FLW College Fishing takes on Clarks Hill

Second event of Southeastern Conference slated for March 1

APPLING, Ga. – FLW College Fishing is headed to Clarks Hill Lake March 1 for the second Southeastern Conference tournament of the season. Up to 50 college teams will be competing for a top award of $2,000 and a berth in the 2014 Southeast Conference Invitational.

“One thing I like about Clarks Hill in the spring is that it so big and has so many pockets and coves,” said Chevy pro Bryan Thrift. “In the spring you can kind of run and gun and look around for a few big bites. I’ll hit a pocket and zip around with the trolling motor and then crank up and hit another and another until you find a few. Clarks Hill sets up well for that kind of fishing.

“This time of year I would try to find schooling fish if the water is still cold. Otherwise, I would stay shallow and look for grass and wood. Spring is coming and fish are looking for a reason to come to the bank.

“If I could throw an umbrella rig that’s probably all I would throw,” continued Thrift. “That would be my number one plan. I’d put it in my hand and wouldn’t lay it down. I’d look for any kind of staging point or pocket where fish will come and stage. I’d especially look for bait and places with rock near deep water.”

Thrift’s final point was that he would avoid targeting fish relating to the blueback herring if he could. He said that bass around shad tend to be more stable and repeatable than the ones that chase herring.

Anglers will take off from Wildwood Park located at 6212 Holloway Road in Appling, Ga., at 7:00 a.m. Weigh-in will be held at Wildwood Park starting at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Takeoff and weigh-in is free and open to the public.

Schools competing in the Clarks Hill Lake tournament, which is hosted by the Columbia County Board of Commissioners, include:

Auburn University – Mitchell Jennings and Chuck Wise, both of Auburn, Ala.

Auburn University-Montgomery – Tyler Strock and Dalton Darnell, both of Deatsville, Ala

Bethel University – Matthew Roberts, McKenzie, Tenn., and Zach Parker, Jackson, Tenn.

Birmingham-Southern University – Matthew Oliver, Mount Olive, Ala., and Garrett Whitworth, Huntsville, Ala.

Clemson University – Ross Burns, Columbia, S.C., and Isaac Nesbitt, Aiken, S.C.

Coastal Carolina – Kristin Forquer, Conway, S.C., and John Duarte, Middle River, Md.

Columbus State University – Grant Carter, Fortson, Ga., and Nathan Griffin, Midland, Ga.

Darton State College – Andrew Suggs and Chase Coker, both of Leesburg, Ga.

Daytona State College – Thomas Oltorik, Deland, Fla., and Zach Ford, New Smyrna Beach, Fla.

East Carolina University – Jordan Wise and Ronnie Moore, both of Raleigh, N.C.

Elon University – William Gilbert, Elon, N.C., and Nathan James, Greensboro, N.C.

Florida Gulf Coast University – Christian Smith, Coral Springs, Fla., and Hunter Bozeman, Ocala, Fla.

Florida State University – Justin Mahon and Jason Mahon, both of Port Charlotte, Fla.

Georgia College – Clayton Faircloth, Milledgeville, Ga., and Ramsey Wynne, Gray, Ga.

Georgia Regents University – Wesley Steinmeyer Jr., Appling, Ga., and Justin Gill, Evans, Ga.

Georgia Southern – Trent Palmer and Jonathan Rotureau, both of Statesboro, Ga.

Georgia State University – Adam Acker, Douglasville, Ga., and Austin King, McDonough, Ga.

Jacksonville State University – Jakarvis Houston, Weaver, Ala., and Colby smith, Odenville, Ala.

Kennesaw State University – Lauren Reid and David Reid, both of Roswell, Ga.

Lander University – Roland Addy, Saluda, S.C., and Josh Bryan, Chappells, S.C.

Mississippi College – Quentin Bremenkamp, Gulfport, Miss., and Will Hedgepeth, Brandon, Miss.

Mississippi State – Taylor Odom, Meridian, Miss., and Josh Cameron, Starkville, Miss.

North Carolina State University – Grayson Barber, Lenoir, N.C., and Tyler Faggart, Julian, N.C.

Newberry College – Michael Sexton, Summerville, S.C., and Joe Tompkins, Charleston, S.C.

North Florida – Rich Rittichai and Brock Lee, both of Jacksonville, Fla.

Polk State College – Austin Bell, Winter Haven, Fla., and Mike Boswell, Bartow, Fla.

Samford University – Will Worthington, Atlanta, Ga., and Andrew Brown, Cullman, Ala.

South Alabama – Logan Marston and Ethan Wages, both of Mobile, Ala.

Southern Polytechnic – Grant Kelly, McDonough, Ga., and David Sherry, Marietta, Ga.

State University of West Georgia – Brian Redd and Justin Walton, both of Douglasville, Ga.

Tennessee Tech – Landon Anderson, Red Boiling Springs, Tenn., and Tyler Arms, Grimsley, Tenn.

University of Alabama-Birmingham – Matt Lipscomb, Springville, Ala., and Gregory Cain, Trafford, Ala.

University of Central Florida – Hunter McKamey, Geneva, Fla., and Kyle Oliver, Winter Garden, Fla.

University of North Carolina-Charlotte – Jacob Whitaker, Fairview, N.C., and Brandon Kersnowski, Waxhaw, N.C.

University of North Carolina-Wilmington – Brent Sewell, Currie, N.C., and Ian Seaver, Apex, N.C.

University of Southern Mississippi – Jeremy McGee, Wiggins, Miss., and Kevin Wabel, Perkinston, Miss.

University of Alabama – Payton McGinnis, Jasper, Ala., and John Davis, Birmingham, Ala.

University of Florida – Shelby Concon, Fruitland Park, Fla., and Kyle Smith, Macclenny, Fla.

University of Georgia – Byron Kelly, Griffin, Ga., and Brian Rosso, Watkinsville, Ga.

University of Mississippi – Costa Kell, Dallas, Texas, and Christian Braswell, Gulfport, Texas

University of Montevallo – Daniel Perry, Columbiana, Ala., and Brandon Easterling, Clanton, Ala.,

University of North Carolina-Greensboro – Austin Frazier and Kenneth Vansparrentak, both of Randleman, N.C.

University of North Georgia – Jonathan Sosebee, Clarksville, Ga., and Clint Coker, Demorest, Ga.

University of South Carolina – Hampton Anderson, Anderson, S.C., and Josh Rennebaum, Chapin, S.C.

University of South Florida – Nick Ahearn, Lutz, Fla., and Matthew Reeves, Tampa, Fla.

University of Tennessee-Chattanooga – Lance Geren, Cleveland, Tenn., and Parker Bacon, Nashville, Tenn.

Valdosta State University – Taylor Minick, Valdosta, Ga., and Michael Harbach, Hahira, Ga.

Wake Forest University – John Reel, Spartanburg, S.C., and Thomas Gravitt, King, N.C.

Western Carolina University – Bradley Hart, Raleigh, N.C., and Ethan Pace, Canton, N.C.

Young Harris College – Grayson Payne, Blairsville, Ga., and Furman Thompson, Clayton, Ga.

FLW College Fishing teams compete in three qualifying events in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top 15 teams from each regular-season tournament will qualify for one of five conference invitational tournaments. The top 10 teams from each conference invitational tournament will advance to the 2015 FLW College Fishing National Championship.

College Fishing is free to enter. 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 anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2014 over the course of 229 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water.” For more information about FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.