FLW College Fishing is headed to Pickwick Lake September 26-27 for the Southeastern Conference Championship tournament. Forty-five college teams have qualified for this event will be competing for a top award of $4,000 and a berth in the 2016 FLW College Fishing National Championship.
“I know that Pickwick is traditionally known as a ledge fishery, but that is just not the case right now,” said Walmart FLW Tour pro Jason Lambert of Pickwick Dam, Tennessee, who has six top-10 finishes on Pickwick Lake in his FLW career. “There is so much grass and hydrilla in this lake right now – the most that I have ever seen. The grass bite is going to be very strong in this tournament and I predict that is how this event will be won.
“We’re finally starting to get the first cold fronts of the fall coming through,” Lambert continued. “The schooling activity seems to be a little bit behind schedule. Usually at this point of the year we have some fish up on top chasing bait, but we haven’t really seen that yet.
“By the time the tournament rolls around the topwater bite could start to play a little bit, as could throwing a frog, but I think that flipping the grass will be the dominant pattern.”
Lambert predicted that the winning team will most likely have a two-day weight right around 34 or 35 pounds.
“I would recommend just picking up a plastic of some kind and going to the grass and just go fishing,” Lambert went on to say. “Grass fishing is a lot like ledge fishing. You can fish two miles of grass, then find a 30-yard stretch where you’ll get seven good bites. The key for these college anglers will be finding those productive stretches.”
Anglers will take off from McFarland Park, located at 200 James M. Spain Drive, in Florence, Alabama, at 7 a.m. CT each day. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at McFarland Park, beginning at 3 p.m. The top-15 teams will compete and weigh in on Sunday at Walmart, located at 3100 Hough Road, in Florence, at 4 p.m. All takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Schools registered to compete in the Southeastern Conference Championship, which is hosted by Visit Florence, include:
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College – Blake Yarbrough, Fitzgerald, Ga., and Taylor Thompson, Kennesaw, Ga.
Appalachian State University – Charlie Sipe, Hickory, N.C., and Matthew Reid, Clayton, N.C.
Appalachian State University – Ethan Howell, Waynesville, N.C., and Hunter Hill, Hendersonville, N.C.
Auburn University – Ethan Hayes and Garrett Roberts, both of Cullman, Ala.
Bethel University – Hunter Louden, Springville, Tenn., and Chase Aulidge, White Bluff, Tenn.
Clemson University – Patrick Williford, Greensboro, N.C., and Briggs Kennington, Central, S.C.
Clemson University – Ross Burns, Columbia, S.C., and Isaac Nesbitt, Aiken, S.C.
Darton State College – Wesley Griner and Dalton Dedge, both of Leesburg, Ga.
Daytona State College – James Oltorik and Thomas Oltorik, both of Deland, Fla.
East Carolina University – Michael Corbishley, Raleigh, N.C., and Zachary Blalock, Winterville, N.C.
Florida Gulf Coast University – Zane Xanders, Mount Vernon, Ill., and Hunter Bozeman, Ocala, Fla.
Florida State University – Drew Cook, Quincy, Fla., and Cody Spears, Tallahassee, Fla.
Gadsden State Community College – Josh Oliver, Anniston, Ala., Colby Smith, Jacksonville, Ala.
Gadsden State Community College – Nathan George, Ashville, Ala., Russell Sapp, Lincoln, Ala.
Georgia College & State University – Justin Singleton, Rutledge, Ga., and Ryan Stewart, Roswell, Ga.
Georgia Highlands College – Eric Fisher, Kennesaw, Ga., and Jake Akin, Powder Springs, Ga.
Georgia Southern University – Dean Mullett, Marietta, Ga., and Trent Palmer, Peachtree City, Ga.
Lander University – Ben Stone, Donalds, S.C., and Collin Smith, Honea Path, S.C.
Middle Georgia State University – Ethan Wallace, Macon, Ga., and Mark Denney, Warner Robins, Ga.
Mississippi State University – Joseph Marty, Manitowac, Wis., and Grant Galloway, Houlka, Miss.
North Carolina State University – Grayson Barber, Lenoir, N.C., and Thomas Gomez, Raleigh, N.C.
Seminole State College – Kevin Hires, Apopka, Fla., and Phillip Heyde, South Bend, Ind.
Tennessee Technological University – Matt Allen, Cookeville, Tenn., and Zach Youngblood, Silver Point, Tenn.
University of Alabama – Ethan Flack, Cullman, Ala., and Charles Hurst, Arley, Ala.
University of Alabama – John Davis, Birmingham, Ala., and Payton McGinnis, Jasper, Ala.
University of Alabama-Birmingham – Alex Wolfe and Austin Handley, both of Helena, Ala.
University of Alabama-Birmingham – Matthew Oliver, Gardendale, Ala., and Justin Woodruff, Pelham, Ala.
University of Florida – Hunter Bland, Ocala, Fla., and Timothy Parker, Gainesville, Fla.
University of Florida – Shelby Concon, Fruitland Park, Fla., and Grant Bergeron, Longwood, Fla.
University of North Alabama – Dawson Lenz, Peachtree City, Ga., and Andrew Tate, Florence, Ala.
University of North Alabama – Austin Mize, Hayden, Ala., and Brad Vice, Hartselle, Ala.
University of North Alabama – Clint Frederick, Hodges, Ala., and Cody Harrison, Moscow, Tenn.
University of North Alabama – John Maner, Huntsville, Ala., and Colt Kelso, Lawrenceburg, Tenn.
University of North Carolina-Charlotte – John Auten, Gaffney, S.D., and Cole Blythe, Charlotte, N.C.
University of South Carolina – Chris Blanchette, Irmo, S.C., and Hampton Anderson, Anderson, S.C.
University of South Carolina – Patrick Walters, Summerville, S.C., and Josh Rennebaum, Chapin, S.C.
University of Tennessee-Chattanooga – Gavyn Bridges, Thompsons Station, Tenn., and Blake Lee, Chattanooga, Tenn.
University of Tennessee-Chattanooga – Dillon Falardeau, North Smithfield, R.I., and Patrick Hoskins, Knoxville, Tenn.
University of Tennessee-Chattanooga – Sam Mughal, Jasper, Tenn., and Luke Lackey, Murfreesboro, Tenn.
University of West Georgia – Kenny Johnson, Newnan, Ga., and Brandon Black, Douglasville, Ga.
University of West Georgia – Matthew Colbert and Tyler Collins, both of Carrollton, Ga.
Western Carolina University – Austin Neary, Cullowhee, N.C., and Alex Frazier, Polk County, N.C.
Western Carolina University – Caleb Nuckols, Hayesville, N.C., and Adam King, Bryson City, N.C.
Western Carolina University – Tyler Thomasson, Whittier, N.C., and Josh Cannon, Waxhaw, N.C.
FLW College Fishing teams compete in qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top fifteen teams from each regular-season tournament qualify for one of five Conference Championship tournaments. The top ten teams from each of the five Conference Championship tournaments will advance to the 2016 FLW College Fishing National Championship.
College Fishing is free to enter. All participants must be registered, full-time students at a college, university or community college and members of a fishing club recognized by their college or university.
