Bass fishing duo heads to regional tournament

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 2, 2009

STEPHENVILLE, TEXAS—Tarleton State University bass fishing club members John Anderson and Tanner Morgan are headed to the great state of Louisiana to compete in the National Guard FLW College Fishing Regional Championship for the Texas Division.

The regional championship is slated for Nov. 14-16. Originally the tournament was to take place on the Red River. However due to unsafe water levels, it has been relocated to Sibley Lake outside of Natchitoches, La.

Anderson and Morgan are avid fishermen and can be found with a rod in hand at least three days a week. Although just in their early twenties, both have been fishing most of their lives.

With that much time spent on lakes and rivers, Anderson and Morgan have learned how weather and lake conditions affect appetites of fish and where larger bass should be found.

“Like most sports, this is 90 percent mental,” Anderson said. “Before we go to a tournament, we’ll call ahead to find out about the location’s water conditions. For this one, we’ll also do a pre-fishing on Nov. 7-8.”

In addition to their personal pre-fishing days, all teams will practice on Sibley Lake on Nov. 13.

“We’re excited and nervous to compete in the regional tournament,” Morgan said. “Hopefully, we’ll be less nervous after our pre-fishing.”

Unlike other sports, collegiate fishermen have the additional challenge of competing against the public.

“All of our tournaments have taken place on public waters, so you have other fishermen as well as boaters, skiers and jet skis that you have to work with,” Anderson said.

The tournament allows each angler to keep three fish, all of which must exceed the legal limit of 12 inches. Live wells on the boats enable fish to be in comfort before each day’s weigh-in. Dead fish cannot be weighed and are a penalty.

“For each tournament we have a game plan,” Morgan said. “You have certain strategies of where and how you’ll fish. But it also involves making decisions and adjusting when needed. Nine times out of 10 the plan is to get our limit first then aim for getting the big fish.”

Tarleton’s duo double-qualified for the tournament that will feature 20 teams. In addition to Tarleton, other teams include Angelo State University, Baylor University, Louisiana State University (LSU), LSU-Shreveport, Lamar University, Northwestern State University, Oklahoma State University, Sam Houston State University, Stephen F. Austin University, Texas A&M University, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas A&M-Kingsville, Texas State University, Texas Tech University, University of Louisiana, University of North Texas and University of Texas.

The tournament will be featured on Versus and will air on Dec. 20 at 12:30 p.m. If Anderson and Morgan make it to the Top 5, they will receive additional camera coverage as well as campus supporters being featured in a live Internet feed on Nov. 16. Winners of the tournament will receive $25,000 for their college and a boat for their bass fishing club.

The Top 5 teams also will advance to the national tournament scheduled for April 10-12, 2010, in Knoxville, Tenn. Winners of the national tournament will receive $50,000 for their college and $50,000 for their bass fishing club.

Sponsors of Tarleton’s bass fishing club include Lake Fork Tackle in Emory, Texas, Sébile Innovations in Abilene, Texas, American Rodsmiths in Houston as well as California companies Tackle Warehouse and Bassaholics.

Advisers for the team are Allan Morgan and Dr. Barry Lambert, both of whom are also avid fisherman.

For more information on the tournament and its rules, visit www.collegefishing.com.

-30-

Contact information:
Barry Lambert – (254) 968-9217 or via e-mail at blambert@tarleton.edu

Allan Morgan – (254) 968-9206 or via e-mail at morgan@tarleton.edu

Return to press releases