The University of Wisconsin-Stout team of Jeremy Anibas, and Ryan Helke, won the National Guard FLW College Fishing Central Division on Lake Ouachita Saturday with six bass weighing 14 pound, 1 ounce. The victory earned the team $10,000 to be split evenly between the university and the university’s bass-fishing club. The win also helped them advance to the Central Division Regional Championship where they could ultimately win a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower engine wrapped in school colors for their school’s bass club and $25,000 for the school they represent.
“We went junk fishing today,” said Helke, a sophomore studying Tech Ed. “We were catching them on spinnerbaits, trick bait, salamanders; just about anything we threw they ate. We had our limit by 10 a.m. this morning. I think we caught upwards of 50 fish, it was just an incredible day.”
Early morning cloud cover is also believed to have contributed to their success; after the sun came out at noon the fish stopped biting.
“We caught our biggest fish 20 minutes into the tournament,” said Anibas, a sophomore in Applied Science. “This was our first time on Lake Ouachita; we .just applied everything we knew from fishing back home and hoped it would work. The fact that the fish were spawning made a big difference too, the fish were hungry and aggressive so we just kept throwing them everything we had.”
Rounding out the top five teams were Truman State – Mike McCarthy, Jr., and Spencer Clark (five bass, 13-4, $5,000); University of Arkansas at Little Rock – Brian Duckett and Trent Gephardt (six bass, 11-13, $4,000); Western Kentucky -David Stephens and Andy Southard (six bass, 11-4, $3,000); Eastern Kentucky – John Smith and Christopher Davis (six bass, 11-1, $2,000).
The next National Guard FLW College Central Division tournament is scheduled for May 15, at Kentucky/Barkley Lake in Gilbertsville, Ky. College Fishing is free to enter, boats and drivers are provided by FLW Outdoors and all collegiate teams receive a travel allowance. The top five teams in each qualifying event advance to one of five televised three-day National Guard FLW College Fishing Regional Championships.
The 2010 National Guard FLW College Fishing Central Regional Championship is being held Nov. 4-6 at Lake Monroe in Bloomington, Ind. and is being hosted by Indiana University. 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.
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: Julie Huber,
