Harris Chain of Lakes Readies for 2020 Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI National Championship presented by Lowrance
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: LEESBURG, Fla. – The Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit anglers fishing in Leesburg this week won’t be the only anglers enjoying the big bass factory that is the Harris Chain of Lakes. The best college fishing teams from across the country are also making their way to the Harris Chain, Feb. 26-28, for the 2020 Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI College National Championship presented by Lowrance. The no-entry fee tournament will feature a total of 162 college bass fishing clubs competing in the event for a $30,000 prize package, including a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard.
In addition to the boat package, both members of the winning team at the 2020 FLW College Fishing National Championship will advance to the 2020 FLW Series Championship where they will compete for a top prize of $200,000. Both members of the second, third and fourth-place teams will advance to the 2020 BFL All-American to compete as boaters where they are guaranteed $1,500 plus a shot at winning the top prize of $100,000. Both members of the fifth and sixth-place teams advance to the 2020 All-American to compete as co-anglers where they are guaranteed $750 plus a shot at winning $50,000.
“Winning the National Championship last year was one of the coolest experiences of my life,” said Adam Puckett of Murray State University, who won the event last year along with partner Blake Albertson on the Potomac River. “It was one of those weeks where everything just went right for us. We requalified to fish in this year’s championship and are looking forward to the opportunity to defend our championship. To win it again – I don’t even have the words. It would be another dream come true.”
Tournament waters available to competitors include Lake Apopka, Lake Griffin, Lake Eustis, Lake Dora, Lake Carlton, Horseshoe Lake, Lake Harris, Little Lake Harris, Lake Denham and Lake Beauclair.
With all three stages of the spawn expected to be in play, Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit angler Tim Frederick of Leesburg, expects shallow-water cranking – squarebill and lipless crankbaits – to be strong for tournament anglers, along with flipping and casting soft-plastics. He said if the weather cooperates a topwater bite could come into play.
“I think we’ll see the field really split up, and I expect that there will be tournament boats in every lake,” Frederick said. “The key will be finding an area that has fish steady coming to you – moving into spawn or back out after they spawn. A staging area where the fish are migrating in and out of will be the winning spot.”
Anglers will take off from the Venetian Gardens, located at 201 E. Lake Harris Drive in Leesburg at 7 a.m. EDT each day of competition. The weigh-ins will be held each day at the Venetian Gardens beginning at 3 p.m. All takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Television coverage of the Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI National Championship presented by Lowrance will premiere in 2020 on YouTube and broadcast around the globe on the World Fishing Network.
Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI teams compete in regular-season qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top ten teams from each division’s three regular-season tournaments and the top 20 teams from the annual College Fishing Open advance to the following year’s Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI National Championship.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, FLW and its partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe.
FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show while Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. Acquired by Major League Fishing in late 2019, FLW is expanding its programming in 2020 to the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel as well as on-demand at MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).
For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
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