FLW COLLEGE FISHING SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE FINALE SET FOR LAKE HARTWELL – May 19,2015

HARTWELL, Ga. (May 19, 2015) – FLW College Fishing is headed to Lake Hartwell May 30 for the third and final regular-season stop in the Southeastern Conference. A full field of college teams will be competing for a top award of $2,000 and a berth in the Southeastern Conference Championship tournament.

“There’s going to be a few different options for anglers on Lake Hartwell this time of year,” said Walmart FLW Tour pro and reigning Forrest Wood Cup champion Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, South Carolina. “That’s what makes tournaments in early summer like this so exciting.

“The postspawn bite will be the strongest, but I’ve seen late spawners up shallow on the lower end of the lake in the past,” continued Gagliardi. “I think the postspawn fish will be feeding on herring and offshore fishing is going to play a major role in this tournament. Anglers will also find some fish up shallow around docks that haven’t moved out deep yet. Drop-shotting points and using Carolina-rigs on the main lake will be very popular as well.

“As for baits, I see competitors using green-pumpkin-colored Zoom Finesse Worms, six-inch Zoom Trick Worms and possibly even football-head jigs,” said Gagliardi. “Topwater baits and Zoom Super Flukes will do well with the offshore fish that are feeding. I’ve done well in the past with natural colors and slightly darker colors like watermelon seed.”

When asked what he thought a winning weight would be, Gagliardi predicted the victors will bring a five-bass limit nearing 19 pounds to the scale.

“If I were to fish the lake today, that’s the amount of weight I’d want in my livewell,” Gagliardi said.

Anglers will take off from the Gum Branch Park ramp located on Vanna Waller Road in Hartwell at 6:30 a.m. Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 2:30 p.m. Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.

Schools are allowed to register up until the morning of the tournament. Entries may be made either by phone or at CollegeFishing.com. Schools currently registered to compete in the Lake Hartwell tournament, which is hosted by the Hart County Chamber of Commerce, include:

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College – Blake Yarbrough, Fitzgerald, Ga., and Taylor Thompson, Kennesaw, Ga.

Air University – Ben  McCormick, Anderson, S.C., and Casey Dickerson, Iva, S.C.

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.

Appalachian State University – Jeremy Gilley, High Point, N.C., and Kelly Johnson, Sherrills Ford, N.C.

Auburn University – Ethan Hayes and Garrett Roberts, both of Cullman, Ala.

Auburn University – Kendall Andrews, Valley, Ala., and Edward Curtis, Naperville, Ill.

Auburn University – Mitchell Jennings, Auburn, Ala., and Timmy Ward, Childersburg, Ala.

Austin Peay State University – Jacob Hamilton, Medina, Tenn., and Bryce Newsome, Clarksville, Tenn.

Austin Peay State University – Taylor Genz, Dover, Tenn., and Clinton Morris, Adams, Tenn.

Clemson University – Dean Legg, Amesbury, Mass., and Spencer Waldrop, Easley, S.C.

Clemson University – Justin Adams, Gaffney, S.C., and Baylor Ronemus, Augusta, Ga.

Clemson University – Patrick Williford, Greensboro, N.C., and Briggs Kennington, Central, S.C.

Coastal Carolina University – John Duarte and Jonathan Kelley, both of Middle River, Md.

Darton State College – Andrew Suggs, Albany, Ga., and Chase Coker, Valdosta, Ga.

Darton State College – Dalton Dedge And Wesley Griner, both of Leesburg, Ga.

Daytona State College – James Oltorik and Thomas Oltorik, both of Deland, Fla.

East Carolina University – Brian Buffaloe, Wendell, N.C., and Ronnie Moore, Advance, N.C.

Emmanuel College – Richie Young, Dallas, Ga., and Ross Dove, Royston, Ga.

Florida Gulf Coast University – Brianne McMillan, Belle Glade, Fla., and Hunter Bozeman, Ocala, Fla.

Georgia Highlands College – Eric Fisher, Kennesaw, Ga., and Jake Akin, Powder Springs, Ga.

Georgia Regents University – Lucas Johnson and Anthony McCullough, both of Augusta, Ga.

Georgia Regents University – Wesley Steinmeyer Jr., Appling, Ga., and Corey Freed, Evans, Ga.

Jacksonville State University – Trawick Ellis, Jacksonville, Ala., and Will Bullen, Childersburg, Ala.

Lander University – Ben Stone, Donalds, S.C., and Collin Smith, Honea Path, S.C.

Lincoln Memorial University – Chris Hunt, Loudon, Tenn., and Kyle Warwick, Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Middle Georgia State College – Ethan Wallace and Taylor Kirby, both of Macon, Ga.

Roane State Community College – James Parker and Isaiah Herrington, both of Lenoir City, Tenn.

Tusculum College – Nick Hatfield, Chuckey, Tenn., and Corey Neece, Bristol, Tenn.

University of Alabama – Caiden Sinclair, Robertsville, Ala., and Hunter Gibson, Hoover, Ala.

University of Central Florida – Patrick Teaf, Tallahassee, Fla., and Steven Barker, Ocala, Fla.

University of Central Florida – Zack Edmunds, Oviedo, Fla., and Nelson Madruga Jr., Chuluota, Fla.

University of Montevallo – Brandon Easterling, Clanton, Ala., and Austin Herring, Alabaster, Ala.

University of North Florida – Evan French, Neptune Beach, Fla., and Ayman Faroqi, Jacksonville, Fla.

University of North Georgia – Levi Baker and Caleb Dickson, both of Loganville, Ga.

University of South Carolina – Patrick Walters, Summerville, S.C., and Josh Rennebaum, Chapin, S.C.

University of South Carolina – Robert Brannon, Gaffney, S.C., and Tom Brewbaker, Columbia, S.C.

University of South Carolina – William Miller, High Point, N.C., and Ethan Ingle, Burlington, N.C.

University of Southern Florida Sarasota-Manatee – T.J. Sroufe, Adrian, Mich., and Tom Patten, Metamora, Mich.

University of Tennessee-Chattanooga – Sahadut Mughal, Jasper, Tenn., and Luke Lackey, Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Valdosta State University – Landon Tucker, Adel, Ga., and Grant Colson, Valdosta, Ga.

Valdosta State University – Michael Harbach and Taylor Minick, both of Valdosta, Ga.

Wake Forest University – Ryan Edwards, Stuart, Fla., and Lance Berry, Charlotte, N.C.

Western Carolina University – Ethan Pace, Canton, N.C., and Dominick Leserra, West Jefferson, 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 will 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.

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 FLWFishing.com to sign up or to start a club at your school.