RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State University team of Jeff Bumgarner of Wade, N.C, and Will White of Raleigh, N.C., weighed five fish for 15 pounds, 5 ounces on the last day of competition at the National Guard FLW College Fishing Northern Division Regional Championship on Jordan Lake for a three-day total of 47-6 to win a top prize of $50,000, which includes a Ranger boat and outboard wrapped in school colors for the winning club and $25,000 for the school they represent. The team won by almost 16 pounds and also qualified for the National Championship on Kentucky Lake.
“This feels great right now,” Bumgarner said. “That’s all I can say. I just want to go to Kentucky and win Kentucky now.”
The win was the second Northern Regional victory in two years for an NC State University team. Last year the team of Ben Dziwulski of Woodbine, Md., and Kevin Beverley of Fuquay Varina, N.C., took the title.
White said the team began the first day of competition throwing Carolina rigs and Texas rigs on deep humps and found the bite slow. They managed to end the day in fourth place with five fish weighing 9-13. They changed their plan of attack on the second day.
“We didn’t have an early-morning bite (Thursday) and we decided today to go to the (U.S.) 64 bridge and start cranking,” said White, whose team calls themselves the Basspack. “We ran up there and did a little cranking and (Bumgarner) missed one right off the bat.
“We marked a spot on the riprap where if we didn’t catch anything we were going to leave,” White added. “We might have gone 50 feet past that and `Bam’, a 6 1/2-pounder. So we were like, `Maybe we’ll stay a little longer.’ And (Bumgarner’s) down there unhooking and I catch my biggest fish.”
Bumgarner said the team used a crawfish-colored Strike King Series 3 crankbait and banged it off of rocks in 6 to 9 feet of water. He also said many of their bigger fish were being caught in 5 feet of water. The team had a six-bass catch weighing 22 pounds, 4 ounces on the second day of competition and took the lead.
Bumgarner described the U.S. 64 bridge spot as a main-lake bridge with a lot of deep-water access and big, black rocks on the bottom. Bumgarner said the color of the rocks holds heat, and in the 58- to 60-degree water, those rocks were holding baitfish.
“It was real specific,” White said. “I threw the same crankbait in other colors, but they really wanted that one. I think it was just finding that crankbait that made the big difference.”
Rounding out the top five teams, who also qualified for the National Championship, are:
2nd: UNC Charlotte – Joe Kinchen, Mooresville, N.C., and Tyler Teer, Charlotte, N.C., 31-3, $25,000
3rd: NC State University – Ben Dziwulski, Woodbine, Md., and Kevin Beverley, Fuquay Varina, N.C., 30-15, $11,000
4th: Virginia Tech – Jody White, Shaftsbury, Vt., and Carson Rejzer, Hampton, Va., 30-13, $8,000
5th: Christopher Newport – Ryan Ingalls, Fairfax, Va., and Joe Wilkerson, Falls Church, Va., 27-12, $6,000
Each school team represented in the televised regional championship had team shirts and boats provided by Ranger. The purse for each regional championship includes a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard wrapped in school colors for the winning club and $25,000 for the school they represent. Awards of $6,000 extend through fifth place for the club and school to split evenly.
The top five teams from each regional championship, 25 teams total, 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, 2011. The National Championship is a three-day televised event. Teams will be provided jerseys and wrapped Ranger boats towed by Chevy trucks for this competition. 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 along with a berth in the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup.
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.
Coverage of the National Guard FLW College Fishing Northern Division Regional Championship tournament on Jordan Lake will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS. “FLW Outdoors”, and will air Dec. 19 from 1 to 2 ET. “FLW Outdoors,” is hosted by Jason Harper, and is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide.
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. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing awarding the largest prizes in the history of fantasy sports. FLW Outdoors memberships are available featuring numerous benefits including Player’s Advantage. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com ; or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FantasyFishing.com ; .