“The Chesapeake is one of the best bass fisheries in the country right now,” said Adrian Avena, a former College Fishing competitor for Chestnut Hill College and now an FLW Tour pro. “The grass has really started to grow strong there the last five or six years and there have been more and bigger largemouth every year. The biggest thing about it is that it fishes small, like the Potomac. There is an opportunity to spread out and get on your own but for the most part guys will be fishing around boats.”

    According to Avena, the competitors will mostly be fishing grass beds or hard cover like docks and rocks. “The grass is in giant flats on the main river,” said Avena. “This time of year the grass is starting to die off and you have to find the healthy green grass. That’s where you will find the population of fish.

    “If you’re going there for the first time, finding fish in the grass can be a needle in a haystack situation,” said Avena. “But this tournament can very easily be won fishing hard stuff. You can find some rock to crank or fish boat docks. There is an almost unlimited supply of boat docks and the tournament could be easily won by fishing boat docks alone.”

    Avena speculated that frogs, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, Chatter Baits, and worms would be effective in and around the grass. “For boat docks, you can flip a jig, or a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver around the pilings. One of the main forages there is the blue crab and you want to try to match that. Anything blue, or with a little white in it, is good.”

    The expected two-day winning weight is right around 33 pounds.

    Anglers will take off from the Anchor Marina located at 36 Iroquois Drive in North East, Md., at 7:00 a.m. each day. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the marina on beginning at 2:30 p.m. while Sunday’s final weigh-in will take place at the Walmart located at 75 North East Road at 2:00 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

    Schools competing in the Chesapeake Bay tournament, which is hosted by Cecil County Tourism, include :

        Bowling Green State University – Zachary Goeglein, Livonia, Mich., and Kevin Klensch, Cincinnati, Ohio

        Carnegie Mellon University – Eric Bykowsky, Pittsburgh, Pa., and Michael Terrick, Monhall, Pa.

        Castleton State University – Daniel Infurna, Fair Haven, Vt., and Jordan Aquistapace, Rutland, Vt.

        Fairmont State University – Bryson Grimes, Kingwood, W. Va., and Ryan Radcliff, Parkersburg, W. Va.

        Fairmont State University – Ryan Houser, Fairmont, W. Va., and Andrew Walker, Morgantown, W. Va.

        Glenville State College – Brandon Abbott, Gandeeville, W. Va., and Nick Lambert, Oceana, W. Va.

        Grand Valley State University – Justin Bruno, Nunica, Mich., and Scott Taege, Algonquin, Ill.

        Kent State University – Matthew Fernandez, Dallas, Pa., and Jennifer Newman, South Amherst, Ohio

        Kent State University – Trevor White, Newton Falls, Ohio, and Greg Perry, Cortland, Ohio

        La Roche College – Jonathan Coholich, Allison Park, Pa., and Richard Smith, Cheswick, Pa.

        Lynchburg College – Graham Byrd, Lynchburg, Va., and Luke Taylor, Jefferson City, Mo.

        Mansfield University – Matt Novitski, Kingston, Pa., and Colton Otto, Carlisle, Pa.

        Northwood University – Zach Lowe, Huntington Woods, Mich., and Travis Riedel, Falmouth, Mich.

        Ohio Northern University – Austin Hostetler, Dover, Ohio, and Cole Cochran, Troy, Ohio

        Ohio State University – Zach Ring, Columbus, Ohio, and Daniel Briem, Wapakoneta, Ohio

        Ohio University – Cody Hrtyanski, Athens, Ohio, and Justin Telep, Strongsville, Ohio

        Ohio University – Ryan Dentscheff, Warren, Ohio, and Dan Burtenshaw, Athens, Ohio

        Penn State University – Andrew Severns, Finleyville, Pa., and Stephan Tull, Media, Pa.,

        Penn State University – Anthony Kashiwsky, Aliquippa, Pa., and Will Fennell, Ligonier, Pa.

        Penn State University – David Hoge, Trenton, N.J., and Joseph Seidita, Covington Twp, Pa.

        Radford University – Cole Campbell, Bassett, Va., and Blaine Chitwood, Wirtz, Va.

        Radford University – George Fleming, Lorton, Va., and Tanner Blanks, Radford, Va.

        Radford University – Philip Cox, Hiwassee, Va., and Justin Witten, Randford, Va.

        Radford University – Zachary Meadows, Stuarts Draft, Va., and Austin Cox, Hiwassee, Va.

        Ramapo College – Joseph Zapf and Andrew Zapf, both from Whippany, N.J.

        Rutgers University- New Brunswick – Andrew Ridinger, Thorofare, N.J., and Kyle Genova, Milstone Twp., N.J.

        Shippensburg University – Kevin Hollasch, Marriottsville, Md., and Hunter Chamberlin, Shippensburg, Pa.

        Slippery Rock University – Tyler Branca, Hermitage, Pa., and Benjamin Tawney, Stoystown, Pa.

        State University of New York-Plattsburgh – Brendan Bolis, Canton, N.Y., and Richard Lee, Port Kent, N.Y.

        State University of New York-Plattsburgh – Frank Benedetto, Islip Terrace, N.Y., and Ted Appleton, Penfield, N.Y.

        State University of New York-Plattsburgh – John McDougal, Queensbury, N.Y., and Nate Lewis, Middletown Springs, Vt.

        State University of New York-Plattsburgh – Matt Ziomek, Amherst, Mass., and Myles Tallada, West Chazy, N.Y.

        University of Akron – Andrew Puhalik, North Royalton, Ohio, and Brenton Casto, Massillon, Ohio

        University of Connecticut – Grant Cunningham and Ryan Styrczula, both from Unionville, Conn.

        Vermont Technical College– Tylor Lahue, Colchester, Vt., and William Waite, Hartland, Vt.

        Virginia Commonwealth University – Alexander Miller, Midlothian, Va., and Donnie Miller, Moseley, Va.

        Virginia Tech University – Corey Fox, Luray, Va., and Dylan Cooper, Blacksburg, Va.

        Virginia Tech University – John Stables, Moseley, Va., and John Sanderlin, Chesapeake, Va.

        Virginia Tech University – John Woodward, Blacksburg, Va., and Ricky Kassebaum, Salem, Va.

        Virginia Tech University – Trey Stwewartson, Moneta, Va., and Andrew Jackson, Lebanon, Va.

        West Virginia University – Mathew Gibson, Morgantown, W. Va., and Edward Rude III, Falling Waters, W. Va.

        Western Michigan University – Tyler Havenaar, Kalamazoo, Mich., and Derek Miller, Coldwater, Mich.

        Xavier University – Andrew Decilles, Batesville, Ind., and Ty Stysons, Fairfield, Ohio

        Youngstown State University – Zachary Alcorn, New Philadelphia, Ohio, and Charles Cremeans, Youngstown,    Ohio

     FLW College Fishing teams compete in three qualifying events 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 invitational tournaments. The top ten teams from each conference invitational tournament will advance to the 2014 FLW College Fishing National Championship.

    College Fishing is free to enter. All participants must be registered, full-time undergraduate students at a four-year college or university 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. VisitCollegeFishing.com to sign up or to start a club at your school.