FLW College Fishing Central Division to open on Lake of the Ozarks
Changing water conditions will be biggest challenge
OSAGE BEACH, Mo. – National Guard FLW College Fishing is headed to Lake of the Ozarks March 12 for the first of four stops in the Central 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.
“The water conditions have been changing the last couple of days,” said Chevy pro Dion Hibdon of Stover, Mo. “That is really going to be the challenge in this tournament, the changing water conditions due to the weather.
“The fish are still going to be in wintertime patterns so jerkbait fishing is going to be awesome,” added Hibdon. “I would look for clear water, but anglers might not have that luxury. The water has really muddied up due to recent rain and snow. The last couple of tournaments have had some incredible weights come to the scale. It’s probably going to take about 18 pounds to win.”
Anglers will take off from Grand Glaize Recreation Area – P.B. #2 located at 711 Public Beach Road in Osage Beach, Mo., at 7 a.m. Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 1:30 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Schools competing in the FLW College Fishing on Lake of the Ozarks hosted by the Tri-County Lodging Association 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.