Western Regional headed to Saguaro Lake

Fall bass fishing likely to shallow, deep extremes on Lake Saguaro

TEMPE, Ariz. – National Guard FLW College Fishing is headed to Saguaro Lake Nov. 17-19 for the Western Regional Championship hosted by Arizona State University and the Tempe Tourism Office. Twenty college teams will be competing 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.

“Last week there was a nice cooling trend that sent fish into their fall pattern,” said National Guard pro Brett Hite of Phoenix. “The bass will be chasing bait fish both shallow and deep. In the morning I would start shallow with some topwater reaction baits. As the day progresses I would continue to move to deeper water and start drop-shotting a Texas rig with a worm.

“Saguaro is a deep reservoir,” Hite continued. “Water levels are pretty stable, never fluctuating more than 5 feet and the bass are plentiful. There are a lot of fish in the lake right now, especially 3- and 4-pounders. I have even seen 10-pounders come out of there. It should be a good tournament for the college anglers with a lot of fish caught.”

Anglers will take off from Saguaro Del Norte Recreation Site located at 14011 N. Bush Highway in Mesa, Ariz., at 7 a.m. each morning. All weigh-ins will be held outside the Wells Fargo Arena on the Arizona State University campus at 606 E. Alpha Drive. Thursday and Friday weigh-ins will begin at 4 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will begin at 5 p.m., just prior to the Arizona State vs. Arizona football game. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

Schools competing in the Western Regional include:

Arizona State University – Joseph Jarrell, Phoenix, Ariz., and Kyle Keegan, Tempe, Ariz.

Arizona State University – Mark Walker, Cave Creek, Ariz., and Craig Carroll, Chandler, Ariz.

Boise State – Jared Spickelmier, Boise, Idaho, and Jacob Leanna, Menominee, Mich.

Boise State – Michael Zawacki, Boise, Idaho, and Tanner Bice, Middleton, Idaho

California Polytechnic – Scott Hellesen and Damian Bean, both of San Luis Obispo, Calif.

California State University, Long Beach – Justin Gangel, Oceanside, Calif., and Alex Cox, Long Beach, Calif.

California State University, Monterey Bay – David Hamblin, Morgan Hill, Calif., and Matthew Diaz, Castroville, Calif.

Chico State – Bo Harkins, Chico, Calif., and Anthony Dayton, Walnut Creek, Calif.

Chico State – Bryce Hayes, Taft, Calif., and Lucas Russell, Chico, Calif.

Chico State – Nicholas Carrico, Oroville, Calif., and Matthew Wetmore, Chico, Calif.

Chico State – Thomas White, Fountain Valley, Calif., and Frank Vogt, Chico, Calif.

Fresno State – Christopher Delgado and Kong Moua, both of Fresno, Calif.

Humboldt State University – Ben Smith and Dominic Vitali, both of Samoa, Calif.

Northern Arizona University – Nicole Albright and Brent Perkins, both of Phoenix, Ariz.

Sacramento State – Kyle Derbish and Greg Taluban, both of Sacramento, Calif.

Sacramento State – Robert Matsuura, Sacramento, Calif., and Thomas Kanemoto, Elk Grove, Calif.

University of Nevada, Reno – Brandon Murphy, Reno, Nev., and Jared Malone, Sonora, Calif.

University of Oregon – Ross Richards, Eugene, Ore., and Reed Frazier San Rafael, Calif.

University of Oregon – William Crowl, Eugene, Ore., and Kyle Schneider, Beaverton, Ore.

University of Oregon – Zachary Niesen and Nick Doring, both of Mill Valley, Calif.

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.

Arizona State will be hosting the College Fishing Festival throughout the three-day tournament. Students and fishing fans alike will be treated to a Ranger Boat simulator, Sony PS3 Gaming Trailer, tailgate games, a sports zone along with contests for cash and several prize giveaways. The festival will take place outside the Wells Fargo Arena located at 606 E. Alpha Drive in Tempe from 2 – 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from 2:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

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 Western Regional Championship will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS. “FLW Outdoors,” will air Dec. 25 from 1 – 2 p.m. ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide.

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