FLW College Fishing Central Conference Headed to Kentucky Lake
OutdoorHub 06.04.13
FLW College Fishing is headed to Kentucky Lake June 15 for the third of four stops in the Central Conference. Fifty college teams will be competing for a top award of $2,000 and a berth in the Central Conference Invitational tournament.
“They’re just starting to get out on the ledges right now,” said OFF! pro Terry Bolton of Paducah, Ky., who has 24 top-10 finishes in FLW competition on Kentucky and Barkley lakes. “It’s surprising, though, because there are still a lot of fish shallow, which is weird for this time of year. We just had quite a bit of rain, so that should warm the water temperatures up. The fish are wanting to get out, and I think that this event will be hitting the lake at just about the right time.”
Bolton said that anglers would be spread out all over the lake, from New Johnsonville to the dam.
“It’s such a big area, you’ll see teams go all over the place,” Bolton said. “Some teams could choose to make the run over to Barkley Lake. Barkley tends to be a little different than Kentucky Lake. The fishing patterns always seem to be just a little bit later than on Kentucky Lake, and the water has more color. The fish tend to live shallower on Barkley, but they tend to roam a lot. They’ll be there one day, then gone the next. It can be unpredictable.
“If I were coming to Kentucky Lake for the first time, I would spend all of my time fishing the ledges, from 10 to 20 feet deep,” Bolton continued. “Spend some time doing your homework and do some map study and scout some ledges. Once you find a nice school of fish, be patient. Have a wide variety of lures to throw and take your time to figure out what they are biting. The most important advice is just be patient.”
Bolton said that popular baits thrown in this tournament would be spoons, Rapala DT 20 crankbaits, big worms and football jigs. He said that he expects the winning team to bring around 16 pounds to the scales.
“This is going to be a fun tournament,” Bolton went on to say. “I expect that the bite will really be starting to pick up come tournament time.”
Anglers will take off from the Kenlake State Resort Park located at 542 Kenlake Road in Hardin, Ky., at 7 a.m. Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at the park beginning at 1 p.m. Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.
Schools competing in the Kentucky Lake tournament, which is hosted by the Marshall County Tourist Commission, include:
- Ball State University – Zach Fields, North Vernon, Ind., and Jay Poor, Muncie, Ind.
- Bemidji State University – Aaron Wilson, Brooklyn Park, Minn., and Matt Veech, Centerville, Minn.
- Central Christian College – Brady Sherman, McPherson, Kan., and Michael Shayne-Baxter, Olathe, Kan.
- Eastern Illinois University – Cody Hartke, Effingham, Ill., and Phillip Arnold, Pana, Ill.
- Eastern Kentucky University – Kyle Raymer, Brandenburg, Ky., and John Smith, Harlan, Ky.
- Georgetown College – Clay Elliott, Pikeville, Ky., and Mike Huff, Corbin, Ky.
- Illinois State University – Stephan Jurgens, Batavia, Ill., and Anthony Cancelli, Mundelein, Kan.
- Indiana State University – Steve Judson, Terre Haute, Ind., and Robert Nero, Carlisle, Ind.
- Indiana University – Sean Gillenwater, Bloomington, Ind., and Josh Collier, Ellettsville, Ind.
- Iowa State University – Andrew Paulsen and Clayton Burke, both of Ames, Iowa
- Kansas State University – Garrett Cates and Kyle Alsop, both of Overland Park, Kan.
- Marian University – Justin McDonald, Noblesville, Ind., and William Pfund, Sellersburg, Ind.
- Milwaukee School of Engineering – Scott Watry, Fredonia, Wis., and Steven Digrazia, Mokena, Ill.
- Missouri State University – Joe McBride, Springfield, Mo., and Brent Stock, Buckner, Mo.
- Missouri University of Science & Technology – William Kleine and Mitchell Kleine, both of St. Charles, Mo.
- Morehead State University – Brandon Johnson, Salt Lick, Ky., and Zachary Fletcher, Lowmansville, Ky.
- Murray State University – Justin Graben and Justin Berger, both of Murray, Ky.
- Northern Illinois University – Daniel Kosycarz, Hoffman Estates, Ill., and Quinn Groenwald, Dekalb, Ill.
