Starting the day in third place, the Young Harris team of Brad Rutherford and Clint McNeal conduct an interview with FLW College Fishing host Chris Cain. Photo by David A. Brown. Anglers: Brad Rutherford, Clint McNeal.

March 15, 2010 • Gary Mortenson • Abu Garcia College Fishing

(Editor’s note: Leading up to the inaugural National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship, which will be held at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., April 10-12, CollegeFishing.com will post semiweekly feature stories highlighting the 25 teams that qualified. At stake in the tournament is a prize package of $100,000 and a chance to compete in the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup.)

Name: Clint McNeal (pictured on right)

Class: Sophomore

Major: Wildlife Biology

Hometown: Hickory Flat, Ga.

Other interests: Hunting, college football, snowboarding and horses

Name: Brad Rutherford (pictured left)

Class: Freshman

Major: Business major

Hometown: Lavonia Ga.

Other interests: I enjoy exploring new lakes and messing around with new tackle when it comes out on the market.

Club Web site: n/a

Q&A

CollegeFishing.com: How were you introduced to fishing?

McNeal: My dad took me catfish and bream fishing when I was younger, but I basically picked up bass fishing on my own around the age of 12.

Rutherford: I started fishing when I was born. My parents have pictures of me with a rod in my hand before I could walk. I began tournament fishing when I was 7 years old with my dad.

CollegeFishing.com: What style/method of fishing are you most comfortable with?

McNeal: For a long time I was the most comfortable with finesse fishing trick worms and other soft plastics, but my partner has turned me onto swimbaits and I love them.

Rutherford: I like fishing deep, clear water with a blue-back herring. I’ll throw a swimbait and try to cover as much water as I can to find the big active fish that are feeding.

CollegeFishing.com: What did it feel like to qualify for the inaugural National Championship? How do you plan to prepare for the big event?

McNeal: It feels awesome to qualify for the College Fishing National Championship. My partner and I plan to pre-fish the lake as much as possible. Hopefully the fact that we are the closest school to Knoxville (the site of the upcoming championship) will be a contributor to our success there.

Rutherford: When I made the College Fishing National Championship, I felt honored and like I really accomplished something. To prepare, I plan on making many scouting trips to Fort Loudon Tellico since it is only an hour and a half from my school.

CollegeFishing.com: Tell us something interesting about yourself that most people wouldn’t know.

McNeal: Most people don’t know that I want to move to Wyoming when I graduate from college.

Rutherford: I have fished two junior bass world championships, finishing in third and fourth place. I also won the Bassmaster Weekend Series northeastern regional at Kerr Lake in Virginia as a co-angler.