Working out the kinks on Kinkaid
Teams attempt to rebound from Thursday’s brutal day of fishing during second day of FLW College Fishing Central Regional Championship competition
CARBONDALE, Ill. – With only 10 of 20 teams recording a catch during Thursday’s opening round of FLW College Fishing Central Regional competition, anglers were eager to head back out onto the open waters of Kinkaid Lake in order to make amends. As the top-five cut looms, anglers know they will have their work cut out for them if they are to have any hope of qualifying for Saturday’s finals.
To be sure there is plenty at stake during today’s competition. By the time Friday’s weigh-in concludes, 15 college teams will be sent packing. The other five teams will not only remain in contention for a tournament title, but will also receive automatic berths into the 2012 FLW College Fishing National Championship. As a result, there is plenty of incentive to do everything possible to unlock the mystery of Kinkaid’s fickle bass bite.
“We’re going to try and do the same thing we did yesterday,” said University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point team member Ted Johnson, whose squad rose above the entire field during the opening round with an 8-pound, 4-ounce catch. “But it’s going to be tough. We didn’t get a whole lot of good bites yesterday so we’re going to have to try even harder today. Yesterday, we were able to eliminate some water that wasn’t very productive, so that’s a good thing. We’ve basically just been grinding it out. Yesterday, we’re able to fish pretty cleanly and capitalize on our good bites. And that’s what it’s going to take today because, so far, keeper bites on this lake have been rare.”
Anglers are also cognizant of the fact that the lake’s 16-inch minimum length requirement for all legal fish catches will make today’s fishing that much more difficult. And, as a result, make the tournament that much more wide open for big fluctuations on the leaderboard.
“If this was a 15-inch minimum tournament I think you would have seen a lot more limits yesterday,” said Johnson. “I know we would have been culling. But when you have to throw back 15 1/2- and 15 ¾-inch fish it gets pretty frustrating. I mean, a 16-inch fish is a good fish wherever you are. So we’re just going to have to grind it out again today.”
Johnson’s team was the only school to register at least three fish in Thursday’s competition. Four other teams recorded two-fish stringers, five recorded one-fish sacks and 10 teams came up empty. Furthermore, only two teams recorded a total weight above 5 pounds.
“I think this tournament is still pretty much wide open at this point,” said Johnson.
Click here for a complete list of results.
Tourney format and event logistics
Twenty college teams will compete for a top award of $50,000 to be split between the school and bass fishing club; $37,500 for the bass club, which includes $12,500 in cash as well as a Ranger 177TR with a 90 horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard wrapped in school colors, and $12,500 for their school.
Anglers will take off from the Kinkaid Lake Marina located at 2063 Marina Road in Murphysboro, Ill., at 7 a.m. daily. All weigh-ins will be held at the SIU Arena located at 1400 Arena Drive in Carbondale, Ill. Friday’s weigh-in will begin at 4 p.m., and Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at 5 p.m., or upon the completion of the SIU vs. North Dakota State football game. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Schools competing this week on Kinkaid Lake are:
Eastern Kentucky – Kyle Raymer and John Smith
Eastern Kentucky – Tyler Moberly and Jonas Ertel
Indiana University – Dustin Vaal and Steven Bressler
Iowa State University – Travis Graves and Branden Bowden
Kansas State University – Ryan Patterson
Kansas State University – Andrew Farmer Tom Hobson
MidAmerica Nazarene University – Brandon Owen and Jacob Johnson
Northwestern University – Jimmy Morrow and Matthew Kestufskie
Purdue University – Ryan Spicer and Chris Kaiser
Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville – Brad Lemasters and Justin Skinner
University of Arkansas, Little Rock – Trent Gephardt
University of Iowa – James Steffen and Brandon Madison
University of Missouri – Scott Dooley and Duron Netsell
University of Missouri – Taylor Knight and Champ Caldwell
University of North Dakota – Kyle Harren and Pat Davis.
University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point – Ted Johnson and Jody Derks
University of Wisconsin, Whitewater – Jordan Truttschel and Tyler Netzer
University of Wisconsin, Whitewater – Brooks Gullixon and Bradley Taylor
Winona State University – Zac Cassill and Cade Laufenberg
Western Kentucky University – Andy Southard and Cody Napier
(Note: Although Carter Norman of the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, and Brandon Patterson of Kansas State University qualified for the regional championship, both anglers are unable to compete this week due to scheduling conflicts).
The top five teams from FLW College Central Regional Championship will advance to the FLW College Fishing National Championship, which features a first-place award of $100,000; $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.
SIU will host the College Fishing Festival throughout the three-day tournament. Students and fishing fans alike will be treated to 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 the SIU Arena from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday, and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
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.
Bass-fishing fans take note
Coverage of the Central Regional Championship will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS. That episode of “FLW Outdoors” will air Nov. 20 from 1-2 p.m. ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide.
Want to watch Friday’s FLW College Fishing Central 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. Central time to watch live streaming video and audio of today’s weigh in.
Friday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:58 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 56 degrees
Expected high temperature: 86 degrees
Water temperature: 68-72 degrees
Wind: SSE at 3-11 mph
Humidity: 51 percent
Day’s outlook: sunny
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