YETI FLW College Fishing is heading to Lake of the Ozarks April 1 for the first of three regular-season stops in the Central Conference. A full field of college fishing clubs will be competing for the top award of a $2,000 club scholarship and a berth into the 2018 College Fishing National Championship.
“Lake of the Ozarks is fishing so well right now that you can literally throw a dart at a map and win the tournament wherever the dart lands,” said FLW Tour pro Jeremy Lawyer of Sarcoxie, Missouri, who has nine top-10 finishes on Lake of the Ozarks in FLW competition. “There are so many fish in the lake right now and the bass are fat, healthy and look like butterballs. The lake is low, but it is in great shape and we can expect to see some big weights in this tournament.”
Lawyer said that like a lot of recent local tournaments, he expects the event to be won by anglers fishing an umbrella rig.
“The fish on Lake of the Ozarks just chew on those umbrella rigs,” Lawyer said. “There will be other patterns in play that you can go with – a Wiggle Wart, a LiveTarget HFC Crawfish or a Spro Rock Crawler – they will all help fill out a limit. Spinnerbaits, squarebills and of course a jig will be players as well. I do think with the umbrella rig in play, though, it will likely be won on that.
“It’s really anybody’s tournament right now – it can be won anywhere and you’re going to see the lake really shine,” Lawyer continued. “We’re going to see a lot of limits and a lot of good looking fish. I think there are going to be quite a few teams that weigh around 17 pounds and aren’t close to the top of the leaderboard. Some team is going to catch 24 or 25 pounds in this tournament, no doubt.”
Anglers will take off from the Public Beach No. 2 ramp at the Grand Glaize Recreation Area, located at 711 Public Beach Road in Osage Beach, at 7 a.m.
CDT Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at the launch beginning at 3 p.m. Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.
Schools are allowed to register up until the morning of the tournament. Entries may be made either by phone or at CollegeFishing.com.
Schools registered to compete in the Lake of the Ozarks tournament, which is hosted by the Tri-County Lodging Association, include:
Bellarmine University – Joseph Allgeier, Bardstown, Ky., and James Kuhns, Louisville, Ky.
Bellarmine University – Trevor Hulsey and Eric Shinkle, both of Louisville, Ky.
Bemidji State University – Thor Swanson and Mitchell Swanson, both of Blaine, Minn.
Heartland Community College – Austin Carr and Justin Carr, both of Bloomington, Ill.
Illinois Central College – Jacob Sarsfield and Jonathon Hendricks, both of Dunlap, Ill.
Indiana University – Jordan Mullis and Joe Long, both of Bloomington, Ill.
Iowa State University – Pat Morrison, Omaha, Neb., and Dylan Rague, Carroll, Iowa
Iowa State University – Connor Engelkes and Josef Rogers, both of Ames, Iowa
Iowa State University – Zachariah Beek, Bloomington, Minn., and Zachary Hartley, Minneapolis, Minn.
Kansas State University – Samuel Haines, Manhattan, Kan., and Graham Howard, Sabetha, Kan.
Kansas State University – Shaun Finn, Olathe, Kan., and Sheldon Rogge, Saint George, Kan.
Kansas State University – Hunter Whiteley, Springfield, Mo., and Tyler Nekolny, Manhattan, Kan.
McKendree University – Phillip Germagliotti, Highland, Ill., and Andrew Althoff, Neoga, Ill.
McKendree University – Brock Wilke, Saint Rose, Ill., and Austin Niggli, Highland, Ill.
McKendree University – Brendan Madden and Brock Meigs, both of Saint Louis, Mo.
McKendree University – Jacob Louis, Pinckneyville, Ill., and John Russell, Marion, Ill.
McKendree University – Austin Chapman, Blue Mound, Ill., and Taylor Schmitt, Belknap, Ill.
McKendree University – Shane Campbell, Summerfield, Ill., and Trevor McKinney, Benton, Ill.
