GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – National Guard FLW College Fishing is headed to Lake Guntersville Feb. 26 for the second of four stops in the Southeast Division. Forty college teams will be competing for a top award of $10,000 to be split between the school and bass fishing club; $7,500 for bass club and $2,500 for their school.
National Guard pro Justin Lucas said the cold winter killed a good amount of Lake Guntersville’s grass, so finding the grass that’s left will be the key to the tournament.
“The College Fishing competitors are going to have to find the healthy grass,” said Lucas, who is from Guntersville. “They can fish only in the south end of the lake, so they’re going to have to find one or two key patches of grass that are healthier than anything else that’s down there.”
Anglers will take off from Lake Guntersville State Park in Guntersville, Ala., at 7 a.m. Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at Lake Guntersville State Park beginning at 1:30 p.m. Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.
Schools competing in the Lake Guntersville tournament, which is hosted by the Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau, are available online.
The top five teams from each tournament will qualify for the regional championship where the first-place team wins $12,500 cash for their school and $12,500 cash and a Ranger 177TR bass boat with a 90 horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard wrapped in school colors for their fishing club. The top five teams from each regional tournament advance to the national championship where the first-place team wins $25,000 for their school and $50,000 cash and a Ranger 177TR bass boat with a 90 horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard wrapped in school colors for their fishing club.
College Fishing is free to enter and 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.
About FLW Outdoors
FLW Outdoors is the largest tournament-fishing organization in the world, offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 191 tournaments in 2011. FLW Outdoors has taken fishing mainstream with the world’s richest fantasy sports game, FLW Fantasy Fishing at FantasyFishing.com, where competitors can play for free as well as sign up for Player’s Advantage to gain an edge.