FLW College Fishing Western Conference finale at Clear Lake

Forty teams fight for top honors April 28

LAKEPORT, Calif. – National Guard FLW College Fishing is headed to Clear Lake April 28 for the season’s final stop in the Western Conference. Forty college teams from the across the region will be competing for a top award of $5,000.

“Fishing is on fire; The bite is unbelievable,” said FLW Tour pro Cody Meyer of Auburn, Calif. “The fish are going crazy up there right now. I wish I could fish it. You can catch the bass just about any way you want, but the Alabama rig is killer.

“The fish are pre-spawn and starting to move up,” Meyer continued. “Flipping grass, spinnerbaits and swimbaits will all work. You might have to do some sight fishing on beds to get a couple of big ones, but definitely have a backup plan. The biggest challenge is going to be finding fresh water to fish. Clear Lake fishes kind of small, and teams are going to have to have a couple of key spots to fish.

“A buddy of mine just fished a team tournament up there, and they had 28 pounds and didn’t even place. A lot of fish are going to be caught, but teams will need a couple of kicker fish to win. You’ll get 22 pounds using a weightless Senko around docks, but it won’t be nearly enough.”

Anglers will take off on Saturday from Konocti Vista Casino Resort and Marina located at 2755 Mission Rancheria Road in Lakeport, Calif., at 6:30 a.m. Weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 1 p.m. Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.

Schools competing in the Clear Lake tournament, which is being hosted by the Konocti Vista Casino Resort Marina, include:

Arizona State University – Austen Schmalz, Mesa, Ariz., and Jordan Schuler, Peoria, Ariz.

Arizona State University – Chris Fairbanks, Mesa Ariz., and Doug Coplan, Tempe, Ariz.

Arizona State University – Jason Karseboom, Chandler, Ariz., and Bobby Fletcher, Gilbert, Ariz.

California Polytechnic – John Zeolla, Oak Park, Calif., and Kyle Greenlaw, San Luis Obispo, Calif.

California Polytechnic – Russ Gruener and Patrick Monson, both of San Luis Obispo, Calif.

California State University-Long Beach – Alex Cox and Justin Gangel, both of Long Beach, Calif.

California State University-Long Beach – Alfredo Gutierrez, Inglewood, Calif., and Alex Pisarski, Costa Mesa, Calif.

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

California State University-Monterey Bay – Arik Anastasiou, Seaside, Calif., and Sebastian Resendiz, Castroville, Calif.

Chico State – Anthony Dayton and Nicholas Carrico, both of Chico, Calif.

Chico State – Garrett Clark, Chico, Calif., and Daniel Figueroa, Santa Maria, Calif.

Chico State – Michael Braswell and Bo Harkins, both of Chico, Calif.

Colorado State University – Keane Velez and Chris Sabina, both of Fort Collins, Colo.

Colorado State University – Kyle Christianson, Fort Collins, Colo., and Benjamin Robey, Pleasant Hill, Iowa

Eastern Washington University – Jarred Walker, Cheney, Wash., and Robert Trukositz, Spokane, Wash.

Eastern Washington University – Jesse Squires and Nick Barr, both of Cheney, Wash.

Fresno State – Brett Olson, Fresno, Calif., and Tim Mendonca, Turlock, Calif.

Fresno State – Kong Moua, Fresno, Calif., and Che Yang, Sanger, Calif.

Humboldt State University – Hideaki Kubo, Arcata, Calif., and Ben Smith, Samoa, Calif.

Humboldt State University – Jen Edgar, Arcata, Calif., and Derrick Hicks, Lincoln, Calif.

Humboldt State University – Joe Won, Arcata, Calif., and Shaun Maki, Chino Hills, Calif.

Northern Arizona University – Alex Stewart and Carter Vickers, both of Flagstaff, Ariz.

Oregon State University – Zach MacDonald, Willits, Calif., and William Sparks, Corvallis, Ore.

Oregon State University – Travis Stephens, Redmond, Ore., and Derek Mathes, Corvallis, Ore.

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

Sacramento State – Travis Kuhn and Chase King, both of Lodi, Calif.

San Jose State University – Andrew Sumi, Hercules, Calif., and Anthony Lee, San Jose, Calif.

San Jose State University – Yousef Ashufta, East Palo Alto, Calif., and Patrick Rotschi, Mountain View, Calif.

Sonoma State University – Adrien Briens, Carlsbad, Calif., and Drew White, Danville, Calif.

Sonoma State University – Brendan Castro, Lafayette, Calif., and Brandon Fischer, Rohnert Park, Calif.

University of California-Davis – Christopher Beck, Diamond Springs, Calif., and Jason Moon, Pleasant Hill, Calif.

University of California-Davis – Philip Choy, Lafayette, Calif., and Kousei Perales, Bakersfield, Calif.

University of California-Santa Cruz – Jason Coslovich, San Jose, Calif., and Sam Sayad, both of Santa Cruz, Calif.

University of California-Santa Cruz – Yoshi Van Gelder, Santa Cruz, Calif., and Tyler Brownell, Chula Vista, Calif.

University of Nevada-Reno – Anthony Milano, Reno, Nev., and Brandon Cramer, Petaluma, Calif.

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

University of Oregon – Kyle Schneider, Beaverton, Ore., and David Wilson, Carmichael, Calif.

University of Oregon – William Crowl, Eugene, Ore., and Zachary Niesen, Mill Valley, Calif.

Utah Valley University – Weston Brierley, Orem, Utah, and Cathleen Martinez, Spanish Fork, Utah

Utah Valley University – Tate Brown, Heber, Utah, and Tyler Hiatt, Vernal, Utah

Four regular-season qualifying events are held in each conference – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Texas and Western. The top five teams from each qualifying tournament will advance to one of five televised three-day National Guard FLW College Fishing Conference Championships, where the first-place team wins a Ranger 177TR bass boat with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard. The top five teams from each conference championship advance to the national championship, where the first-place team wins $25,000 for their school and $50,000 cash plus a Ranger 177TR bass boat with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard for their fishing club.

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.

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

About FLW

FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing unparalleled fishing resources and entertainment to our sponsors, fans and host communities. FLW is offering anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2012 over the course of 191 tournaments across five tournament circuits, each providing an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water,” through a variety of platforms including tournaments, outdoor expos and the world’s richest fantasy sports game – FLW Fantasy Fishing. For more information about FLW and FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FLWOutdoors.com or FantasyFishing.com and look for FLW on Twitter and Facebook.