National Guard FLW College Fishing is headed to Pickwick Lake Oct. 2 for the fourth and final stop in the Southeast Division. Forty collegiate teams will be competing for a top award of $10,000 to be split evenly between the school and bass fishing club.
“The fun thing about Pickwick Lake right now is that you can fish any style and still be successful,” said National Guard pro Jonathan Newton of Rogersville, Ala., who finished second last year at Pickwick Lake and has a win and two additional top-10 finishes there. “The best advice I can give the college anglers is to stick to their strengths. Pickwick is on the Tennessee River and you can catch them deep, mid-range and shallow. There should be a high concentration close to the launch site so they shouldn’t have to run very far, however, if they choose to run they can still do well.
“There should be a pretty good topwater bite going on in the morning,” Newton added. “I would switch to a jig or crankbait in the late morning/early afternoon.”
Newton went on to say that Alabama has been experiencing some unusually high temperatures so fall transition may be delayed. The current is going to play a key role in this tournament; the fish are current oriented and anglers should look for a strong current; the more the better.
Anglers will take off from McFarland Park located at 200 James M Spain Drive in Florence, Ala., at 6:30 a.m. Weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 12:30 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Schools competing in this week’s tournament include:
| Athens State University | North Alabama |
| Auburn University | North Florida |
| Austin Peay | North Greenville |
| Clemson University | South Alabama |
| Coastal Carolina | South Carolina |
| Columbus State | University Southern Mississippi |
| Erskine College | Southern Polytechnic State University |
| Faulkner University | Tennessee Tech |
| Florida Gulf Coast | Trevecca Nazarene University |
| Florida State College | Troy University |
| Freed-Hardeman University | University of Alabama – Birmingham |
| Georgia College (2) | University of Central Florida |
| Georgia Southern | University of Florida |
| Jacksonville State University | University of Georgia |
| Kennesaw State University | University of Montevallo |
| Lagrange College (2) | University of Tennessee |
| Lipscomb University | University of South Carolina – Upstate |
| Middle Tennessee State (2) | University of Tennessee – Chattanooga |
| Mississippi State | University of Tennessee – Martin |
| Morehouse College | Young Harris College (2) |
The top five teams from each tournament will qualify for the regional championship where the first-place team wins $25,000 cash for their school and a Ranger 177TR bass boat for their fishing club. The top five teams from each regional advance to the national championship where the first-place team wins $50,000 for their school and $25,000 cash and a Ranger 177TR bass boat for their fishing club.
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, 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) 252-1000By: Julie Huber,
