YETI FLW College Fishing Event presented by Bass Pro Shops set for Lake of the Ozarks
OSAGE BEACH, Mo. – The YETI FLW College Fishing season will continue with an event next week, Sept. 29, at the YETI FLW College Fishing on Lake of the Ozarks presented by Bass Pro Shops. The tournament, hosted by the Tri-County Lodging Association, is the third and final regular-season event for college anglers in the Central Conference and will award a top prize of a $2,000 club scholarship and an invitation to compete in the 2019 College Fishing National Championship to the winners.
“Lake of the Ozarks is the best lake in Missouri, and the best part about it is that you can win the tournament anywhere on the lake,” said FLW Tour pro Jeremy Lawyer of Sarcoxie, Missouri, the 2016 BFL All-American and a two-time Forrest Wood Cup qualifier. “The college teams are going to be able to fish their strengths 100-percent. There is not a bad part of the lake to fish.”
After a mostly warm and pleasant summer, a cold front is predicted for the Ozark region over the next week as fall looks to be making its return. Lawyer said that the weather change should only improve the fishing conditions.
“When it gets cold and rainy here it goes from mediocre fishing to really good fishing,” Lawyer said. “If there is one lake in the country where the fish really start to chew when a front comes in, it’s Lake of the Ozarks. With three days of rain coming at the end of the week, I expect the fishing to really pick up.”
Lawyer said that he expects moving baits to be the bait of choice amongst most anglers – he suggested topwater baits, squarebill crankbaits and Zoom Super Flukes.
“The fish are going to be more apt to chase it, so you want something that you can tease them with,” Lawyer said. “I think anyone that can catch a solid limit above 18 pounds is going to be competing for the win. I predict the winner will have between 18½ to 19 pounds.”
Competitors will take off from Public Beach No. 2 at the Lake of the Ozarks State Park Grand Glaize Recreation Area, located at 711 Public Beach Road, in Osage Beach, at 7 a.m. CDT Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at the takeoff location beginning at 3 p.m. Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.
Schools are allowed to register up until the morning of the tournament. Entries may be made either by phone or at CollegeFishing.com.
Schools currently registered to compete in the Lake of the Ozarks tournament include:
Bellarmine University – Andrew Kuebler, Louisville, Ky., and Jacob Schmidt, Medina, Ohio
Bellarmine University – Trevor Hulsey, Louisville, Ky., and Patrick McPhillips, Floyds Knobs, Ind.
Campbellsville University – Adam Carman, Berea, Ky., and Hunter Adams, Campbellsville, Ky.
Campbellsville University – Gavin Barnes and Ezra Oliver, both of Campbellsville, Ky.
Central College – Cameron Timok, Glen Allen, Va., and Steven Candley, Pella, Iowa
Eastern Kentucky University – Blake Riley, Henderson, Ky., and Corey Elliott, London, Ky.
Greenville University – Evan Seggerman, Minonk, Ill., and Cale Jausel, Coulterville, Ill.
Greenville University – Ricky Huge, Carlyle, Ill., and Cordell Beckmann, Breese, Ill.
Illinois State University – Anthony Fazio, Channohn, Ill., and Justin Schick, Morton, Ill.
Illinois State University – Benjamin Stedman and Hayden Damery, both of Moweaqua, Ill.
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis – Ethan Maag, Kendallville, Ind., and Jacob Sanders, Marion, Ill.
Iowa State University – Taggert Tesdal, Jefferson, Wis., and Josef Rogers, Ames, Iowa
Kansas State University – Cole Miller, Kansas City, Mo., and Andrew Easterday, Overland Park, Kan.
Kansas State University – Michael Mueting and Jake Elwood, both of Lincoln, Neb.
Kansas State University – Hunter French, Buhler, Kan., and Laine Werth, Manhattan, Kan.
Lewis University – Joe Skvarla, Tinley Park, Ill., and Zachary Spesia, Coal City, Ill.
Southern Illinois University – Kyle Wagner and Jake Wagner, both of Waterloo, Ill.
Southern Illinois University – Mason Bishop, Goreville, Ill., and Levi Rogers, Albion, Ill.
Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville – Bryce Peters, Camp Point, Ill., and Matt Fors, Batavia, Ill.
Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville – Brendan Magruder, Edwardsville, Ill., and Justin Lowry, Moro, Ill.
Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville – Tristan Friesner, Cabot, Ark., and Cole Hammel, McLean, Ill.
University of Iowa – Jake Usher, Ionia, Iowa, and Bryan Mouser, Iowa City, Iowa
University of Nebraska – Charle Deshazer, Fremont, Neb., and Sean Mulchrone, Maple Grove, Minn.
University of North Dakota – Zachery Oldre, Lakeville, Minn., and Noah Levesseur, Prior Lake, Minn.
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh – Zachary Schnepf, Waukesha, Wis., and Michael Anderson, Lake Tomahawk, Wis.
University of Wisconsin-Platteville – Eric Rasmussen and Bradley Winkel, both of Platteville, Wis.
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point – Reed Fredrick, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., and Nick Dagel, Round Lake Beach, Ill.
Winona State University – Colton Haney, Baldwin, Wis., and Chase Pomeroy, Winona, Minn.
YETI FLW College Fishing teams compete in three regular-season qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top ten teams from each division’s three regular-season tournaments and the top 20 teams from the annual FLW College Fishing Open will advance to the 2019 FLW College Fishing National Championship. Additional teams will qualify for the National Championship if the field size in regular-season events exceeds 100 boats. The Potomac River and Marbury, Maryland, will play host to the 2019 FLW College Fishing National Championship, June 4-6, 2019.
YETI FLW College Fishing is free to enter. All participants must be registered, full-time students at a college, university or community college and members of a college fishing club that is recognized by their school.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow YETI FLW College Fishing on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2018 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW and their partners conduct 286 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Portugal, and South Africa. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW" television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
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