LAKE SEMINOLE SET TO HOST YETI FLW COLLEGE FISHING EVENT
BAINBRIDGE, Ga. (Jan. 30, 2018) – YETI FLW College Fishing will continue the season with an event Feb. 10 on Lake Seminole presented by Bass Pro Shops. The tournament, hosted by the Bainbridge Convention and Visitors Bureau, is the first of three regular-season events for anglers in the Southeastern Conference, and will feature a top prize of a $2,000 club scholarship and an invitation to compete in the 2019 College Fishing National Championship.
“This is going to be a great tournament,” said FLW Tour pro Buddy Gross of Chickamauga, Georgia, who won the Costa FLW Series event on Lake Seminole in 2017. “The bass are prespawn right now and there are a lot of fish fattened up. The lake is on fire – last weekend it took 32 pounds to win a local tournament – and they’re hitting it at just the right time. They’re going to be able to fish how they’d like and catch them in a lot of different ways.
“I think it’ll likely be a grass deal and the fish will be set up in a lot of pre-spawn areas,” Gross continued. “The bass on Seminole use sand to bed, so I’d be looking for grassy flats and humps near sandy bottoms. I think there will be a big Rat-L-Trap bite, and a flipping bite in the hydrilla. Senkos and swimbaits will produce as well. Teams are going to be able to spread out.”
Gross offered words of advice for college anglers who may be visiting the lake for the first time – be careful.
“Lake Seminole has a lot of standing timber, so it is important that the college anglers take their time and make sure that they are being cautious when driving around the lake,” Gross said. “Look for areas near Spring Creek – there are a lot of little arms and pockets where you can get back to little ponds that offer a lot of opportunity. I think we’ll likely see a winning limit in the mid-20s.”
Competitors will take off from the Bainbridge Earle May Boat Basin, located at 100 Boat Basin Circle in Bainbridge, Georgia, at 7:30 a.m. EST Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at the boat basin 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 expected to compete in the Lake Seminole tournament include:
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College – Gavin Hiers, Quitman, Ga., and Brennan Bledsoe, Cordele, Ga.
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College – David Froehlich III, Loxahatchee, Fla., and Hagen Masciale, Melrose, Fla.
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College – Quinn Brown, Willacoochee, Ga., and Morgan Anderson, Fitzgerald, Ga.
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College – Nicholas Hughes, Locust Grove, Ga., and Sam Brewton, McRae, Ga.
Auburn University – Anthony Vintson, Fort Gordon, Ga., and Julian Suero, Winter Springs, Ala.
Auburn University – Mitchell Jennings and Lauren Remolde, both of Auburn, Ala.
Augusta University – Joshua Rockefeller, Harlem, Ga., and Zachary Ramsey, Canton, Ga.
Bryan College – Preston Kendrick, Mount Olive, Ala., and Bennett Kudder, Dix Hills, N.Y.
Bryan College – Briana Tucker, Trinity, Ala., and Hollie Reagan, Seymour, Tenn.
Bryan College – Jake Mims, Douglasville, Ga., and Conner DiMauro, Longwood, Fla.
Bryan College – Dalton Price, Seymour, Tenn., and D.J. Barber, Gardendale, Ala.
Bryan College – Jacob Foutz, Charleston, Tenn., and Jake Lee, Knoxville, Tenn.
Bryan College – Tyler Price, Dayton, Tenn., and Mac Raughton, Tunnel Hill, Ga.
Clemson University – Liam West, Greenville, S.C., and Brady Waits, Clemson, S.C.
Clemson University – Joshua Hart, Simpsonville, S.C., and Ben Domingue, Central, S.C.
Clemson University – Levi Neave, Seneca, S.C., and Jacob Robbins, Edgemoor, S.C.
Clemson University – Matthew Bostic, Gilbert, S.C., and Allan Stack, Summerville, S.C.
Clemson University – Derek Freeman, Anderson, S.C., and Robert White, Greenville, S.C.
Clemson University – Zach Kronewitter, Clemson, S.C., and Caleb Allgood, Fair Play, S.C.
Coastal Carolina University – Jonathan Kelley, Middle River, Pa., and David Houchens, Bowie, Md.
Coastal Carolina University – Jeff Gary, Magnolia, Del., and Joseph Castelluccio, Andover, N.J.
Coastal Carolina University – John Duarte, Middle River, Md., and Taylor Jones, Johnsonville, S.C.
East Carolina University – Colton Harrell, Matthews, N.C., and Troy Moore, Kitty Hawk, N.C.
