LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. (Feb. 6, 2023) – The Simpson University duo of Jacob Greene of American Canyon, California, and Austin Rojas of Lake Havasu City, Arizona, cruised to victory by more than three pounds at the MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI event on Lake Havasu Presented by Tackle Warehouse Saturday with a five-bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 10 ounces. The victory earned the Red Hawks’ bass club qualification into the 2024 MLF College Fishing National Championship.
The Red Hawks juniors stayed upriver for the tournament and threw reaction baits – square-bill and lipless crankbaits – and targeted rocks, trees and tules in 3 to 7 feet of water.
“It was kind of a grind,” said Rojas. “We didn’t get our fifth fish until 11:30. We had to cover some water and make a lot of casts.”
Rojas said the team caught six fish – all keepers – during the course of the day and said that the win was also Greene’s first MLF College Fishing event.
“That was really nice for Jacob to get the win his first time out,” Rojas said. “I was just happy getting a limit. When we caught our limit I had a good feeling we were going to finish well, but I thought somebody would probably bring in 20 pounds.”
The top two teams that qualified to compete at the 2024 College Fishing National Championship are:
1st: Simpson University – Jacob Greene, American Canyon, Calif., and Austin Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., five bass, 13-10
2nd: Texas Tech University – Corbin Craft, Lubbock, Texas, and Austin Holt, Canyon, Texas, three bass, 10-6
Rounding out the top 10 finishers were:
3rd: Simpson University – Ryan Beaty, Martinez, Calif., and Nathan Phillips, Kelseyville, Calif., three bass, 9-12
4th: Auburn University – Blake Milligan and Carty Shoen, both of Auburn, Ala., two bass, 8-4
5th: Arizona State University – Lamar Fennell, Buckeye, Ariz., and Zack Hayes, Blythe, Calif., three bass, 7-6
6th: Chico State – Jared Defremery, Brentwood, Calif., and Miles Kaneko, Berkley, Calif., three bass, 7-5
7th: Auburn University – Connor Jacob, Peoria, Ill., and Samuel Smith, Auburn, Ill., two bass, 6-1
8th: Simpson University – James Hawkinson, Granite Bay, Calif., one bass, 5-12
9th: Simpson University – Michael Bray, Merced, Calif., and Brennan Osborn, Beaverton, Ore., two bass, 4-1
10th: Sonoma State University – Dylan Debono and Justin Keegan, both of San Francisco, Calif., one bass, 1-11
Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The next regular-season event for College Fishing anglers will be the Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI on Lake of the Ozarks, March 17 in Osage Beach, Missouri.
The 2023 MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI series features college teams from across the country competing in nine regular-season tournaments. The top 12 percent of teams from each regular-season tournament advance to the 2024 Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI National Championship.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Black Rifle Coffee Company, E3, Favorite Fishing, Fox Rent a Car, General Tire, Grundens, Lawless Lures, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Wiley X and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular College Fishing updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.