National Championship Starts This Week
Round two on the Harris Chain will be a college showdown
With the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit event over, the best college fishing teams from across the country are starting practice on the Harris Chain for the 2020 Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI College National Championship presented by Lowrance. Running February 26-28, the no-entry fee tournament will feature a total of 162 college bass fishing clubs competing in the event for a $30,000 prize package, including a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard.
In addition to the boat package, both members of the winning team at the 2020 National Championship will advance to the 2020 Toyota Series Championship where they will compete for a top prize of $200,000. Both members of the second, third and fourth-place teams will advance to the 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American to compete as boaters where they are guaranteed $1,500 plus a shot at winning the top prize of $100,000. Both members of the fifth and sixth-place teams advance to the 2020 All-American to compete as co-anglers where they are guaranteed $750 plus a shot at winning $50,000.
“Winning the National Championship last year was one of the coolest experiences of my life,” says Adam Puckett of Murray State University, who won the event last year along with partner Blake Albertson on the Potomac River. “It was one of those weeks where everything just went right for us. We requalified to fish in this year’s championship and are looking forward to the opportunity to defend our championship. To win it again – I don’t even have the words. It would be another dream come true.”
Tournament waters available to competitors include Lake Apopka, Lake Griffin, Lake Eustis, Lake Dora, Lake Carlton, Horseshoe Lake, Lake Harris, Little Lake Harris, Lake Denham and Lake Beauclair.
Just last week in the Pro Circuit event on the Harris Chain, four bags over 25 pounds crossed the stage, so we can expect more fireworks this week. Additionally, the weather should be better, with no massive cold fronts bearing down on the region.
Anglers will take off from the Venetian Gardens, located at 201 E. Lake Harris Drive in Leesburg at 7 a.m. ET each day of competition. The weigh-ins will be held each day at the Venetian Gardens beginning at 3 p.m. All takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Television coverage of the Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI National Championship presented by Lowrance will premiere in 2020 on YouTube and be broadcast around the globe on the World Fishing Network.
Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI teams compete in 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 College Fishing Open advance to the following year’s Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI National Championship.