California State University Long Beach wins FLW College Fishing event on Lake Roosevelt

Christensen and Gutierrez net $10,000 in scholarships for winning Western Division tourney

The top five National Guard FLW College Fishing Western Division team qualifiers acknowledge the crowd shortly after final weigh-in on Lake Roosevelt. Photo by Gary Mortenson.

September 25, 2010 • MLF • Abu Garcia College Fishing

PAYSON, Ariz. – The California State University, Long Beach team of Dane Christensen and Alfredo Gutierrez, won the National Guard FLW College Fishing Western Division on Lake Roosevelt Saturday with five bass weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces. The victory earned the team $10,000 to be split evenly between the university and the university’s bass-fishing club. The win also helped them advance to the Western Division Regional Championship where they could ultimately win a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower engine wrapped in school colors for their school’s bass club and $25,000 for the school they represent.

“It was good morning fishing,” said Dane Christensen, a senior in Construction Engineering Management. “It was really hard to stay motivated when the bite died and the heat set in. But then all of a sudden National Guard pro Brent Ehrler came flying into our area at 70 miles per hour to fish and just knowing a pro like Ehrler fished our spot gave us the confidence we needed to stay focused.”

Conditions did not change much for the college kids, the lake fished as tough as it has been all week for the FLW Series Western Division pros at an event being held on Lake Roosevelt Sept. 22-25. Only one limit came across stage and only about a third of the college field weighed fish.

“This is incredibly exciting,” said Alfredo Gutierrez, a junior in Mechanical Engineering. “We made it to Regionals! I can’t wait. And to get to see Brent Ehrler. . . on our spot, it was awesome.

“This was my first time on Lake Roosevelt and we had all our fish in the first hour and a half and then the bite died,” added Gutierrez. “I tried so hard to get that last fish, but it just didn’t happen. We were using a drop-shot with robo worms all day long. I used Morning Dawn and Dane was using Oxblood.”

Rounding out the top five teams were:

Northern Arizona University – Nicole Albright and Brent Perkins, four bass, 7-5, $5,000

Humboldt State University – Jen Edgar and Derrick Hicks, three bass, 7-4, $4,000

Arizona State University – Brandon Service and Ryan Miller, five bass, 7-2, $3,000

California Polytechnic State University – John Zeolla and Joe Gardiner, six bass, 6-12, $2,000

The next National Guard FLW College Western Division tournament is the Western Regional scheduled for Oct. 7-9, at Folsom Lake hosted by Sacramento State. Top five teams in each of the four qualifying events have now qualified for the three-day National Guard FLW College Fishing Western Regional Championship. For a complete list of the 20 qualifying teams visit FLWCollegefishing.com.

The top five teams from each of the five regional championships will advance to the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship, 25 teams total. The National Championship is a three-day televised event and teams will be provided jerseys and wrapped Ranger boats towed by Chevy trucks for this competition.

About FLW Outdoors

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing awarding the largest prizes in the history of fantasy sports. FLW Outdoors memberships are available featuring numerous benefits including Player’s Advantage. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FantasyFishing.com.