National Guard FLW College Fishing West Conference is Headed to Arizona’s Lake Havasu
OutdoorHub 02.15.12
Lake Havasu City, AZ– National Guard FLW College Fishing is headed to Lake Havasu Feb. 25 for the second of four stops in the Western Conference. Forty college teams will be competing for a top award of $5,000 and a berth in the Western Regional Championship tournament.
“We’ve had an unseasonably warm winter down here, and the fishing on Lake Havasu is really good right now,” said National Guard pro Brett Hite of Phoenix. “I think the guy that wins this tournament will have a mixed bag of both smallmouth and largemouth bass.
“Havasu has always been real versatile,” Hite went on to say. “You can power fish or finesse fish. If you like power fishing, you can go up the Colorado River and get into the back waters and go flipping. If you like to finesse fish you can get out on the main lake and have results there as well.
“My advice to the college kids would be to use a lot of of finesse tactics,” Hite continued. “I would use a real light line, from 4- to 8- pound-test. This fish aren’t going to be quite spawning yet. They are going to be in a staging, pre-spawn mode and you’re going to have to fish relatively shallow and fish down to 30 feet or so. If it’s breezy you can throw crankbaits or spinnerbaits, or basically any type of reaction bait. Because the water is so clear on Havasu you really need that breeze in order for the bass to hit that reaction bait really good. If it’s sunny and calm, you’re going to have to use slow-moving baits such as worms, or a small jig. Sight-fishing will also play a role in this tournament as well.”
Anglers will take off from Lake Havasu State Park located at 699 London Bridge Road in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., at 7 a.m. Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at the take off site beginning at 1:30 p.m. Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.
Schools competing in the Lake Havasu tournament, which is hosted by the Lake Havasu City Convention & Visitors Bureau, include:
- Arizona State University – Doug Coplan Jr., Pinetop, Ariz., and Chris Fairbanks, Mesa, Ariz.
- Arizona State University – Bobby Fletcher, Gilbert, Ariz., and Jason Karseboom, Tempe, Ariz.
- Arizona State University – Joseph Jarrell, Dothan, Ala., and Mark Walker, Anchorage, Alaska.
- Boise State University – Jacob Leanna, Menominee, Mich., and Jared Spickelmier, Boise, Idaho
- Boise State University – Justin Baker and Michael Zawacki, both of Boise, Idaho
- California State Polytechnic University – Kyle Greenlaw, Magalia, Calif., and John Zeolla, Oak Park, Calif.
- California State Polytechnic University – Russ Gruener, Ventura, Calif., and Patrick Monson, Arroyo Grande, Calif.
- California State University-Chico State – Anthony Dayton, Walnut Creek, Calif., and Frank Vogt, Gilroy, Calif.
- California State University-Chico State – Garrett Clark, Livermore, Calif., and Daniel Figueroa, Santa Maria, Calif.
- California State University-Chico State – Michael Braswell, and Bo Harkins, both of Walnut Creek, Calif.
- California State University-Fresno – Demetri Filios, Fresno, Calif., and Joao Lopes, Merced, Calif.
- California State University-Fresno – Shai Van Gelder, Palo Alto, Calif., and Trey Kopacz, Santa Clarita, Calif.
- California State University–Long Beach – Alex Cox, Long Beach, Calif., and Justin Gangel, Valley Center, Calif.
- California State University-Monterey Bay – Andrew Sjostrom, Mariposa, Calif., and Joshua Smith, Seaside, Calif.
- California State University-Monterey Bay – Arik Anastasiou, Discovery Bay, Calif., and Sebastian Resendiz, Castroville, Calif.
- California State University-Sacramento – Chase King and Travis Kuhn, both of Lodi, Calif.
- California State University-Sacramento – Jeffrey Hamamoto, Sacramento, Calif., and Jeff Taluban, Salinas, Calif.
- California State University-Sacramento – Alec Brassington, Roseville, Calif., and Tyler Meuchel, Sacramento, Calif.
- Colorado State University – Chris Sabina, Fort Collins, Colo., and Keane Velez, Colorado Springs, Colo.
- Eastern Washington University – Robert Trukositz, Sumter, S.C., and Jarred Walker, Moses Lake, Wash.
- Eastern Washington University – Nick Barr, Lacey, Wash., and Jesse Squires, Cheney, Wash.
- Humboldt State University – Hideaki Kubo, Turlock, Calif., and Ben Smith, Davis, Calif.
- Humboldt State University – Jen Edgar, Ukiah, Calif., and Derrick Hicks, Sacramento, Calif.
- Humboldt State University – Shaun Maki, Chino Hills, Calif., and Joe Won, Arcata, Calif.
- Northern Arizona University – Alex Stewart and Carter Vickers, both of Flagstaff, Ariz.
- Northern Arizona University – Nicole Albright and Brent Perkins, both of Phoenix, Ariz.
- Oregon State University – Zach MacDonald, Willits, Calif., and William Sparks, Corvallis, Ore.
- San Jose State University – Jamel Johnson, New Orleans, La., and Anthony Lee, San Jose, Calif.
- Sonoma State University – Brendan Castro, Lafayette, Calif., and Brandon Fischer, Rohnert Park, Calif.
- University of California-Davis – Christopher Beck, Diamond Springs, Calif., and Jason Moon, Walnut Creek, Calif.
- University of California-Davis – Philip Choy, Lafayette, Calif., and Kousei Perales, Bakersfield, Calif.
- University of California-Santa Cruz – Chris Rhoden, Pearlblossom, Calif., and Sam Sayad, Carmel Valley, Calif.
- University of California-Santa Cruz – Jason Coslovich, San Jose, Calif., and Yoshi Van Gelder, Palo Alto, Calif.
- University of Nevada-Reno – Brandon Cramer and Anthony Milano, Petaluma, Calif.
- University of Nevada-Reno – Jared Malone, Sonora, Calif., and Brandon Murphy, Boulder City, Nev.
- University of Oregon – Kyle Schneider, Beaverton, Ore., and David Wilson, Sacramento, Calif.
- University of Oregon – Jacob Bliss, Sunnyvale, Calif., and Spencer Griffin, Lake Oswego, Ore.
- University of Oregon – William Crowl, Selma, Ore., and Zachary Niesen, Mill Valley, Calif.
- Utah Valley University – Clif Gallagher and Weston Brierley, both of Eagle Mountain, Utah.
- Utah Valley University – Tyler Dabling, Orem, Utah, and Cathleen Martinez, Spanish Fork, Utah
FLW College Fishing teams compete in four qualifying events in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top five teams from each regular-season tournament will qualify for one of five regional championships. The top five teams from each regional championship will advance to the national championship.
College Fishing is free to enter and FLW Outdoors provides boats and drivers for each competing team along with travel allowances. 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. Visit CollegeFishing.com to sign up or to start a club at your school.