East Carolina University – Eric Olah, Greenville, N.C., and Michael Manning, La Grange, N.C.
Faulkner University – Breanna Wyatt and Joseph Lacy, both of Pell City, Ala.
Faulkner University – Tyler Pennington, Chicota, Ala., and Brady Bowden, Hope Hull, Ala.
Florida State University – Owen Kuhn and David Korson, both of Tallahassee, Fla.
Georgia College & State University – Robert Keene, Athens, Ga., and Phillip Green, Hoschton, Ga.
Itawamba Community College – Ross Sprouse, Blue Springs, Miss., and Fisher Young, Smithville, Miss.
Kennesaw State University – Spencer Guthrie, Acworth, Ga., and Ryan Kennedy, Woodstock, Ga.
Kennesaw State University – Garrett Guinan, Marietta, Ga., and Will Leonard, Kennesaw, Ga.
LaGrange College – Tanner Johnson and Jacob Wood, both of LaGrange, Ga.
Lipscomb University – Scout Monteith, Nashville, Tenn., and Hunter Hanks, Hermitage, Tenn.
Mercer University – Bryce Grogan, Jackson, Ga., and Collin Vandemark, Sparks, Ga.
Mercer University – Eric Allen, Powder Springs, Ga., and Zachary Woods, Lizella, Ga.
Mississippi State University – Jack Stegall, Carriere, Miss., and Caleb Hebert, Poplarville, Miss.
North Carolina State University – Will Monti, Charlotte, N.C., and Mitchell Lance, Raleigh, N.C.
Newberry College – Daniel Cook, Pomaria, S.C., and Tucker Johnson, Irmo, S.C.
Polk State College – Trever Stephens, Auburndale, Fla., and Jerod Gadd, Bartow, Fla.
Polk State College – Kyle Stafford, Lakeland, Fla., and Austin Bell, Winter Haven, Fla.
Polk State College – Samuel Whitmire, Babson Park, Fla., and Trenton Rogers, Bartow, Fla.
Tennessee Technological University – Josh Bean and Caden Watson, both of Cleveland, Tenn.
University of Alabama – Andrew Deloney, Newton, Ala., and Jacob Daily, Mattoon, Ill.
University of Central Florida – Caleb Bundy, Lake City, Fla., and Christian Waters, Winter Haven, Fla.
University of Florida – Colby Eldridge and William Gibbs, both of Panama City, Fla.
University of Florida – Conner Young, Sorrenton, Fla., and Ryan Richardson, Gainesville, Fla.
University of Florida – Dylan Bucci, Ocala, Fla., and Abigail Askew, Gainesville, Fla.
University of Georgia – Garrett Stone, Sandy Springs, Ga., and Collin Chandler, Donalsonville, Ga.
University of Mississippi – Austin Savell, Brandon, Miss., and Luke Yaekel, Freeburg, Ill.
University of North Georgia – Tristan Thomas and Braxton Martin, both of Lula, Ga.
University of North Georgia – Drew Coker, Murrayville, Ga., and Clayton Childs, Bishop, Ga.
University of North Georgia – Patrick Harrington, Marietta, Ga., and Ethan Seitz, Hixson, Ga.
University of South Carolina – Trevor Topken, Warwick, N.Y., and Brandon Biby, New City, N.Y.
University of South Carolina – Hunter Buice, Pacolet, S.C., William Bond, Moncks Corner, S.C.
University of South Carolina – Zack Catoe, Lancaster, S.C., and Nick Schwarzenberg, Frederick, Md.
University of South Carolina-Beaufort – Tyler Black, Moncks Corner, S.C., and Alex Altman, Bluffton, S.C.
University of South Carolina-Beaufort – Charley Kuhn, Fort Mill, S.C., and Parker Wingard, Lexington, S.C.
Valdosta State University – Max Gresham, Milner, Ga., and Zachary Blake, Guyton, Ga.
Valdosta State University – Austin Rowell, Nicholls, Ga., and Zachary Loftus, Palm Coast, Ga.
Wake Forest University – Connor Walsh, Thompsonville, N.C., Noah Ezickson, Winston-Salem, N.C.
Winthrop University – Brett Blackwood, York, S.C., and Caleb Blackwood, Rock Hill, S.C.
Young Harris College – Andrew Himmelreich, Powder Springs, Ga., and Ben Giles, Colbert, Ga.
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 2019 FLW College Fishing National Championship will take place May 30-June 1 on the Red River in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission & Red River Waterway Commission.
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.