The YETI FLW College Fishing season continues on the Mississippi River near Wabasha as college students look to earn an invitation to compete in the 2019 College Fishing National Championship.

YETI FLW College Fishing teams compete in three regular-season qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western.

The top ten teams from each division’s three regular-season tournaments and the top 20 teams from the annual FLW College Fishing Open will advance to the 2019 FLW College Fishing National Championship. Additional teams will qualify for the National Championship if the field size in regular-season events exceeds 100 boats. The location of the 2019 FLW College Fishing National Championship will be revealed in early fall.

YETI FLW 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 college fishing club that is recognized by their school

The tournament is hosted by the Wabasha-Kellogg Chamber of Commerce & Convention and Visitors Bureau, and is the second of three regular-season events for anglers in the Central Conference. The top prize of a $2,000 is on the line.

“This is going to be a really fun event for the college anglers,” said FLW Tour pro Austin Felix of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, a two-time Forrest Wood Cup qualifier. “Pool No. 4 is loaded with fish – just as much as La Crosse and Prairie du Chien – and they aren’t nearly as pressured. I expect that the majority of the fish weighed in this event will be largemouth.”

The anglers will be launching in Pool No. 4, but the teams are able to lock up or down one pool, but Felix expects that most teams will be headed south.

“The majority of the field will be fishing below Lake Pepin on Pools 4 and 5,” Felix said. “The fish will be pulling out near the main river, but still in the grass. Carolina rigs, frogs and swim jigs will all be good bets. About 90-percent of what I throw in the river is black- or white-colored, but if the water clarity is very clear then green pumpkin with chartreuse tails will be productive, too."

Felix went on to predict that the tournament winners would bring a limit weighing 17 to 19 pounds to the scale.

Competitors will take off from the Wabasha City Ramp at Izaak Walton Park, located at 707 4th St. W., in Wabasha, at 7:30 a.m. CDT Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at the Park beginning at 2:30 p.m. Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.

Anglers are from all across the state including teams from Winona State University, St. Cloud State University, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin - Platteville, LaCrosse and Green Bay, University of Nebraska, University of North Dakota and many more!

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