FLW College Fishing Northern Regional Championship headed to Sayers Lake

High-pressure lake likely to challenge collegiate bass anglers

August 29, 2011 • MLF • Abu Garcia College Fishing

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – National Guard FLW College Fishing is headed to Sayers Lake Sept. 1-3 for the Northern Regional Championship which is being hosted by Penn State. Twenty college teams will be competing for a top award of $50,000 to be split between the school and the bass fishing club; $37,500, which includes a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower outboard wrapped in school colors for their for bass club and $12,500 for their school.

“The thing to remember is that we are in a transition phase right now,” said National Guard co-angler Reginald Falls of Howard, Pa. “The fish could start getting in their fall pattern and may start a feeding frenzy which would loosen the bite. The lake has been under a tremendous amount of pressure this summer so right now the fishing is tough, but that could change.

“The tournament is going to be won fishing deep structure,” Falls continued. “There is an old railroad bed and highway on the bottom of the lake that the bass like to gravitate towards. There is some wood cover on the upper end of the lake that could be productive as well. The three predominate techniques are going to be Carolina rig, shaky head and drop-shot.

“There are fish to be caught and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone got lucky and landed a 6- or 7-pounder. However, for the most part I think in order to stay in contention teams will have to average 8 pound bags per day, it should take about 24 to 26 pounds to win. If teams stick with natural presentations, slow down and move from one deep structure to another they should be successful on Sayers Lake.”

Anglers will take off from Bald Eagle State Park, Hunters Run East Ramp located at 149 Main Park Road in Howard, Pa., at 7 a.m. each morning. Weigh-ins will be held at Bryce Jordan Center (Beaver Stadium) beginning at 4 p.m. Thurs. and Fri. Final weigh-in will be on Sat. beginning at 4 p.m. or upon completion of the Penn State vs. Indiana State football game at Beaver Stadium. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

Penn State is hosting 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 give-aways. The festival will take place at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center (Beaver Stadium) located at 127 Bryce Jordan Center in University Park from 2-4 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on Saturday.

Schools that have qualified for the National Guard FLW College Fishing Northern Regional so far are available online.

The first-place team wins $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 wins $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.

Coverage of the Northern Regional Championship will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS. “FLW Outdoors,” will air Nov. 6 from 1-2 p.m. ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide.

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.

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.