Battle of the Champions To Determine Cup Qualifier
FLW College Fishing National Championship team winners will fish against each other on Sunday for coveted spot at the 2016 Forrest Wood Cup
More than a collegiate championship is on the line this week when the top FLW College Fishing teams square off in the 2016 National Championship on Lake Keowee. A Forrest Wood Cup berth is also at stake.
Because the 2016 Forrest Wood Cup championship is a pro-only event, only one member of the two-angler team that wins the FLW College Fishing National Championship will get to compete in the Cup.
To decide who gets the coveted spot at Lake Wheeler August 4-7, FLW is hosting a one-day fish-off – dubbed the “Battle of the Champions” – between the winners on Sunday, the day immediately following the National Championship.
Anglers will compete at a secret location that will not be revealed until after the final National Championship weigh-in Saturday evening. For the fish-off, FLW will provide Ranger Z521 bass boats rigged with an Evinrude or Mercury outboard, Lowrance electronics, Power-Poles, and a Minn Kota or MotorGuide trolling motor to the competing anglers.
The two fish-off competitors will each have about seven hours to catch the heaviest five-bass limit. The winner earns the Cup berth.
More National Championship details
The 2016 FLW College Fishing National Championship is a three-day event March 17-19. Teams in the National Championship qualified in 2015 through a process that began with regular-season events in one of five geographical conferences. Top teams in qualifying events went on to compete in the five Conference Championships.
The top 10 teams in each Conference Championship can qualify to compete in the National Championship. At the Central Conference event, however, only eight teams moved on because only eight teams caught fish, and in order to place in an FLW tournament a team must weigh in at least one bass.
An additional 10 teams qualified in March 2015 at the first-ever FLW College Fishing Open on Kentucky Lake for a championship total of 58 two-angler teams. Because of travel or school restraints, however, four teams declined their invitations to fish, leaving the final National Championship field at 54.
All 55 teams will fish on Thursday and Friday. The top 10 teams based on their two-day cumulative weights advance to Saturday’s championship round. After Saturday’s competition, those 10 teams will trailer to nearby Lake Hartwell to weigh their fish on stage at the Walmart FLW Tour event being held concurrently. The team with the heaviest three-day cumulative weight will be crowned 2016 National Champion.
The two team members will then square off in Sunday’s fish-off, with their weigh-in also to be held on the Tour stage.