- Northern Kentucky University – Brandon Houston, Burlington, Ky., and Darian Ginter, Maplewood, Ohio
- Northwest Missouri State University – Emily Porter, Kearney, Mo., and Hillary Hughes, Savannah, Mo.
- Northwestern University – Matthew Kestufskie, Georgetown, Ill., and Jimmy Morrow, Arlington Heights, Ill.
- Purdue University – Chris Kaiser, Carmel, Ind., and Ryan Spicer, Arcola, Ind.
- Southeast Missouri State University – Tim Randell, St. Charles, Mo., and Andrew Pinkley, Malden, Mo.
- Southern Illinois University – Ryan Dunn, Harrisburg, Ill., and Aaron Connor, Murphysboro, Ill.
- Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville – Jacob Hicks and Joseph Tischer, both of Morris, Ill.
- St. Ambrose University – Kyle Gates, Decatur, Ill., and Conor Salvino, Burr Ridge, Ill.
- St. Cloud State University – Derek Peloquin, Centerville, Minn., and Zack Busse, Coon Rapids, Minn.
- University of Dubuque – Jarett Svihlik, Erie, Ill., and Marcus Prull, Monticello, Iowa
- University of Evansville – Nick Uebelhor and Eric Kieffner, both of Jasper, Ind.
- University of Illinois – Jacob Jagust, Lockport, Ill., and Zach Wienhoff, Carlinville, Ill.
- University of Iowa – Jim Vojahosky, St. Charles, Ill., and John Mercer, Burlington, Iowa
- University of Kentucky – Ryan Collins, Lebanon, Ohio, and Marty Ballard, Winchester, Ky.
- University of Louisville – Russell Deakins, Louisville, Ky., and Erik Cox, Georgetown, Ind.
- University of Minnesota – Joe Ponessa, St. Paul, Minn., and Mark Shirley, St. Cloud, Minn.
- University of Missouri – Mark Kern Jr., St. Ann, Mo., and Nick Russell, Ballwin, Mo.
- University of Nebraska – Sean Mulholland, Deerfield, Ill., and Levi Carlock, Chandlerville, Ill.
- University of Nebraska-Omaha – Ben Milliken, Bennington, Neb., and Ben Kroeger, Omaha, Neb.
- University of North Dakota – Nick Lindner, Brainerd, Minn., and Kyle Harren, Eagan, Minn.
- University of Southern Indiana – Brady Houghland, Fulda, Ind., and Josh Koester, Chicago, Ill.
- University of St. Thomas – Bryan Billeadeau, Circle Pines, Minn., and Michaela Anderson, Lino Lakes, Minn.
- University of Wisconsin – Levi Warner, Shiocton, Wis., and Kevin Yeska, Wild Rose, Wis.
- University of Wisconsin-La Crosse – Jon Jensen and Nathan Budack, both of Lancaster, Wis.
- University of Wisconsin-Osh Kosh – Mark Juedes, Deforest, Wis., and Chad Janke, Marshall, Wis.
- University of Wisconsin-Platteville – Treavor Millin, Fennimore, Wis., and Stephen Conroy, Johnsburg, Ill.
- University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point – Cody Hahner, Wausau, Wis., and Steve Maliborski, Milwaukee, Wis.
- University of Wisconsin-Stout – Jeremy Anibas, Colfax, Wis., and Ryan Helke, Menomonie, Wis.
- University of Wisconsin-Whitewater – Paul Taylor, Whitewater, Wis., and Shayne Chelminiak, Franklin, Wis.
- Western Illinois University – Cass Waddle, Rock Island, Ill., and Tim Himsl, Moline, Ill.
- Wichita State University – Josh Schmidt, Moundridge, Kan., and John Wright, Newton, Kan.
- Winona State University – Cade Laufenberg, La Crosse, Wis., and Kody Mattson, Blair, Wis.
Three regular-season qualifying events are held in each conference – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Texas and Western. The top 15 teams from each qualifying tournament will advance to one of five two-day FLW College Fishing Conference Invitational tournaments, where the first-place team wins $4,000 for their club. The top 10 teams from each Conference Invitational 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.
