GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. — CU's anglers hit the water this weekend at the Forest L. Wood College Open at Kentucky Lake but high winds took its tole on the Tigers. Austin Moore and Cameron Brooks were the leading duo finishing in the Top 30.
Moore and Brooks reeled in three fish weighing in at 13 pounds, 15 ounces on day one but couldn't keep the momentum going on Day 2, finishing with seven pounds, six ounces. The dup finished in the 30th place with 21 pounds, five ounces.
Moore, a sophomore from Bowling Green, Ky., caught the big bass on Day 1 of the Open Tournament. He reeled in a monster weighing in at seven pounds, nine ounces (pictured).
Another Kentucky university one-upped Moore on Saturday. The biggest bass brought to the scales in the Open's final round was a 7-pound, 15-ounce largemouth boated by James Kuhns of Bellarmine University.
Zach Hartnagel and Dalton Wesley of Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville knew a good thing when they found it Friday in the opening round of the FLW College Fishing Open on Kentucky Lake, and parlayed it into a winning stringer in the second round. The Illinois anglers wound up with 35 pounds, 5 ounces to win the tournament's title ahead of Bethel University's Carter McNeil and Cole Floyd, who had 33-1. Dallas Baptist University's Cold Benedict and Trent Newman capped their consistent two-day performance with a third-place showing of 32-6.
St. Ambrose University's team of brothers Cole and Tanner Atkinson, who led Friday's opening round, was victimized by the wind – both in reaching their fishing water near Blood River and in presenting crank baits properly once they got there.
Hartnagel and Wesley finished with $27,000 in winnings.
CU had four other duos on the water this weekend. Jacob Smith and Justin Mayfield also teamed up and finished in 106th place. Smith and Mayfield reeled in just one fish weighing in at three pounds, six ounces on Day 1 and was able to find another on Day 2 for a total of seven pounds, 13 ounces.
Adam Carman and Hunter Adams finished in 136th with only two fish on Day 1 weighing in at four pounds, 10 ounces. Hunter Pierce and Travis Hunt teamed up for four pounds, two ounces, while Nick Ratliff and Benjamin Riggs had one fish at two pounds, 15 ounces.
Saturday was a day of redemption for some of the teams that had faltered in the opening round, but also a day of disappointment for others striving to earn one of the 15 berths to the 2017 FLW College Fishing National Championship.
The FLW College Fishing division has five regions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southern and Western. Campbellsville is part of the Central Region. The Top 15 finishers from each regional championship will head to the national championship with a date and location yet to be determined. CU will fish in the regional starting on May 14 at Lake Barkley.
Information and photos for this release was provided by FLW Fishing
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