College Fishing Central Regional gearing up for Lake Kinkaid

Shallow patterns expected in National Guard FLW College Fishing event

September 28, 2011 • MLF • Abu Garcia College Fishing

CARBONDALE, Ill. – National Guard FLW College Fishing is headed to Lake Kinkaid Oct. 6-8 for the Central Division Regional Championship, which is being hosted by Southern Illinois University (SIU). 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.

“Kinkaid should fish pretty well,” said Walmart FLW Tour pro Chad Morgenthaler of Coulterville, Ill. “We’ve had some cooler weather this year, and it’s normally all about the milfoil. Fish really relate to it this time of year, so they should be moving into shallow grasses and starting their feeding frenzy.

“There will be two dominant baits this time of year, especially if the fish are moving shallow,” Morgenthaler added. “A frog and a jig or soft-plastic bait will both be successful. I would say anything over 12 pounds per day will do well, but I think it will take 16 to 18 pounds per day to win the tournament.”

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. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins 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 that have qualified for the National Guard FLW College Fishing Central Division Regional so far are available online.

The top five teams from each regional tournament advance to the national championship where the first-place team wins an 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 2-4 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 11 a.m.-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.

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.

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.

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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.