RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State University team of Jeff Bumgarner of Wade, N.C, and Will White of Raleigh, N.C., hold the lead after day two at the National Guard FLW College Fishing Northern Division Regional Championship on Jordan Lake after a day-two six-bass catch weighing 22 pounds, 4 ounces for a two-day total of 32-1. The team has a solid 7-pound, 8-ounce lead over the UNC Charlotte team of Joe Kinchen of Mooresville, N.C., and Tyler Teer of Charlotte, N.C., going into the final day of competition where they are competing for a top prize of $50,000. Both of the teams have now qualified for the National Championship.
“We didn’t have an early-morning bite yesterday and we decided today to go to the (U.S.) 64 bridge and start cranking,” said White, whose team calls themselves the Basspack. “We ran up there and did a little cranking and (Bumgarner) missed one right off the bat.
“We marked a spot on the riprap where if we didn’t catch anything we were going to leave,” White added. “We might have gone 50 feet past that and `Bam’, a 6 1/2-pounder. So we were like, `Maybe we’ll stay a little longer.’ And (Bumgarner’s) down there unhooking and I catch my biggest fish.”
Bumgarner said the team caught seven keepers throughout the course of the day.
“I culled my smallest fish, a 12-incher, with a 6-pounder at the very end of the day,” Bumgarner said. “That’s not bad. It’s a little upgrade.”
Bumgarner said the team’s plan for the final day of competition is to “catch fish. Big fish.” White said the team did not fish any of the spots they hit on the first day of competition.
“We were in fourth place yesterday with 9 pounds, so if these fish quit biting, we’ve still got the other pattern,” White said. “I think we’re pretty solid right now.”
Rounding out the top five teams, who also qualified for the National Championship, are:
3rd: Christopher Newport – Ryan Ingalls, Fairfax, Va., and Joe Wilkerson, Falls Church, Va., 21-13
4th: NC State – Ben Dziwulski, Woodbine, Md., and Kevin Beverley, Fuquay Varina, N.C., 21-7
5th: Virginia Tech – Jody White, Shaftsbury, Vt., and Carson Rejzer, Hampton, Va., 21-1
Each school team represented in the televised regional championship have team shirts and boats provided by Ranger. The purse for each regional championship includes 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 extend through fifth place for the club and school to split evenly.
Anglers will take off from Ebenezer Boat Ramp located at 2882 Beaver Creek Road in Apex, N.C., at 7 a.m. Saturday morning. Weigh-ins are held at N.C. State University – Carter-Finley Stadium. Saturday’s final weigh-in will begin at 5 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
N.C. State University will also be hosting a College Fishing Festival on Saturday. Students and fishing fans alike will be treated to live music, the National Guard Warrior Challenge, a Ranger Boat simulator, tailgate games, a sports zone along with contests for cash and several prize give-aways. The festival will take place at N.C. State University – Carter-Finley Stadium from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday.
The top five teams from each regional championship, 25 teams total, will advance to the 2011 National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship that will be hosted by Murray State University on Kentucky Lake, April 7-9, 2011. The National Championship is a three-day televised event. Teams will be provided jerseys and wrapped Ranger boats towed by Chevy trucks for this competition. The first-place team will win $100,000 with $50,000 of that for their school and $25,000 cash and a Ranger 177TR bass boat for their fishing club along with a berth in the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup.
FLW Outdoors provides boats and drivers for each competing team along with travel allowances. All participants must be registered, full-time undergraduate students at a four-year college or university and members of a fishing club recognized by their college or university.
Coverage of the National Guard FLW College Fishing Northern Division Regional Championship tournament on Jordan Lake will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS. “FLW Outdoors”, and will air Dec. 19 from 1 to 2 ET. “FLW Outdoors,” is hosted by Jason Harper, and is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide.
ABOUT FLW OUTDOORS
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing awarding the largest prizes in the history of fantasy sports. FLW Outdoors memberships are available featuring numerous benefits including Player’s Advantage. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FantasyFishing.com.