FLW College Fishing heads to California Delta

Western Conference event slated for May 18
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Competitors make their way through boat check at the start of day one. Photo by David A. Brown.
May 8, 2013 • MLF • Archives

BETHEL ISLAND, Calif. – FLW College Fishing is headed to the California Delta May 18 for the third of four stops in the Western Conference. Fifty college teams will be competing for a top award of $2,000 and a berth in the Western Conference Invitational tournament.

“I haven’t heard of a bait that’s not working on the Delta right now,” said FLW pro Mike Folkestad of Orange, Calif., who was a 2013 inductee into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. “Everything’s working, frogs, topwater baits, Senkos and worms.

“The fishing is really good. The fish are at the height of their spawn right now, and by the time this tournament starts it will be the tail-end of the spawn to post-spawn fishing. The bass will be up on the banks and hiding in dead-end slews where there is not as much current. It’s going to take about 20 pounds or more to do half-decent.”

According to Folkestad, the key to winning this tournament is going to be finding larger females. Anglers should have no trouble catching 1 1/2- to 3-pounders for their limit, but they are going to have to bring in at least one 4- to10-pounder to win.

Anglers will take off from Russo’s Marina located at 3995 Willow Road in Bethel Island, Calif., at 7 Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 1 p.m. Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.

Schools competing in the California Delta tournament, which is hosted by Hook, Line & Sinker, include:

Arizona State University, Phoenix – Ben Grams, Peoria, Ariz., and T.J. Biciolis, Glendale, Ariz.

Arizona State University – Austen Schmalz, Mesa, Calif., and Bobby Fletcher, Gilbert, Ariz.

Arizona State University – Cody Corley, Chandler, Ariz., and Evan Anderson, Tempe, Ariz.

California Polytechnic – Kyle Greenlaw, San Luis Obispo, Calif., and John Zeolla, Oak Park, Calif.

Chico State – James Rodgers, Willows, Calif., and Andrew Eslick, Chico, Calif.

Chico State – Bo Harkins and Michael Braswell, both of Chico, Calif.

Chico State – Andrew Loberg, Rocklin, Calif., and Nick Carrico, Oroville, Calif.

Colorado State University – Benjamin Robey and Michael Harpell, both of Fort Collins, Colo.

Colorado State University – Chris Sabina, Fort Collins, Colo., and Zachary Zasada, Greeley, Colo.

California State University-Monterey Bay – Andrew Sjostrom and Joshua Smith, both of Seaside, Calif.

California State University-Monterey Bay – Arik Anastasiou, Carpinteria, Calif., and Victoria Johnson, Marina, Calif.

California State University-Monterey Bay – Matthew Diaz and Sebastian Resendiz, both of Castroville, Calif.

California State University-Long Beach – Justin Gangel and Alex Cox, both of Long Beach, Calif.

California State University-Long Beach – Alex Pisarski, Costa Mesa, Calif., and Alfredo Gutierrez, Inglewood, Calif.

Dixie State University – Mathew Baker and Nordel Erickson, both, of St. George, Utah

Eastern Washington University – Cy Floyd, Wenatchee, Wash., and Jesse Squires, Cheney, Wash.

Eastern Washington University – Jarid Gabbert, Spokane Valley, Wash., and Tyler Wasiilewski, Cheney, Wash.

Eastern Washington University – Nick Barr, Cheney, Wash., and Jarred Walker, Westerville, Ohio

Fresno State – Dustin Franco, Hollister, Calif., and Joseph Piedimonte, Fresno, Calif.

Fresno State – Shai Van Gelder and Corey Harris, both of Fresno, Calif.

Fresno State – Thomas Duval, Fresno, Calif., and Moses Menchaca, Clovis, Calif.

Humboldt State University – Alex Robbins, Novato, Calif., and Jeffrey Russell, Eureka, Calif.

Humboldt State University – Christopher Childers, McKinleyville, Calif., and Erich Coulter, Arcata, Calif.

Humboldt State University – Derrick Hicks, Lincoln, Calif., and Graeme Lock, Arcata, Calif.

Northern Arizona University – Alex Stewart and Carter Vickers, both of Flagstaff, Ariz.

Northern Arizona University – Daniel Vine and Andrew Cates both of Flagstaff, Ariz.

Oregon State University – Colton Thomas and Ryan Bell both of Corvallis, Ore.

Oregon State University – Zach Martinez, Linden, Calif., and Derek Mathes, Corvallis, Ore.

Sacramento State – Greg Taluban and Kyle Derbish both of Sacramento, Calif.

Sacramento State – Thomas Kanemoto, Elk Grove, Calif., and Christopher Wells, Sacramento, Calif.

Sacramento State – Andrew Lippert, Sacramento, Calif., and Travis Kuhn, Lodi, Calif.

San Jose State University – Andrew Sumi, Hercules, Calif., and Jake Newby, San Jose, Calif.

San Jose State University – Cody Wilson, Newark, Calif., and Adam McAndrews, Santa Clara, Calif.

San Jose State University – Russyl Soto, Elk Grove, Calif., and Anthony Lee, San Jose, Calif.

Sonoma State University – Brandon Fischer, Rohnert Park, Calif., and Brendan Castro, Lafayette, Calif

Sonoma State University – Andrien Briens, Carlsbad, Calif., and Ernest Gorham, Rohnert Park, Calif.

University of California-Davis – Christopher Beck, Diamond Springs, Calif., and Michael Manas, Carmel Valley, Calif.

University of California-Santa Cruz – Greg Christie, Santa Cruz, Calif., and Jacob Sandler, Fairfax, Calif.

University of California-Santa Cruz – Tyler Brownell, Santa Cruz, Calif., and Jason Coslovich, San Jose, Calif.

University of Nevada-Reno – Chester Lebsack, Reno, Nev., and Brandon Cramer, Petaluma, Calif.

University of Nevada-Reno – Xavier Green, Reno, Nev., and Jake Tessmann, Minden, Nev.

University of Oregon – Kaitlin Tanner, Eugene, Ore., and Eric Lee, Mather, Calif.

University of Oregon – Kyle Schneider, Beaverton, Ore., and David Wilson, Carmichael, Calif.

University of Oregon – Mitchell Cole, Jefferson, Ore., and Zachary Niesen, Mill Valley, Calif.

University of the Pacific – Garrett Brown, Stockton, Calif., and Siddhartha Nag, Cupertino, Calif.

University of Wyoming – Michael Barbero, Arvada, Colo., and Tyler Stingley, Laramie, Wyo.

University of Wyoming – Tyler Webber, Powell, Wyo., and Taylor Armstrong, Laramie, Wyo.

Utah Valley University – Aaron Warner, Orem, Utah, and Cathleen Martinez, Spanish Fork, Utah

Utah Valley University – Seth Hausman, Sandy, Utah, and Weston Brierley, Orem, Utah

Utah Valley University – Tate Brown, Heber, Utah, and Zachari Taylor Hansen, Idaho

FLW College Fishing teams compete in four qualifying events in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top fifteen teams from each regular-season tournament will qualify for one of five conference invitational tournaments. The top ten teams from each conference invitational tournament will advance to the 2014 FLW College Fishing National Championship.

College Fishing is free to enter and 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.

For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow College Fishing on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing. Visit CollegeFishing.com to sign up or to start a club at your school.

About FLW

FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2013 over the course of 220 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water.” For more information about FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.