Texas State University wins National Guard FLW College Fishing event on Lake Amistad

Duo of Cosner and McCollum net $10,000 in scholarships for their efforts

The top-five teams at the National Guard FLW College Fishing Texas Division tournament on Lake Amistad acknowledge the crowd.

May 23, 2009 • MLF • Abu Garcia College Fishing

DEL RIO, Texas – The Texas State University team of David Cosner of Austin, Texas, and Jay McCollum of San Marcos, Texas, won the National Guard FLW College Fishing Texas Division tournament on Lake Amistad Saturday with six bass weighing 16 pounds, 10 ounces. The victory earned the team $10,000 to be split evenly between the school and the school’s bass-fishing club.

“We started our day off throwing topwaters in about 17 to 25 foot deep water,” said Cosner. “We were able to catch five fish fairly early. Then the rain came in and once it passed, the bites slowed and it was quite some time before we caught our next keeper.”

Cosner said they made a big move and decided to fish shallow. “We decided to target some rocks using dropshots and we were able to catch them using a six-inch YUM Dinger.”

McCollum said that after the rain passed through, the wind then died down and changed what the fish were doing. “We started the day throwing topwaters and then moved on to drop shots. After the wind died down, the fish started back on the topwaters and that seven pound bass was the anchor for our team today.”

Cosner, who serves as vice-president for his school’s bass club was excited about the win. “We are a new club and funds are tight, so we will probably save most of it. This will give an opportunity for other kids to get involved.”

Rounding out the top five teams were the University of Texas – Guillermo Benavides of Austin, Texas, and Taylor Sullivan of Corpus Christi, Texas (five bass, 16-1, $5,000); Angelo State – Austin Adcock of Leander, Texas, and Josh Seale of Beckinridge, Texas (five bass, 15-12, $4,000); Lamar University – Danny Iles of Hemphill, Texas, and Matt Morrison of Silsbee, Texas (six bass, 13-9, $3,000); and Tarleton State University – John Anderson and Tanner Morgan of Stephenville, Texas (six bass, 13-3, $2,000).

Three of the teams that placed in the top five have already qualified for the Texas Regional Championship. Those teams were Adcock and Seale from Angelo State, Iles and Morrison from Lamar University, and Anderson and Morgan from Tarleton State University. Since they have already qualified, the sixth through eighth place teams will advance to the Texas Regional Championship.

Those three teams are Texas Tech University – Ryan Dupriest of Lubbock, Texas, and Dustin Perry of Iraan, Texas (six bass, 12-15); Stephen F. Austin University – Allan Coleman of Jasper, Texas, and Ryan Watkins of Nacogdoches, Texas (six bass, 12-14); and Baylor University – Jay Holland of Waco, Texas, and Andrew McAdams of Lorena, Texas (six bass, 12-3), respectively.

FLW Outdoors unveiled the College Fishing trail in 2009. The entire schedule, which is organized around the five Stren Series Divisions can be found by visiting CollegeFishing.com, along with the rules, requirements and information on how to create a bass club.

Full time students enrolled in four year colleges or universities are eligible to participate in the events. Schools in each division can send two-person teams to each of the four qualifying events in their division, with each event limited to a maximum of 40 teams. Each team will have an opportunity to win $10,000 for first and $2,000 through fifth place. The prize money will be split evenly between the winning team’s club and the school they represent. The tournaments are free to enter, boats and drivers will be provided and all collegiate teams will receive a travel allowance. The top five teams in each of the qualifying events will advance to one of five televised three-day FLW National Guard Regional Championships.

Each school represented in a televised Regional Championship will have team shirts and boats provided by Ranger. The purse for each Regional Championship will be a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard wrapped in school colors for the winning club and $25,000 for the school they represent. Awards of $6,000 will also extend through fifth place for the club and school to split evenly.

The FLW National Guard College Fishing National Championship will be a three-day televised event hosting the top five teams from each regional, 25 total teams. The teams will be provided with team shirts and wrapped Ranger boats towed by Chevy trucks for this competition. The purse for the championship will range from $25,000 cash and a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard wrapped in school colors and $50,000 for the school they represent to $15,000 for fifth, split between the club and school.

The winning team will be declared the FLW National Guard Collegiate National Champion and will qualify for the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup presented by BP and Castrol in 2010. The winners will also receive use of a wrapped boat and Chevy truck for the Forrest Wood Cup.

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $10 million in cash and prizes. Sign up for Player’s Advantage for only $10 to get your edge and win.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.