(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.)
Class: Sophomore
Major: Wildlife Biology
Hometown: Hickory Flat, Ga.
Other interests: Hunting, college football, snowboarding and horses
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.