The Sacramento State team of Peter Lee, Fresno, Calif., and Robert Matsuura, Sacramento, Calif., held off their competition on the final day to win the National Guard FLW College Fishing Western Regional Championship on Folsom Lake bringing in five bass weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces on Saturday giving them a three-day total of 16 bass weighing 29 pounds, 2 ounces. The 2-ounce victory earned the team $50,000, which includes a new Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower outboard and $25,000 to the university.
“We did not catch our first fish until 10:30 and I thought we had it and we would be on fire,” said Matsuura, a junior majoring in geography. “It turned out to be a tough day as we were only able to pull out five. I was stressed, my head was throbbing. The first thing in the morning I lose all my way points, but it ended right.”
“We basically stuck with our same lures from day one and two, but changed our locations in the morning,” said Lee, a junior studying criminal justice. “We went out to the main lake again and were basically doing the same thing the entire tournament. We caught all our fish around 35 feet [deep] and we were throwing spoons and Carolina rigs.”
Lee, who stuck a lure in the head of his partner Matsuura first thing in the morning said, “I didn’t think we would continue fishing as I knew how bad the hooks were in him. We made a quick run back to the ramp and the guys cut the lure off and said he could still fish. We went back out came out on top.”
Matsuura said he thought their day would be over after he was hooked. “I thought it was over and I knew we would end up in fifth place and had qualified for the national championship. I was not looking happy in the morning. My head feels a little better now.”
“We fished flawlessly the second day and the final day,” said Marshal Smith of San Jose, Calif., representing Chico State. “The first day I lost my limit fish right at the boat. It was about a 2-pound smallmouth and that would have been it.”
Rounding out the top five teams and qualifying for the national championship are:
| 2nd: | Chico State | Parker Moran of Carmel, Calif., and Marshal Smith of San Jose, Calif. | 17 bass | 29-0 | $25,000 |
| 3rd: | Chico State | Allison Shaw of Calapasas, Calif., and Thomas White of Fountain Valley, Calif. | 15 bass | 28-13 | $11,000 |
| 4th: | San Jose State | Anthony Lee and Tyler Swasey, both of San Jose, Calif. | 11 bass | 25-0 | $8,000 |
| 5th: | Cal Poly | Damian Bean of San Luis Obispo, Calif., and Scott Hellesen of Whittier, Calif. | 14 bass | 23-3 | $6,000 |
Overall there were 25 bass weighing 39 pounds, 9 ounces caught by five teams Saturday. The catch included one six-bass limit.
Lee and Matsuura also won a $1,000 gift card as part of the Cabela’s Angler Cash program. Cabela’s offers teams the opportunity to register and win a $1,000 gift card for being the highest qualified finisher in each College Fishing Regional Championship, making the stakes even higher in an already rich award package. Anglers can visit the FLWOutdoors website for a complete list of rules and to register..
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 2011 National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship that will be hosted by Murray State University on Kentucky Lake, April 7-9. 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.
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
