Chico State Wins MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Tournament on California Delta Presented by Tackle Warehouse

OAKLEY, Calif. (March 20, 2023) – The California State University-Chico duo of Jared Defremery of Brentwood, California, and Miles Kaneko of Berkeley, California, won the MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI event on the California Delta presented by Tackle Warehouse Friday with three bass weighing 13 pounds, 13 ounces. The victory earned the Wildcats’ bass club a qualification into the 2024 MLF College Fishing National Championship.

“The Delta has been fishing really tough, so we ran to our first spot and really just decided to stay there and pick it apart thoroughly,” Kaneko said. “We managed a big one for our first fish on a drop-shot rig with a 5-inch black-and-blue Yamamoto Senko. It was just so tough because of the recent rains and the water clarity is so dirty on the Delta right now.”

Keneko said the team targeted bass roaming shallow by keeping the boat in six feet of water and casting to the bank in two to four feet of water. Keneko said they would let the Senko sit for five to 10 seconds after the cast before moving it.

“Any riprap banks that had healthy grass seemed to hold more fish than other spots did,” Kaneko said. “We only had five bites all day, and we only landed three of those.

“The storms that have come through bringing cold weather have got the fish kind of adjusting right now, and they haven’t really moved up and they’re hard to catch,” Kaneko added. “Jared and I were really happy with our performance, and it’s a great feeling to win this tournament.”

The top 10 teams on the California Delta were:

1st: Chico State – Jared Defremery, Brentwood, Calif., and Miles Kaneko, Berkeley, Calif., three bass, 13-13
2nd: Simpson University – James Hawkinson, Granite Bay, Calif., and Ty Manterola, Pasco, Wash., five bass, 7-2
3rd: Simpson University – Jacob Greene, American Canyon, Calif., and Austin Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., five bass, 6-11
4th: Simpson University – Michael Bray, Merced, Calif., and Brennan Osborn, Beaverton, Ore., three bass, 6-5
5th: Sacramento State – Quinn Alexander and Nathan Nelson, both of Sacramento, Calif., three bass, 5-12
6th: University of Alabama – Rein Golub, Pittsford, N.Y., and Taylor Wake, Rocklin, Calif., two bass, 5-9
7th: Sonoma State University – Ari Forman, Westlake Village, Calif., and Cody Wyatt, Rohnert Park, Calif., two bass, 4-12
8th: Fresno State – Kelby Keeling, Visalia, Calif., and Bryce Powell, Acampo, Calif., three bass, 4-0
9th: University of Idaho – Ethan Leininger, Vina, Calif., and Connor Patterson, Moscow, Idaho, one bass, 2-12
10th: Oklahoma State University – John Lucostic, Stillwater, Okla., and Walker Niver, Sperry, Okla., one bass, 1-13

Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The next event for College Fishing anglers will be the Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI event on the California Delta presented by Tackle Warehouse, April 21 in Oakley, California.

The 2023 MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI 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.