Visiting teams now in chase mode
Hometown favorite Sacramento State attempts to maintain top spot in National Guard FLW College Fishing Western Regional Championship
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – As the top 20 collegiate teams departed Folsom Lake Marina shortly after 7 a.m., anglers were well aware that today represents the final opportunity to make one last push for a top-five finish. A top five finish not only would guarantee a spot in Saturday’s final and a chance to take home the Western Regional Championship trophy, but it would also give teams an automatic berth into the 2011 National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship.
Clearly, there is a lot at stake. As such, teams are aware that there is no longer any room for error – especially given the fact that hometown favorite Sacramento State is currently in the lead and in prime position to run away with the title if they are not significantly challenged by the “away teams” in today’s round of tournament action.
“Sacramento State is a tough team and they definitely have an advantage right now,” said Chico State team member Bastian Golladay, whose squad currently resides in second place overall and approximately 1 pound behind the leaders. “They know the lake better than anyone else and they have far more spots they can fall back on.”
However, while the Sacramento State duo of Robert Matsuura and Peter Lee are in the proverbial driver’s seat heading into Friday’s competition, there are still plenty of teams well within striking distance. But to overtake the leaders, the remaining 19 teams are going to have to elevate their execution levels and modify their game plans.
And for Chico State, that’s precisely what the plan to do.
“We’re going to be heading out of here today at max speed to get to our best spots,” said Golladay. “We’re really going to try and get to our spots as soon as we can and take advantage of the early topwater bite. From what we can tell, our bite pretty much shuts down at 10 a.m. – and I think that’s generally the way things are going throughout the lake. We’re also going to fish a lot shallower than most other teams. Although a lot of teams are focusing on the deeper bite, we’re going to be targeting fish in 10 to 15 feet of water.”
For Chico State, the gameplan is pretty straightforward – catch 10 pounds of fish and survive today’s top-five cut.
“We think if we can catch 10 pounds today, we have confidence we’ll make the cut,” said Golladay. “We really want to win this tournament badly, but a top-five finish is huge – that means you’re going to the National Championship.”
Tourney format and event logistics
Anglers will take off from Folsom Lake Marina located at 661 Green Valley Road in El Dorado Hills, Calif., at 7 a.m. each morning. Weigh-ins will be held at Sacramento State Alumni Center, Lot 8. Today’s weigh-in will begin at 4 p.m. while Saturday’s final weigh-in is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Schools competing this week on Folsom Lake are:
Arizona State University – Brandon Service, Tempe, Ariz. and Ryan Miller, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Arizona State University – Joseph Jarrell, Phoenix, Ariz. and Mark Walker, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Boise State – Jared Spickelmier, Boise, Idaho and Eric Danser, Emmett, Idaho
California Polytechnic State University – Scott Hellesen, and Damian Bean both of San Luis Obispo, Calif.
California Polytechnic State University – John Zeolla, Oak Park, Calif. and Joe Gardner, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
California State, Long Beach – Dane Christensen, Long Beach, Calif. and Alfredo Gutierrez, Inglewood, Calif.
Chico State – Parker Moran and Marshal Smith both of Chico, Calif.
Chico State – Frank Vogt, Chico, Calif., and Bastian Golladay, Walnut Creek, Calif.
Chico State – Thomas White, Fountain Valley, Calif. and Allison Shaw, Chico, Calif.
Fresno State – Nicholas Thao, Clovis, Calif. and Che Yang, Fresno, Calif.
Humboldt State University – Derrick Hicks and Jen Edgar both of Eureka, Calif.
Northern Arizona University – Nicole Albright and Brent Perkins both of Phoenix, Ariz.
Sacramento State – Robert Matsuura, Sacramento, Calif. and Peter Lee, Elk Grove, Calif.
San Jose State University – Tyler Swasey and Anthony Lee both of San Jose, Calif.
Sonoma State University – Luke Haley, Sebastopol, Calif. and Alex Christianson, Cotati, Calif.
University of California, Davis – Mark White, Fairfield, Calif. and Travis Goldman, Freedom, Calif.
University of Nevada, Reno – Seth Hofland, Spring Creek, Nev. and Ricky Nielsen, San Rafael, Calif.
University of Nevada, Reno – Brandon Murphy, Boulder City, Nev. and Justin Landerman, Reno, Nev.
University of Oregon – Cody Herman, Eugene, Ore. and Nick Doring, Mill Valley, Ore.
University of Oregon – Ross Richards and Reed Frazier both of Eugene, Ore.
The top five teams from this week’s Western Regional Championship will advance to the FLW College Fishing National Championship, where the first-place team will win $100,000 with $50, 000 of that for their school and $25,000 cash and a Ranger 177TR bass boat for their fishing club.
Bass-fishing fans take note
Sacramento State will also be hosting a College Fishing Festival throughout the three day tournament. Students and fishing fans alike will be treated to live music, the National Guard Warrior Challenge, a Ranger Boat simulator, tailgate games, a sports zone along with contests for cash and several prize giveaways. The festival will take place at Sacramento State Alumni Center, Lot 8 from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday. On Saturday, the College Fishing Festival will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The festival is free and open to the public as well.
Want to watch Friday’s FLW College Fishing Western Regional Championship weigh-in live but can’t make it in person? Then tune into FLW Live on FLWOutdoors.com shortly before 4 p.m. Pacific time to watch live streaming video and audio of today’s weigh in.
Vital statistics:
Sunrise: 7:09 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 49 degrees
Expected high temperature: 78 degrees
Wind: From the west-southwest at 6 mph
Humidity: 55 percent
Day’s outlook: Mostly sunny
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