14 |
| 5th: Cal Poly | Damian Bean of San Luis Obispo, Calif., and Scott Hellesen of Whittier, Calif. | nine bass | 16-4 |
Overall there were 59 bass weighing 99 pounds, 4 ounces caught by 20 teams Friday. The catch included three six-bass limits.
Each school represented in the televised regional championship have team shirts and boats provided by Ranger. The purse for each regional championship includes a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard wrapped in school colors for the winning club and $25,000 for the school they represent. Awards of $6,000 extend through fifth place for the club and school to split evenly.
Anglers will take off from Folsom Lake State Park Recreation Area located at 8000 Douglas Blvd. in Granite Bay, Calif. at 7 a.m. Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at the Sacramento State Alumni Center, Lot 8 on campus after the football game on Saturday. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
In conjunction with the Western Regional Championship, the College Fishing Festival, which features live music, the National Guard Warrior Challenge and free giveaways and prizes, will be held on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Sacramento State Alumni Center, Lot 8.
Qualified teams in the Western Regional Championship were:
| Arizona State University (2) |
| Boise State |
| California Polytechnic State University (2) |
| California State, Long Beach |
| Chico State (3) |
| Fresno State |
| Humboldt State University |
| Northern Arizona University |
| Sacramento State |
| San Jose State University |
| Sonoma State University |
| University of California, Davis |
| University of Nevada, Reno (2) |
| University of Oregon (2) |
The top five teams from each regional championship will advance to the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship. The National Championship is a three-day televised event hosting the top five teams from each regional, 25 total teams. Teams will be provided jerseys and wrapped Ranger boats towed by Chevy trucks for this competition.
College Fishing is free to enter, boats and drivers are provided by FLW Outdoors and all collegiate teams receive a travel allowance. For a complete list of tournament results, visit the CollegeFishing website.
ABOUT FLW OUTDOORS
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000.By: Jeff McCoy, PR dir / FLW Outdoors
