College bass fishing is competitive bass fishing that is played by teams from universities and colleges. The NCAA is not involved in college bass fishing, allowing teams to use sponsorships to their advantage and keep their winnings. College bass fishing consists of mostly club teams, but there are a select few varsity bass fishing programs. There are an estimated 610 college bass fishing teams in the United States. The major college bass fishing tournament series are the FLW Outdoors College Series, Boat U.S. Bass Pro Shops College Bass Fishing Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Bass Fishing Series, and the Fishlife Collegiate Tour.
History The first known college bass fishing tournament took place at Lake Monroe, Indiana on April 18, 1992 between Purdue University and Indiana University. Purdue won the tournament by three pounds. Some of the historically most successful college bass fishing teams are Auburn University, Murray State University, Bethel University, University of Florida, Virginia Tech, University of Georgia, North Carolina State University, Louisiana State University, and the University of Illinois. College bass fishing is a growing college sport and in recent years, some schools have even started varsity programs, such as Adrian College in Michigan and Campbellsville University in Kentucky. These schools are both the first varsity college bass fishing programs in their state. The University of Delaware Bass Fishing Team was the first collegiate bass fishing team in the state of Delaware.
Official rules and scoring Two fisherman allowed per boat Bass kept must be at least 12 inches in length (depending on the lake) Five bass limit allowed per team at weigh in (largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, are the only species accepted) .25 ounces deducted for each dead bass weighed in One pound deducted for each short bass weighed in One pound deducted for every minute late after weigh-in deadline time Greatest overall weight of bass limit wins the event
Different tournament series, divisions, regionals, and tournaments
Abu Garcia College Fishing
In 2020, Abu Garcia, a fishing brand manufacturer, assumed title sponsorship of the FLW College Fishing circuit. Central Division Northern Division Southeastern Division Southern Division Western Division Open Championship
Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Southern Regional Central Regional Eastern Regional Western Regional Midwestern Regional Wild Card
Cabela's Collegiate Bass Fishing Series Collegiate Big Bass Bash Collegiate Bass Fishing Open Collegiate Bass Fishing Shootout Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship
Championships
Abu Garcia College Fishing Championships Known as FLW College Series before 2020 2010: University of Florida 2011: University of Florida 2012: Kansas State University 2013: University of Louisiana Monroe 2014: University of Minnesota 2015: University of South Carolina 2016: University of South Carolina 2017: Kansas State University 2018: University of Louisiana Monroe 2019: Murray State University 2020: Stephen F. Austin State University
Cabela's Collegiate Bass Fishing Series 2006: North Carolina State University 2007: University of Kansas 2008: Texas A&M 2009: Murray State University 2010: Tarleton State University 2011: University of Arkansas 2012: North Carolina State University 2013: Bethel University 2014: Lamar University 2015: Northern Kentucky University 2016: Auburn University 2017: University of North Alabama 2018: Bethel University
The Fishlife Collegiate Tour 2013: Alabama 2014: Alabama/Birmingham Southern
References
Smallwood, Scott. "Reel world." The Chronicle of Higher Education. 52.38 (2006): A8. General OneFile. Web. 17 Nov. 2014. "BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Tournament News." BoatUS News. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2014. "Campbellsville University Athletics - Green River Lake." Campbellsville University Athletics - Green River Lake. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2014. Card, James. "Gone Fishing on Scholarship, With Hopes of Turning Pro." The New York Times. 22 June 2010. Web. 17 Nov. 2014. "Final Time Around for The Hoosier Duo." IU Bass Fishing RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2014. "Fishing League Worldwide." FLW College Fishing. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2014. Schonbrun, Zach. "Collegiate Fishing's Added Lure: Cash on the Line." The New York Times. 17 Oct. 2014. Web. 17 Nov. 2014. "Top 25 College Fishing Teams." Bassmaster. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2014. "Tournament Results." Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship -. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.