The Sacramento State team of Peter Lee, Fresno, Calif., and Robert Matsuura, Sacramento, Calif., lead the National Guard FLW College Fishing Western Regional Championship on Folsom Lake bringing in a six-bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 7 ounces on Thursday. The team takes a slim 15-ounce lead over the field into day two competing for $50,000 for first and qualifying for the national championship.
“We went out this morning and followed our game plan,” said Matsuura. “In the morning it was cloudy and windy and looked like it was going to rain. I picked up the swimbait and threw it for an hour and only got one hit. Peter threw a jerkbait and didn’t get anything. So we were skunked until 10 o’clock.”
Matsuura continued, “I was nervous, almost at the point of giving up. Then all of a sudden the sun comes out and it was the end of the day. I am hoping that it is going to be bluebird skies tomorrow and if so, we will win.”
“Today actually started off kind of slow,” said Lee. “Once Rob found the pattern for us, we stuck to that and it paid off for us and we actually culled a couple of fish. Folsom Lake is a tough place to fish. We did a lot of homework for us to come out like this. Being in the lead, we still have to come out tomorrow as a lot of teams came out today and pulled some great weights. Anything can happen.”
Rounding out the top five teams are:
| 2nd: | Chico State | Bastian Golladay of Walnut Creek, Calif., and Frank Vogt of Gilroy, Calif. | five bass | 12-8 |
| 3rd: | San Jose State University | Anthony Lee and Tyler Swasey, both of San Jose, Calif. | three bass | 10-13 |
| 4th: | Northern Arizona University | Nicole Albright and Brent Perkins, both of Phoenix, Ariz. | six bass | 10-9 |
| 5th: | Cal Poly | Damian Bean of San Luis Obispo, Calif., and Scott Hellesen of Whittier, Calif. | six bass | 10-1 |
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. Friday and Saturday. Weigh-ins will be held at the Sacramento State Alumni Center, Lot 8 on campus beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday and 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 Friday at 2 p.m. and on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Sacramento State Alumni Center, Lot 8. For complete details, visit CollegeFishing.com.
Qualified teams in the Western Regional Championship include:
| 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 CollegeFishing..com.
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
