LAKEPORT, Calif. – FLW College Fishing is headed to Clear Lake Oct. 12-13 for the Western Conference Invitational tournament.

Forty-five college teams have qualified for this tournament and will be competing for a top award of $4,000 and a berth in the 2014 FLW College Fishing National Championship.

“Clear Lake is my favorite lake in the country,” said Chevy pro Jay Yelas, who also works closely with Oregon State University’s fishing team. “I love everything about Clear Lake. I love the way it’s set in the foothills of the mountains, I love the giant bass in it and I love that it’s got all different kinds of structure.

“I’ve fished there a lot this time of year,” continued Yelas. “October is a good month on Clear Lake. The weather is usually stable and the fishing is excellent.

“I’ve found they school up in the fall. They’re not everywhere, but when you find the fish there are lots of them,” said the Corvallis, Ore., pro. “Because of that, the lake tends to fish a little smaller in October than other times of the year. But the fishing is still really good.

“There are shallow patterns on the north end of the lake,” continued Yelas. “There will be fish around grass and boat docks, and they’ll be catching them on topwater baits, flipping and on shallow crankbaits. But there are some deeper fish on the south end of the lake. Jigs or swimbaits on deeper rock piles can be really good.

“That’s typically how tournaments are won in October,” continued Yelas. “There are lots of fish in the north end, but in October it’s typically won on deeper fish.

“But, if you don’t know the lake you don’t want to be looking for the rockpiles and stuff offshore on the bottom of the lake. It takes a long time to figure out exactly where those are. I would tend to fish the north end around the boat docks and grass. That’s what I would suggest to someone who hasn’t seen the lake before.”

Yelas predicted that the winner would bring in about 38 pounds over the course of two days. “I don’t predict that with much conviction, though. More often than not Clear Lake will surprise you on the upside.”

Anglers will take off from the Konocti Vista Casino Resort and Marina located at 2755 Mission Rancheria Road in Lakeport, Calif., at 7:30 a.m. each day. Weigh-ins will be held daily at the Konocti Vista Resort and Casino starting at 4 p.m. on Saturday and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

Schools competing in the Clear Lake tournament, which is hosted by the Konocti Vista Casino Resort and Marina, include:

• Arizona State University – Austen Schmalz, Mesa, Calif., and Bobby Fletcher, Gilbert, Ariz.
• Arizona State University – Tyler Gaab and Daniel Kahoun, both of Chandler, Ariz.
• Cal Poly – John Zeolla, Oak Park, Calif., and Kyle Greenlaw, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
• Chico State – Kevin Chen and Koulton Westbrook, both of Vacaville, Calif.
• Chico State – Michael Braswell, Chico, Calif., and Bo Harkins, Walnut Creek, Calif.
• Chico State – Nick Carrico, Oroville, Calif., and Andrew Loberg, Rocklin, Calif.
• Colorado State University – Austin Young, Parker, Colo., and Alex Stuart, Fort Collins, Colo.
• Colorado State University – Benjamin Robey and Michael Harpell, both of Fort Collins, Colo.
• Colorado State University – Chris Sabina, Fort Collins, Colo., and Zachary Zasada, Greeley, Colo.
• California State University-Monterey Bay – Andrew Sjostrom and Joshua Smith, both of Seaside, Calif.
• California State University-Monterey Bay – Sebastian Resendiz and Matthew Diaz, both of Castroville, Calif.
• California State University-Long Beach – Alex Cox, Long Beach, Calif., and Justin Gangel, Huntington Beach, Calif.
• California State University-Long Beach – Alfredo Gutierrez, Inglewood, Calif., and Alex Pisarski, Costa Mesa, Calif.
• Eastern Washington University – Nick Barr, Cheney, Wash., and Jarred Walker, Westerville, Ohio.
• Fresno State – Dustin Franco, Hollister, Calif., and Cory Kerber, Kerman, Calif.
• Fresno State – Joseph Piedimonte, Salinas, Calif., and Shai Van Gelder, Fresno, Calif.
• Fresno State – Kong Moua, and Cynthia Vang, both of Fresno, Calif.
• Humboldt State University – Christopher Childers, McKinleyville, Calif., and Erich Coulter, Arcata, Calif.
• Humboldt State University – Graeme Lock, Arcata, Calif., and Derrick Hicks, Lincoln, Calif.
• Nevada State College – Justin Landerman and Josh Gullo, both of Boulder City, Nev.
• Northern Arizona University – Daniel Vine and Andrew Cates, both of Flagstaff, Ariz.
• Oregon State University – Ryan Bell and Colton Thomas, both of Corvallis, Ore.
• Oregon State University – Zach MacDonald, Willits, Calif., and Ryan Sparks, Gearhart, Ore.
• Oregon State University – Zach Martinez, Linden, Calif., and Derek Mathes, Corvallis, Ore.
• Sacramento State – Jeff and Greg Taluban, both of Sacramento, Calif.
• Sacramento State – Jeremy Wallimann and Joe Perna, both of Sacramento, Calif.
• Sacramento State – Thomas Kanemoto, Elk Grove, Calif., and Kyle Derbish, Sacramento, Calif.
• San Jose State University – Jake Newby, San Jose, Calif., and Andrew Sumi, Hercules, Calif.
• San Jose State University – Anthony Lee, San Jose, Calif., and Travis Bounds, Roseville, Calif.
• San Jose State University – Adam McAndrews, Santa Clara, Calif., and Cody Wilson, Newark, Calif.
• San Jose State University – Russyl Soto, Elk Grove, Calif., and Patrick Friedman, San Jose, Calif.
• Sonoma State University – Brendan Castro, Lafayette, Calif., and Brandon Fischer, Rohnert Park, Calif.
• Sonoma State University – Ernest Gorham, Rohnert Park, Calif., and Adrien Briens, Carlsbad, Calif.
• University of California-Davis – Christopher Beck, Diamond Springs, Calif., and Michael Manas, Carmel Valley, Calif.
• University of California-Santa Cruz – Jason Coslovich, San Jose, Calif., and Tyler Brownell, Santa Cruz, Calif.
• University of Colorado-Colorado Springs – Justin Solverson and Peter Decker, both of Colorado Springs, Colo.
• University of Nevada-Reno – Brandon Cramer, Petaluma, Calif., and Anthony Milano, Reno, Nev.
• University of Oregon – Kaitlin Tanner, Eugene, Ore., and Eric Lee, Mather, Calif.
• University of the Pacific – Garrett Brown, Stockton, Calif., and Siddhartha Nag, Cupertino, Calif.
• University of the Pacific – Ryan Tsuda, Gilroy, Calif., and Sean Widger, Tracy, Calif.
• University of Wyoming – Michael Barbero, Arvada, Colo., and Tyler Stingley, Laramie, Wyo.
• University of Wyoming – Tyler Webber, Powell, Wyo., and Taylor Armstrong, Laramie, Wyo.
• Utah Valley University – Aaron Warner, Orem, Utah, and Cathleen Martinez, Spanish Fork, Utah.
• Utah Valley University – Weston Brierley, Orem, Utah, and Seth Hausman, Sandy, Utah.
• Utah Valley University – Zachari Taylor, Hansen, Idaho, and Tate Brown, Midway, Utah.

FLW College Fishing teams compete in three qualifying events in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western.

The top 15 teams from each regular-season tournament will qualify for one of five conference invitational tournaments.

The top 10 teams from each conference invitational tournament will advance to the 2014 FLW College Fishing National Championship.

College fishing is free to enter. All participants must be registered, full-time undergraduate students at a four-year college or university and members of a fishing club recognized by their college or university.

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