Missouri State University – Crosley Welch, Branson, Mo., and Matt Fielder, Springfield, Mo.
Missouri State University – Nick King, Oakville, Mo., and Hayden Lee, Jefferson City, Mo.
Moraine Valley Community College – John Neubauer and Andrew Jensen, both of Oak Lawn, Ill.
Murray State University – Lance Freeman, Eddyville, Ky., and Cameron Brooks, Greenville, Ky.
Northwest Missouri State University – Logan Newlin, Maryville, Mo., and Krete Bullington, Council Bluffs, Iowa
Southern Illinois University – Kyle Wagner and Jake Wagner, both of Waterloo, Ill.
Southeast Missouri State University – Grant Hinton, Ballwin, Mo., and Joe Rippe, Wildwood, Mo.
Southeast Missouri State University – Luke Brozovich, Minooka, Ill, and Reid Millburg, Glenarm, Ill.
Southeast Missouri State University – Nick Moore and Sean Solomon, both of Desoto, Mo.
Southeast Missouri State University – Jacob Harris, Bonne Terre, Mo., and Tyler Smith, Saint Peters, Mo.
St. Charles Community College – Dale McCrackin and Heather Hayes, both of Lake Saint Louis, Mo.
St. Ambrose University – Cole Atkinson and Tanner Atkinson, both of Camanche, Iowa
University of Central Missouri – Denver Todd and Andrew Thomas, both of Warrensburg, Mo.
University of Central Missouri – Mitchell Armstrong, Branson, Mo., and Mathew Siebert, Springfield, Mo.
University of Louisville – Curtis Applebaum, Greenville, Ind., and Joseph Faulconer, Sadieville, Ky.
University of Louisville – Elijah Peters, Sycamore, Ill, and Trent Brown, Lanesville, Ind.
University of Nebraska – Ben Kroeger and Nathan Scalise, both of Omaha, Neb.
University of Notre Dame – William Brauer, Edina, Minn., and Josh Anderson, Los Angeles, Calif.
University of Wisconsin – Ben Wanke, Slinger, Wis., and Spencer Hahn, Appleton, Wis.
University of Wisconsin – Jake Anderson and Bryce Smith, both of Princeton, Wis.
University of Wisconsin – Michael Dircz, Minnetonka, Minn., and Andrew Wolfe, Wausau, Minn.
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh – Michael Anderson, Lake Tomahawk, Wis., and Johnny Moua, Eau Claire, Wis.
University of Wisconsin-Platteville – Brandon Brant, Platteville, Wis., and Jordan Saladis, McFarland, Wis.
University of Wisconsin-Platteville – Blake Lawston, Rushford, Minn., and Colton Gillund, Wonderlake, Ill.
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point – Ethan Goldstein, Orland Park, Ill., and Neal Wisinski, Stevens Point, Wis.
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point – Reed Fredrick, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., and Nash Henrichs, Stevens Point, Wis.
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point – Nick Dagel and Scott Humphreys, both of Round Lake Beach, Ill.
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point – Steve Niemi Jr., Scandinavia, Wis., and Max Hellman, Poplar Grove, Ill.
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point – Tyler Rush and Tommy Torkelson, both of Black River Falls, Wis.
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater – Collin Cropp, Janesville, Wis., and Louie Dazzo, Naperville, Ill.
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater – Jared Mataczynski, Wausau, Wis., and Steve Nebel, Whitewater, Wis.
FLW College Fishing teams compete in three regular-season qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top ten teams from each division’s three regular-season tournaments and the top 20 teams from the annual FLW College Fishing Open will advance to the 2018 FLW College Fishing National Championship. Additional teams will qualify for the National Championship if the field size in regular-season events exceeds 100 boats.
College Fishing is free to enter. All participants must be registered, full-time students at a college, university or community college and members of a college fishing club that is recognized by their school.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2017 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 274 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros.
By: Joe Opager, Director of Public Relations
