Top 20 Teams at Seventh-Annual College Fishing Open Advance to the 2022 College Fishing National Championship – First Place Club Earns $33,500 Phoenix 518 Pro boat with 115-horsepower Mercury outboard

BENTON, Ky. (Nov. 19, 2020) – Major League Fishing (MLF) announced today that Dayton, Tennessee will host the 2021 Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI Open on March 30-31 at Lake Chickamauga. The famed big-bass fishery has produced some of the best trophy bass fishing opportunities in the country and has served as a highly competitive playing field for many major bass ” tournaments over the years.

“We are extremely excited to give our college anglers the opportunity to compete on Lake Chickamauga,” said Kevin Hunt, MLF Senior Director of Tournament Operations, College and High School. “This will be the first experience for many college anglers on this fishery, and with the tournament set for late March we expect to see plenty of big bass and an awesome competition.”

The two-day event will be hosted by Fish Dayton and the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council, a proud and prominent supporter of bass fishing and the substantial economic impact it brings to the region.

“Fish Dayton is thrilled to host the 2021 Abu Garcia College Fishing Open on Lake Chickamauga,” said John Bamber, Executive Director of Rhea Economic and Tourism. “We are excited to see some great weights brought in by these talented college anglers and are thankful for their stewardship of this fishery.”

The 60-mile-long impoundment of the Tennessee River provides diverse cover and substantial space for the hundreds of anglers and boats that will be competing in the event. The top 20 teams from the 2021 College Fishing Open advance to the 2022 Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI National Championship presented by Lowrance, where the top two teams will advance to the 2022 Toyota Series Championship to compete as pros, for a shot at winning as much as $235,000. In addition to the automatic berth into the 2022 College Fishing National Championship, the first-place team will also earn a new Phoenix 518 Pro boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard, valued at $33,500. Additional teams will qualify for the National Championship if the Open field size exceeds 200 boats.

As in all College Fishing events, the College Fishing Open at Lake Chickamauga will feature live weigh-in coverage on both days of competition.

Priority entry for the 2021 Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI season opens at 8 a.m. CT on December 14, 2020, for teams from schools represented in the 2020 College Fishing National Championship. All other teams may enter beginning December 15, 2020. Teams can enter at FLWFishing.com or by calling (270) 252-1000. The entry fee remains the same for 2021 – $75 per team for teams who enter prior to onsite check-in and $100 for teams who enter onsite.

Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI teams compete in three regular-season qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southern and Western. The top ten teams from each division’s three regular-season tournaments and the top 20 teams from the annual Abu Garcia College Fishing Open advance to the following year’s Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI National Championship presented by Lowrance.

Complete rules for the 2021 Abu Garcia College Fishing program can be found online at FLWFishing.com.

For complete details and updated information, visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow Abu Garcia College Fishing on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.