COLUMBIA, S.C. (April 17, 2015) – The Liberty University team of Travis Rulle of Denver, N.C., and Caleb Eppler of Sachse, Texas, held onto the lead after day two of the 2015 FLW College Fishing National Championship presented by the Lowrance Insight Genesis College Cup Friday with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 4 ounces for a two day total weight of 36-1. The Flames duo will begin the final day of competition with a narrow 5-ounce lead in this three-day event, hosted by the Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Board, that features 45 of the top college bass fishing clubs from across the nation competing for a top award of a Ranger Z117 with a 90-horsepower outboard and entry into the 2015 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing.
“Not a lot changed for us today,” said Travis Rulle, a junior majoring in Business Management and Finance. “We had less wind so we had to make some adjustments, but for the most part the fishing was pretty similar to yesterday. One significant difference was the amount of pressure on the lake from the locals.
The Liberty University team of Travis Rulle of Denver, N.C., and Caleb Eppler of Sachse, Texas, held onto the lead after day two of the 2015 FLW College Fishing National Championship. FLW photo
“We are still fishing 1 to 10 feet of water and adapting to the spot conditions – the same large area we identified during practice. We are hoping we won’t have quite as much competition in the area since we are down to 10 teams, but you never know what the locals are going to do.”
The team is starting to feel the pressure now that they lost their 3-pound cushion and the hometown U.S.C. Gamecock team is just five ounces behind, but feel confident in the area they are fishing and believe they can bring home the win tomorrow.
“I’m always nervous,” said Caleb Eppler, a graduated senior in Exercise Science. “There is a brand new Ranger Boat up for grabs and it would be sweet to bring that home not to mention the opportunity to fish in the Forrest Wood Cup. Just the thought – wow!
“We really need to give a shout out to two local anglers named Sammy and Jesse. They were fishing a small local tournament today and were sitting in one of our spots. As soon as we pulled up they recognized us and without us having to ask they gave up the spot and wished us luck. It was true Southern generosity that we are extremely grateful for.”
The team is hoping the wind will pick up tomorrow and the sun comes out to help activate the bait fish. They indicated that they did see a couple of blue herring blow-ups but not near as many as yesterday. They are still not throwing the umbrella rig but said they might have to pick one up tomorrow due to the success most of the other teams are having with it in the tournament.
The top 10 teams after day two on Lake Murray are:
1st: Liberty University – Travis Rulle, Denver, N.C., and Caleb Eppler, Sachse, Texas (10 bass, 36-6)
2nd: University of South Carolina – Patrick Walters, Summerville, S.C., and Gettys Brannon, Columbia, S.C. (10 bass, 36-1)
3rd: Oregon State University – Chase Cochran, Corvallis, Ore., and Ryan Sparks, Gearhart, Ore. (10 bass, 36-0)
4th: Colorado Mesa University – Kennedy Kinkade and Josh Worth, both of Grand Junction, Colo. (10 bass, 35-9)
5th: Auburn University – Ben Curry, Hayden, Ala., and Timmy Ward, Sylacauga, Ala. (10 bass, 34-14)
6th: Eastern Kentucky University – Kyle Raymer, Brandenburg, Ky., and Ethan Snyder, Vine Grove, Ky. (10 bass, 33-10)
7th: Tennessee Technological University – Joe Ellis, Harriman, Tenn., and Matthew Townson, Chattanooga, Tenn. (10 bass, 33-5)
8th: Lamar University – Cameron Lafleur, Orangefield, Texas and Justin Royal, Vidor, Texas (10 bass, 31-9)
9th: Murray State University – Justin Graben, Murray, Ky., and Dan Schult, Millstadt, Ill. (10 bass, 31-1)
10th: Lamar University – Brandon Simoneaux, Bridge City, Texas, and Josh Bowie, Port Neches, Texas (10 bass, 29-14)
For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.
Overall there were 193 bass weighing 531 pounds, 14 ounces caught by 45 college teams Friday. The catch included 34 five-bass limits.
The FLW College Fishing National Championship awards the top team a $30,000 prize package, including a Ranger Z117 with a 90-horsepower engine and an entry into the 2015 Forrest Wood Cup. The team member fishing as a pro in the Forrest Wood Cup also receives the use of a wrapped Ranger Boat. All prize money earned in the Forrest Wood Cup goes directly to the individual who earns it. The Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing, will be held August 20-23 on Lake Ouachita in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and will offer the collegiate anglers the opportunity to compete for a top award of $500,000 – professional bass fishing’s richest prize..
Anglers will take off from SCE&G North Recreation Area at Dreher Shoals Dam located at 2101 N. Lake Drive, in Columbia at 7 a.m. Saturday. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held adjacent to Carolina Stadium at Williams and Wheat Streets in Columbia beginning at 4 p.m. (or immediately following the end of the University of South Carolina baseball game). Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.
FLW will also be hosting the College Fishing Expo on Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Expo will take place adjacent to the Carolina Stadium. Activities include a sports zone, tailgate games and sponsor giveaways.
Coverage of the 2015 FLW College Fishing National Championship will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) November 16 from 7 p.m.-8 p.m. EST when Season 20 of “FLW” returns this fall. The Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show airs on NBCSN, the Pursuit Channel and the World Fishing Network and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.
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.
