Eastern Kentucky wins College Fishing Central Division event on Wolf River Chain

The Eastern Kentucky team of John Smith of Richmond, Ky., and Kyle Raymer of Brandenburg, Ky., won the National Guard FLW College Fishing Central Division event on the Wolf River Chain Sunday with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 10 ounces. Anglers: Kyle Raymer, John Smith.

June 19, 2011 • MLF • Abu Garcia College Fishing

WINNECONNE, Wis. – The Eastern Kentucky team of John Smith of Richmond, Ky., and Kyle Raymer of Brandenburg, Ky., won the National Guard FLW College Fishing Central Division event on the Wolf River Chain Sunday with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 10 ounces. The victory earned the team $10,000 to be split between the university and the university’s bass fishing club – $7,500 for the bass club and $2,500 for their school. The win also helped them advance to the Central Division Regional Championship.

“This feels awesome,” said Raymer, a sophomore business and marketing major. “We’ve had a few top-10 finishes, but it feels good to finally get a win.

“We prefished and absolutely busted them and most of the fish were coming on a crankbait on riprap,” Raymer added. “But when we pulled up we saw the grass was gone and couldn’t throw a crankbait.”

Raymer said the team tried fishing a dock pattern and received a few bites that way, then finished the day throwing Strike King buzzbaits on seawalls and crankbaits on riprap. Raymer said the team relied on baits in either black or black and blue to catch 25 to 30 fish, including 12 keepers during the course of the day.

Rounding out the top five teams and also advancing to the Central Regional Championship are:

2nd: UW-Stevens Point – Ted Johnson and Jody Derks, both of Waupaca, Wis. (five bass, 12-1, $3,000)

3rd: Winona State University – Cade Laufenberg, Stoddard, Wis., and Zac Cassill, Fairfax, Iowa (five bass, 11-4, $2,000)

4th: UW-Whitewater – Brooks Gullixon, Iola, Wis., and Bradley Taylor, Wausaukee, Wis. (five bass, 11-0, $2,000)

5th: University of Missouri – Taylor Knight, Columbia, Mo., and Champ Caldwell, Perry, Mo. (five bass, 11-0, $2,000)

The top five teams from each tournament qualify for the regional championship where the first-place team will win $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 will win $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.

The next National Guard FLW College Fishing Central Division tournament is scheduled for July 16 at the Detroit River in Trenton, Mich.

For complete details and updated information, browse this website. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow College Fishing on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWCollegeFishing.

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