Sam Houston State wins FLW College Fishing Texas Division event on Sam Rayburn Reservoir

Brittain and Walker net $10,000 in winnings

The top-five teams acknowledge the crowd shortly after final weigh-in at the National Guard FLW College Fishing event at Sam Rayburn Reservoir. Photo by Diana Hunt.

February 13, 2011 • MLF • Abu Garcia College Fishing

JASPER, Texas – The Sam Houston State team of Seth Brittain and Tanner Walker won the National Guard FLW College Fishing Texas Division event on Sam Rayburn Reservoir Sunday with five bass weighing 18 pounds even. 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 Texas Division Regional Championship.

“This is the biggest tournament I’ve ever fished,” said Brittain, a freshman agricultural engineering major. “We’re both freshmen, this is our first FLW tournament, we were real comfortable fishing and it’s just the best feeling ever.

“We prefished last weekend and were just whacking them,” Brittain added. “I figured it would be a walk in the park. But we caught five fish and it took all day to do it. We caught our last fish within minutes of when we had to leave to be able to make it back in time. That one ended up being our kicker fish.”

Brittain said the team focused on a dropoff in 9 to 22 feet of water and threw a Carolina rig tipped with a Zoom Dead Ringer worm. Brittain said they would catch the fish as they made their way up onto a flat to feed.

“They were few and far between,” Brittain said. “They weren’t bunched up. “They were just passing through and we happened to put a lure in front of them.”

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

2nd: Stephen F. Austin – Ryan Watkins and Andrew Upshaw, (five bass, 14-7, $2,500)

3rd: Southwestern Oklahoma State University – Nathan Colwell and Shane McGlothlin, (five bass, 13-10, $2,000)

4th: Lamar University – Justin Royal and Troy Luce, (four bass, 10-0, $2,000)

5th: Lamar University – Matt Morrison and Danny Iles, (four bass, 9-5 $2,000)

The top five teams from each tournament qualified 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 Texas Division tournament is scheduled for March 19 at Toledo Bend in Hemphill, Texas.

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.