BAINBRIDGE, Ga. (Feb. 3, 2015) – FLW College Fishing is headed to Lake Seminole February 14 for the first of three regular-season stops in the Southeastern Conference. A full field of college teams will be competing for a top award of $2,000 and a berth in the Southeastern Conference Championship tournament.
“There are a few dominant patterns we could see anglers pursuing,” said Walmart FLW Tour pro Troy Hollowell, of Paducah, Kentucky. “Teams will definitely be targeting the outer rim grass looking for the Chatterbait and Rat-L-Trap bite and exploring isolated clumps. I could also see anglers heading into the Flint River arm to work the jerkbait along those channel ledges.”
The weather on Lake Seminole has been mild, so the bass will still be in their prespawn phase come tournament time. Hollowell said this opens up a lot of opportunity for anglers.
“Fishing the drains, which are basically old creek channels with shorter grass, would be a good bet,” said Hollowell. “As the day goes on and temperatures warm up, the bass should make their way to spawning areas in deeper water, which means a lot of action.”
Hollowell went on to say that he could see a 22-pound bag winning the tournament.
“Don’t get stuck on one place. Teams should keep moving until they find the fish, and then expand around that area,” added Hollowell.
Anglers will take off from the Bainbridge Earle May Boat Basin located at 100 Boat Basin Circle in Bainbridge at 7:30 a.m. Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3:30 p.m. Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.
Schools competing in the Lake Seminole tournament, which is hosted by Bainbridge Convention & Visitors Bureau, include:
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College – Taylor Thompson, Kennesaw, Ga., and Hunter Coppolino, Fayetteville, Ga.
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College – Kyle Parks , Albany, Ga., and Tylar Royle, Sanbornville, N.H.
Appalachian State University – Charlie Sipe, Hickory, N.C., and Chad Whitley, Boone, N.C.
Auburn University – Alex Tobon, Fairhope, Ala., and Lucas Brown, Auburn, Ala.
Auburn University – Timmy Ward , Childersburg, Ala., and Christopher Knight Jr., Sylacauga, Ala.
Auburn University – Garrett Roberts and Ethan Hayes, both of Cullman, Ala.
Auburn University – Mitchell Jennings and Chuck Wise, both of Auburn, Ala.
Auburn University – Trey O’ Daniel, Fort Payne, Ala., and Murphy Klumpp, Fairhope, Ala.
Campbell University – Blake Schultze, Smithfield, N.C., and Ethan Sasser, Troy, N.C.
Campbell University – Mackenzie Roberts, Laurinburg, N.C., and Aaron Griffin, McLeansville, N.C.
Clemson University – Justin Adams, Gaffney, S.C., and William Maley, Clemson, S.C.
Clemson University – Patrick Williford, Greensboro, N.C., and Briggs Kennington, Central, S.C.
Coastal Carolina University – John Duarte and Jonathan Kelley, both of Middle River, Md.
Darton State College – Andrew Suggs, Albany, Ga., and Chase Coker, Valdosta, Ga.
Darton State College – Wesley Griner and Dalton Dedge, both of Leesburg, Ga.
Daytona State College – James Oltorik and Thomas Oltorik, both of Deland, Fla.
Florida Gulf Coast University – Zane Xanders, Mount Vernon, Ill., and Arthur Hoath, Lithia, Fla.
Florida Gulf Coast University – Brianne McMillan, Belle Glade, Fla., and Hunter Bozeman, Ocala, Fla.
Florida State University – Drew Cook, Quincy, Fla., and Cody Spears, Tallahassee, Fla.
Gadsden State Community College – Josh Oliver, Anniston, Ala., Colby Smith, Jacksonville, Ala.
Georgia Highlands College – Eric Fisher, Kennesaw, Ga., and Jake Akin, Powder Springs, Ga.
Jacksonville State University – Dillon Dodd Centre, Ala., and Will Bullen, Childersburg, Ala.
LaGrange College – Blake Spradlin, and Channing Brand, both of LaGrange, Ga.
Lincoln Memorial University – Chris Hunt, Loudon, Tenn., and Kyle Warwick, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Middle Georgia State College – Regan Green and Ethan Wallace, both of Macon, Ga.
Mississippi State University – Grant Galloway, Houlka, Miss., and Joseph Marty, Manitowoc, Wis.
Mississippi State University – Nathan Woodruff, Iuka, Miss., and Eli Frierson, Starkville, Miss.
Roane State Community College – Isaiah Herrington, and James Parker, both of Lenoir City, Tenn.
Roane State Community College – Zack Taylor, Rockwood, Tenn., and Jon Dailey, Kingston, Tenn.
Rollins College – Brooks Robinson, Maitland, Fla., and Blake Agresti, Palm Beach, Fla.
Savannah College of Art & Design – Isaac Payne, Lithonia, Ga., and Connor Mannina, Chicago, Ill.
Tennessee Technological University – Sam Carris, Knoxville, Tenn., and Brandon Bryant, Cleveland, Tenn.
Tusculum College – Nick Hatfield, Chuckey, Tenn., and Corey Neece, Bristol, Tenn.
University of Central Florida – Hunter McKamey, Shelbyville, Tenn., and Kyle Oliver, Winter Garden, Fla.
University of Central Florida – Kevin Lucas, Apopka, Fla., and Kyle Stafford, Haynes City, Fla.
University of Florida – James Altman and Mark Blanar, both of Royal Palm Beach, Fla.
University of Montevallo – Brandon Easterling, Clanton, Ala., and Thompson Fuller, Montevallo, Ala.
University of North Georgia – Branson Marks and Lenny Bishop, both of Cumming, Ga.
University of North Georgia – Josh Simpson, Athens, Ga., and Cody Chambers, Dahlonga, Ga.
University of North Georgia – Levi Baker, Loganville, Ga., and Caleb Dickson, Dahlonga, Ga.
University of South Alabama – Ethan Wages and Luis McMurphy, both of Mobile, Ala.
University of South Carolina – Patrick Walters, Summerville, S.C., and Josh Rennebaum, Chapin, S.C.
University of Tennessee-Chattanooga – Michael Lee, Chattanooga, Tenn., and Gavyn Bridges, Thompsons Station, Tenn.
University of Tennessee-Chattanooga – Sahadut Mughal, Jasper, Tenn., and Luke Lackey, Chattanooga, Tenn.
Valdosta State University – Landon Tucker, Adel, Ga., and Grant Colson, Valdosta, Ga.
Valdosta State University – Michael Harbach and Taylor Minick, both of Valdosta, Ga.
Wake Forest University – Ryan Edwards, Stuart, Fla., and Lance Berry, Charlotte, N.C.
Western Carolina University – Austin Neary, Cullowhee, N.C., and Alex Frazier, Polk County, N.C.
Western Carolina University – Tyler Thomasson, Whittier, N.C., and Josh Cannon, Waxhaw, N.C.
FLW College Fishing teams compete in qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top fifteen teams from each regular-season tournament will qualify for one of five Conference Championship tournaments. The top ten teams from each of the five Conference Championship tournaments will advance to the 2016 FLW College Fishing National Championship.
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 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.