Northern Conference Championship to be held on Philpott Lake

National Guard College Fishing event set for Sept. 13-15

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – National Guard FLW College Fishing is headed to Philpott Lake Sept. 13-15 for the Northern Conference Championship presented by Mercury. Twenty college teams will be competing for a Ranger Z117 bass boat with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a berth in the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship.

“It’s a beautiful lake, but the fishing is going to be tough,” said three-time angler of the year and Castrol pro David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va. “Any time you fish during the summer-to-fall transition it makes fishing tough. The fish tend to spread out so you can’t key in on any one area.

“Anglers are going to have to keep an open mind,” Dudley continued. “The fish are going to be caught in water anywhere from 6 inches to 30 feet. It’s going to be best if they move around a lot. Look for fish in all depths of water. I would look for schooling bass near the dam. Topwater baits, shaky heads and drop-shots should all work. If teams catch 13 to 14 pounds a couple of times they will be doing good. It should take about 36 pounds to win.”

Anglers will take off from Twin Ridge Recreation Area located at State Route 624, Twin Ridge Marina Road in Henry VA., at 7 a.m. each morning. Weigh-ins will be at Walmart located at 976 Commonwealth Boulevard, in Martinsville, Va., beginning at 4 p.m. each day. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

Schools competing in the Northern Conference Championship, which is being hosted by Franklin County Commerce & Leisure Services, Martinsville-Henry County EDC’s Tourism & Film Division, Patrick County Tourism and US Army Corps of Engineers-Philpott Lake include:

Fairmont State University – Ryan Radcliff, Parkersburg, W. Va., and Wil Dieffenbauch, Hundred, W. Va.

Glenville State College – Brandon Abbott, Gandeeville, W. Va., and Nick Lambert, Oceana, W. Va.

La Roche College – Jonathan Coholich, Allison Park, Pa., and Richard Smith, Cheswick, Pa.

Michigan State University – Thomas Rumpf Jr., Perrysburg, Ohio, and Luke Baker, Lansing, Mich.

Ohio State – Jeff Moorman, Bloomingdale, Ohio, and Quinn Miller, Carrollton, Ohio

Ohio State – Kyle Feucht, Marysville, Ohio, and Tyler Berger, Worthington, Ohio

Ohio University – Larry Helmers and Matthew Tarr, both of Athens, Ohio

Penn State – Grae Buck, Perkiomenville, Pa., and Jessica Moldofsky, Worchester, Pa.

Radford University – Blaine Chitwood, Wirtz, Va., and Brett Meyn, Mechanicsville, Va.

Radford University – Ryan McCarthy, Chantilly, Va., and Steven Jarrells, Radford, Va.

Ramapo College – Jeffrey Voss, Secaucus, N.J., and Joseph Zapf, Whippany, N.J.

Shippensburg University – Kevin Hollasch, Marriottsville, Md., and Jonathan Miller, Keedysville, Md.

Slippery Rock University – Benjamin Tawney, Stoystown, Pa., and Corey Randour, Washington, Pa.

State University of New York-Plattsburgh – Brendan Bolis, Canton, N.Y., and John McDougall, Queensbury, N.Y.

State University of New York-Plattsburgh – Chris Benninger, Grand Island, N.Y., and Richard Lee, Port Kent, N.Y.

University of Akron – Rob Conley, North Canton, Ohio, and Austin Levering, Caledonia, Ohio

Virginia Tech – Anderew Jackson, Lebanon, Va., and Patrick Snellings, Fredericksburg, Va.

Virginia Tech – Jody White, Shaftsbury, Vt., and David Bryant, Covington, Va.

Virginia Tech – Carson Reizer, Blacksburg, Va., and Preston Chrisman, Radford, Va.

Xavier University – Ty Styons and Ian Goddard, both of Farfield, Ohio

Fans will be treated to the FLW Expo at Walmart on Thursday and Friday from 2-4 p.m. and Saturday from noon-4 p.m. prior to weigh-ins. The Expo includes Ranger boat simulators, interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by sponsors. Fans can also learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities. All activities are free and open to the public.

Four regular-season qualifying events were held in each conference – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southern and Western – and the top five teams from each regular-season event qualified for one of the five conference championships. The top five teams from each conference championship advance to the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship.

College Fishing is free to enter and FLW 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 Northern Conference Championship will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network when “FLW” airs Dec. 16 from 1-2 p.m. EST. “FLW” is hosted by Jason Harper and is broadcast to more than 559 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.

For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow College Fishing on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing. Visit CollegeFishing.com to sign up or to start a club at your school.

About FLW

FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing unparalleled fishing resources and entertainment to our sponsors, fans and host communities. FLW is offering anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2012 over the course of 191 tournaments across five tournament circuits, each providing an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water,” through a variety of platforms including tournaments, outdoor expos and the world’s richest fantasy sports game – FLW Fantasy Fishing. For more information about FLW and FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FLWOutdoors.com or FantasyFishing.com and look for FLW on Twitter and Facebook.