2009 State Team Co-Anglers

The Pennsylvania Bass Federation held its annual Classic Tournament on Raystown Lake this past Friday and Saturday.  The Classic Tournament is where the Pennsylvania Bass Federation members fish the two day tournament in order to select the “State Team”. The top 7 Anglers (boat owners) and the top 6 Co-Anglers (riders) that will represent the State of Pennsylvania and fish against the other Mid-Atlantic Federation members at the Mid-Atlantic Divisional tournament which will be held on the Susquehanna Flats next October.

Scott Laukhuff

Tight lines…..Scott

(the other blind squirrel made it happen) LOL !

This summer, on July 9-12, Under Armour held its National Championship on the Arkansas River in pools 5, 6, and 7. North Carolina State’s Will White and Chris Wood bested the field of 60 teams with a three day weight of 28.97lbs.

Also, on May 25-29, Boat US held their Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship on Lake Lewisville in Texas. Kalem Vincent and Vincent Campisano of Murray State University conquered the field of 140 teams from over 70 schools to claim the title. Their two day total of 36.16lbs was enough to bring home the title.

My alma mater, Penn State University, competes every year in the CBAA Big Ten Championships. This year the event was held in April at Brookville Lake, Indiana. The University of Illinois came out victorious with 16.46lbs of bass. Penn State ended up in 5th place with 3.27lbs.
By far the most impressive series out of all of these tournaments is the FLW College Fishing presented by the National Guard. FLW and the National Guard are revolutionizing college fishing and really putting this sport on the map. They have 5 different divisions which compete in tournaments on some of the most prestigious bodies of water in the United States. The divisions are comprised of Western, Central, Texas, Northern, and Southeast divisions. Each region holds four separate qualifying tournaments.

During these FLW tournaments, anglers compete against 40 other teams who get the honor or riding with a FLW Stren Series Professional. The Stren Pro escorts the college anglers on the body of water in his/her boat. The Stren Pro isn’t allowed to give advice on those bodies of water or let you use his/her gear but he can give you pointers on fishing in general or other bodies of water. The college anglers operate the trolling motor and determine where to fish. The top 5 teams in each event get a cash prize for their college bass program and their school! The 1st place team at each event gets $10,000 ($5,000 for the club and $5,000 for the university.) Did I mention that it is all free to enter?! FLW and the National Guard really have a special thing going on that is really recruiting people to the sport.
After the four qualifying tournaments in each region, a regional championship is help with the top 5 teams from each of the four events. In the Regional Championship the 1st place team gets $25,000 for their club, $25,000 dollars for their school and a Ranger Bass Boat! Then, the top 5 teams in the Regional Championships get a place in the National Championship with the 1st place team winning $50,000 and a Ranger Boat for their club and $50,000 dollars for the school and a spot in the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup! Everything the FLW and National Guard are doing is phenomenal for collegiate anglers and for the sport.

With all of these organizations conducting these large scale college bass fishing tournaments, it is only a matter of time that this sport really takes off and gets a nationwide following.  High school students will begin basing their choices on colleges where they are geographically and if they have a bass fishing team or not.  It is going to be exciting to see!  Guaranteed.

Keep watching ESPN, Versus, and other outdoor networks to watch all of these events in the near future.

Tight Lines!

Check out these respective organizations websites at:

FLW College Fishing

Under Armour National Championship

Boat US Collegiate Fishing Championship

Collegiate Bass Anglers Association (CBAA)

Jim Brown

Very hard fishing conditions hampered the anglers but Jim’s weight of 4.84 #s was enough to land him 1st place.  Jim was fishing a Berkley Shakey worm.
Great Job Jim !

Scott