BROOKELAND, Texas (Jan. 13, 2015) – FLW College Fishing is headed to Sam Rayburn Reservoir January 24 for the first of three regular-season stops in the Southern Conference. A full field of college teams will be competing for a top award of $2,000 and a berth in the Southern Conference Invitational tournament.Walmart FLW Tour pro Andrew Upshaw, a former college fishing star for Stephen F. Austin University, said that there are two predominant patterns this time of year at Sam Rayburn.
“This time of year the fish are moving from their winter to prespawn patterns,” Upshaw said. “Targeting grass beds from the outside edge to the inside edge in 3 to 8 feet of water is a very smart move.”
Upshaw said that if the grass beds aren’t firing, college anglers should throw Carolina rigs to natural cover such as stumps, trees or deeper grass, from 8 to 12 feet deep.
“I think a red-crawfish or pinchin’ Peach-colored Rat-L-Trap would do the trick,” Upshaw continued. “The big thing is not to get discouraged if a cold front comes in. It’s only going to make the bite better. I think a college team will weigh in an 18 to 20 pound stringer to win this tournament.”
Anglers will take off from Umphrey Family Pavilion located at 5438 Recreation Road 255 W. in Brookeland, Texas, at 7 a.m. Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.
Schools competing in the Sam Rayburn Reservoir tournament, which is hosted by Jasper County Development District, include:
Angelo State University – Chase Gibson, Denver City, Texas, and Keegan Moore, San Angelo, Texas
Angelo State University – Logan Clark, Marble Falls, Texas, and Blake Turner, Georgetown, Texas
Angelo State University – Scott Halbrooks, Lubbock, Texas, and Garrett Rose, Pipe Creek, Texas
Baylor University – Denver Lawless, Waco, Texas, and Connor Case, Plano, Texas
Henderson State University – Shane Stoddard, Hot Springs, Ark., and Cobey Wingfield, Malvern, Ark.
Henderson State University – William Stone, Arkadelphia, Ark., and Theron Asbery, Grove, Okla.
Lamar University – Cameron LaFleur and Casey Burleigh, both of Orange, Texas
Lamar University – Colby Ogden, Kountze, Texas, and Brandon Simoneaux, Bridge City, Texas
Louisiana State University – Dane Lecoq and Brennan Vosburg, both of Morganza, La.
Louisiana Tech University – Austin Watkins and Tyler Wilk, both of Boyce, La.
Louisiana Tech University – Dustin Browning, Jonesboro, La., and Christopher Vallillo, Ruston, La.
Louisiana Tech University – James Mathews, Ruston, La., and Adam Forester, Pineville, La.
Louisiana Tech University – Nick Farrell, Calhoun, La., and Randy Branch, West Monroe, La.
Louisiana Tech University – Zachary Sparish, Robeline, La., and Austin Sepulvado, Calhoun, La.
McNeese State University – Hunter Terrell, Lake Charles, La., and Brian Murphy, DeRidder, La.
McNeese State University – James Hovey, Joaquin, Texas, and Sean Leleaux, Welsh, La.
Nicholls State University – Jess Robertson, Houma, La., and Tyler Rivet, Raceland, La.
Nicholls State University – Trevor Leblanc, Houma, La., and Grant Naquin, Thibodaux, La.
Stephen F. Austin State University – Garret Whitley, Quinlan, Texas, and Justin Marcum, Hallsville, Texas
Stephen F. Austin State University – Taylor Barton, Montgomery, Texas, and Tyler Woods, Mansfield, Texas
Texas A&M University – Garrett Nance, Pearland, Texas, and James Wittenborn, Haskell, Texas
Texas A&M University – Josh Bensema, Willis, Texas, and Matthew McArdle, College Station, Texas
Texas A&M University-Galveston – Hugh Keller, Houston, Texas, and Garrett Goette, Tomball, Texas
Texas A&M University-Kingsville – Cody Garrett and Clint Marek, both of Tomball, Texas
Texas State University – Evan Coleman, Georgetown, Texas, and Andrew Jackson, Liberty Hill, Texas
Texas State University – Sam Stone, Austin, Texas, and David Cosner, San Jose, Calif.
Texas Tech University – Donald Peters, Los Cruces, N.M., and Joseph Smith, Kingwood, Texas
Texas Tech University – Greg Roberts, Lafayette, La., and Layne Bynum, Lubbock, Texas
University of Arkansas-Fayetteville – Drew Porto, Colleyville, Texas, and Kenneth Anderson, Fayetteville, Ark.
University of Central Oklahoma – Cole Matthews, Edmond, Okla., and Easton Ramsey, Oklahoma City, Okla.
University of Central Oklahoma – Colten Hutson, Edmond, Okla., and Brock Enmeier, Enid, Okla.
University of Central Oklahoma – Zach Holliday, Yukon, Okla., and Chris Zins, Oklahoma City, Okla.
University of Louisiana-Lafayette – Neil Arnaud, Lafayette, La., and Jed Hebert, Lafayette, La.
University of Louisiana-Lafayette – Ry Savory, St. Martinville, La., and Dustin Robichaux, Houma, La.
University of Louisiana-Monroe – Brian Eaton, Monroe, La., and Tyler Craig, Frierson, La.
University of Oklahoma – Alex Edgeman, Sandpoint, Idaho, and Landon Dixon, Hinton, Okla.
University of Texas-Arlington – Cody Elliott, Alvarado, Texas, and Jordan Jarrett, Mansfield, Texas
University of Texas-Arlington – Payton Gilcrease, Allen, Texas, and Jacob Britt, Forney, Texas
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.
