Auburn leads 2010 FLW College Fishing National Championship

The duo of Dennis Parker and Shaye Baker net the day’s only 16-pound stringer to finish in first place during Saturday’s opening round of competition

The Auburn University team of Shaye Baker (left) and Dennis Parker (right) grabbed the overall lead at the 2010 FLW College Fishing National Championship. Photo by Gary Mortenson. Anglers: Dennis Parker, Shaye Baker.

April 10, 2010 • Gary Mortenson • Abu Garcia College Fishing

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Last week, Dennis Parker was working on the construction of 15-story children’s hospital in Birmingham, Ala. Today, the Auburn University grad found himself atop the leaderboard of the 2010 National Guard FLW College National Championship standings. What a difference a few days make.

“I just started with this construction company about a month ago,” said Parker. “We were really busy on this project and we had a tight schedule. I wasn’t sure if my boss was going to even let me take off work. But luckily for me, my bosses are big-time fishermen. So the let me go. But it was close.”

To be sure, the timing couldn’t have worked out better. On the strength of a 16-pound, 10-ounce catch, Parker and his fishing partner Shaye Baker landed in first place overall with only two days remaining in national championship competition. And the duo couldn’t have been happier.

“It feels great,” said Baker. “It’s just unbelievable to have this opportunity. All you can hope for is to be leading after the first day and that’s what we’ve done. We would have liked to have had a little bit bigger lead, but we pretty much have our water to ourselves and we’re on some good fish. We’re pretty happy right now.”

Parker said that heading into this event he envisioned his team finishing the tournament in first place. And so far, he’s hardly been disappointed.

“I try to get in the right mindset before every event. And so for the past month I’ve been trying to convince my partner that we’re going to win this tournament,” Parker said. “It took a while, but a few days ago Shaye looked at me and said, `I think you’re right.’ That’s when I knew we’re in great shape. This is my last hurrah and I don’t want to settle for second place. We have to come in first. We have to.”

Baker said the key so far for his team is being able to follow the migration of the fish as the lake rebounds from the recent cold front that moved in earlier last week.

“The fish are constantly on the move and you have to move with them,” said Baker. “We have a pretty solid pattern right now but we’re really throwing a lot of different baits. We’re fishing anywhere from 2 to 15 feet of water. We’re around the right fish and we’re getting the right type of bites. And if it keeps up, I think we can come back with the same weight or a little bit more tomorrow. But we’re pretty much junk fishing right now.”

“Refined junk fishing,” Parker added. “We still have a lot of water we haven’t fished yet. But it’s a real chess game out there. The fish are definitely in transition. And whoever can adapt the best to those changing conditions is going to win this tournament. I just hope it’s us.”

Murray State races into second place

Bolstered by a stellar catch of 15 pounds, 12 ounces, the Murray State University team of Kalem Tippett and Steve Miller found themselves less than a pound out of first place heading into the second day of FLW College Fishing National Championship competition.

“It’s awesome to be in contention for the title,” said Tippett. “Hopefully we can hang in there tomorrow and finish it off on Monday.”

Heading into the event, the team acknowledged that they’d had a good practice. But come the first day of the national championship, their fishing was even better.

“We’re really shooting for a good sack,” said Tippett. “We were catching anywhere from 12 to 14 pounds in practice. So today exceeded our expectations.”

Tippett said that his team really mixed it up on the water, throwing a combination of crankbaits, jigs, Shaky Head worms and spinnerbaits to land the majority of their catch.

“And we’re going to be doing the same thing tomorrow,” he said.

Texas A&M finishes third

The Texas A&M team of Paul Manley and Andrew Shafer used a 15-pound, 5-ounce catch to finish the day in third place.

“We had our limit pretty early today,” said Manley. “And we still have about 15 posts we didn’t even touch. The fish are definitely moving each day. And we’re just trying to follow them.”

Texas State University snares fourth place

The Texas State University team of Jay McCollum and David Cosner recorded a 13-pound, 3-ounce catch to land in fourth place overall after the conclusion of Saturday’s tournament action.

“We lost some fish that could’ve bumped us up to first place,” said McCollum. “But we know the fish are there and we’re definitely around them.”

The Texas State University team also had the distinction of landing the largest fish in the tournament to date – a largemouth bass that weighed in between 5 1/2 and 6 pounds.

“At one point, our camera boat was going to leave and go somewhere else. But I told them that I didn’t think it was a good idea,” said. Cosner. “The next cast, `whack.’ I landed it.”

The Texas State University team also enjoyed one of the largest rooting sections of the event as well.

“We’ve got about 20 people here supporting us so that’s pretty cool,” said Cosner.

Ohio State holds down fifth qualifying spot

As one of only five teams to record double-digit stringer weights in today’s competition, the Ohio State team of Kevin Moeller and Casey Hammann vaulted into fifth place overall by the end of the day’s action.

“We really got them this morning, but it seemed like when the sun came up later in the day, our bite turned off,” said Moeller, whose team ultimately recorded a 12-pound, 3-ounce limit. “I think tomorrow we’re going to try a little more finesse fishing.”

“Hopefully we’ll have another 6-fish limit tomorrow,” said Hammann.

The 2010 National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship will resume Sunday morning. College teams will depart Ned McWherter Riverside Landing Park, located at 1648 Riverside Drive in Knoxville, at approximately 7 a.m.