University of Florida's Regional Championship win airs Dec. 27 on Versus - Major League Fishing

University of Florida’s Regional Championship win airs Dec. 27 on Versus

One-hour show covers National Guard FLW College Fishing tournament on Lake Monroe
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The University of Florida's Jake Gipson and Matthew Wercinski swept the event on Lake Monroe. Photo by David A. Brown. Anglers: Matthew Wercinski, Jake Gipson.
December 1, 2009 • MLF • Archives

MINNEAPOLIS – Tune in Sunday, Dec. 27 to “FLW Outdoors” on VERSUS for complete coverage of the National Guard FLW College Fishing Southeast Regional Championship. The show, which is broadcast in high definition, highlights the University of Florida’s wire-to-wire victory on Lake Monroe.

The Gators, consisting of senior Jake Gipson and junior Matthew Wercinski, took the lead on day one with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 12 ounces. On day two, they managed a six-fish limit worth 9 pounds, 9 ounces. Their final-round score was 7-12 for a three-day total of 16 bass weighing 30 pounds, 1 ounce.

Florida’s go-to bait for most of the tournament was a watermelon red Zoom Magnum Speed Worm fished on a 6/0 heavy-gauge hook. On days one and two, ripping the worms across the tops of grass beds proved effective, but on day three the bass proved lethargic. Gipson and Wercinski adjusted by slowing down and employing a Texas-rigged Zoom Baby Brush Hog.

Although the kicker fish eluded them, UF's Matthew Wercisnki and Jake Gipson consistently caught fish for three days.For their efforts, the Gators won a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard wrapped in school colors and $25,000 for the University of Florida.

Rounding out the top five teams are Auburn University – Shaye Baker and Dennis Parker (18 bass, 27-11, $25,000); Auburn University – Richard Peek and Caleb Rodgers (14 bass, 20-2, $11,000); University of Central Florida – Matthew Norman and Dustin Lauer (12 bass, 19-5, $8,000) and Young Harris College – Clint McNeal and Brad Rutherford (11 bass, 19-2, $6,000). Each of the top five teams qualified for the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship, which will be held at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., April 10-12, 2010.

VERSUS Country broadcasts “FLW Outdoors” in high-definition (HD) Sundays from 12:30-1:30 p.m. ET. FLWOutdoors.com also provides an online guide listing upcoming episodes of “FLW Outdoors.” In addition, each episode of “FLW Outdoors” will be available on demand in its entirety on FLWOutdoors.com.

“FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide, including internationally through agreements with WFN (World Fishing Network) and Matchroom Sport to such countries as Canada, Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world.

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.

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.