NEWS

MARBURY, Md. — The Fairmont State University team of Wil Dieffenbauch of Hundred, W.Va., and Brent Dodrill of Fairmont, W.Va., won the National Guard FLW College Fishing Northen Division opener on the Potomac River Saturday with six bass weighing 15 pounds, 5 ounces. The victory earned the team $10,000 to be split evenly between the university and the university’s bass-fishing club.

“The conditions were good today so we went on the main water early, but it was a little rougher out there so we headed back into one of the bays,” said Dodrill, a sophomore majoring in occupational safety. “We struggled early today and finally about 11 a.m., we found some fish. They were all in one area and we just sat there and pounded it out. ”

Rounding out the top five teams were Vermont Technical College of Justin Brouillard of Rochester, Vt., and Ben Cayer of Bethel, Vt., (six bass, 15-4, $5,000); Plattsburgh State – Mike Flynn of Troy, N.Y., and Chris Kinney-Hermes of Plattsburgh, N.Y., (five bass, 14-15, $4,000); Penn State University – David Grube of Denver, Pa., and David Steinour of Gettysburg, Pa., (six bass, 13-7, $3,000); and North Carolina State University – Kevin Beverley of Fuquay Varina, N.C., and Ben Dziwulski of Woodbine, Md., (six bass, 12-12, $2,000).

“When we came into the bay, we found a 500 yard stretch and fished that the rest of the day,” said Dieffenbauch, a sophomore studying civil engineering. “We learned a lot today as neither of us have ever fished grass like this before.”

The team caught all their fish throwing topwater frogs targeting grass in about three to five foot of water.

The next National Guard FLW College Fishing Northern Division event, hosted by French Creek Marina, will be held July 18 on 1000 Islands in Clayton, N.Y. Boats will launch from French Creek Marina in Clayton, and the final weigh-in will be held at French Creek Marina at 250 Wahl Street in Clayton.

FLW Outdoors announced the College Fishing trail in May 2008, and the entire schedule, which is organized around the five Stren Series Divisions, can be found by visiting CollegeFishing.com along with rules, requirements and information on how to create a bass club.

Full-time students enrolled in four year colleges or universities are eligible to participate in the events. Schools can send two-person teams to each of the four qualifying events in their division, with each event limited to a maximum of 40 teams. Each team has the opportunity to win $10,000 for first and $2,000 through fifth place. Prize money is split evenly between the winning team’s club and the school they represent. The tournaments are free to enter, boats and drivers are provided and all collegiate teams receive a travel allowance. The top five teams in each qualifying event advance to one of five televised three-day National Guard FLW College Fishing Regional Championships.

Each school represented in a televised Regional Championship will 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 also extend through fifth place for the club and school to split evenly.

The National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship is a three-day televised event hosting the top five teams from each regional, 25 total teams. Teams will be provided shirts and wrapped Ranger boats towed by Chevy trucks for this competition. The purse for the championship ranges from $25,000 cash and a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard wrapped in school colors for the winning club and $50,000 for the school they represent to $15,000 for fifth, split between the club and school.

The winning team will be declared the National Guard FLW Collegiate National Champion and will qualify for the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup presented by BP and Castrol in 2010. The winners will also receive use of a wrapped boat and Chevy truck for the Forrest Wood Cup.

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors also is taking fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $10 million in cash and prizes. Sign up for Player’s Advantage for only $10 to get your edge and win.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player's Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.