SENECA FALLS, N.Y. - College bass anglers from 33 colleges from five different states are competing Saturday on Cayuga Lake in a 2018 Yeti FLW College Fishing tournament.
The event, hosted by the Seneca County Chamber of Commerce and presented by Bass Pro Shops, will feature a top prize of a $2,000 club scholarship and an invitation to compete in the 2019 College Fishing National Championship.
More than 140 anglers are set to compete. They will take off from Cayuga State Park, located at 2678 Lower Lake Road in Seneca Falls, at 6:30 a.m. Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at the State Park beginning at 2:30 p.m. The weigh-in is free and open to the public.
Teams from colleges in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, West Virginia and Virginia are entered in the competition.
"We look forward to welcoming the FLW College Fishing Series to our community," said Chamber President Jeff Shipley. "The Finger Lakes region is noted for its world-class fishing and we expect the participants will thoroughly enjoy their experience on Cayuga Lake."
Cayuga Lake has been ranked in the past by Bassmaster Magazine as one of the top 100 bass fishing lakes in the country.
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.
Schools currently registered to compete in the Cayuga Lake tournament include:
Bowling Green State University - Hayden Hoffma, Kelleys Island, Ohio, and Emily Menegay, Homeworth, Ohio
California University of Pennsylvania - Colton Higgins and Jakob Bissett, both of Waynesburg, Pa.
California University of Pennsylvania - Nick Fulks, Canonsburg, Pa., and David Blaker, Rice's Landing, Pa.
Clarkson University - Benjamin Seaman, Colchester, Vt., and Tyler Robinson, Madrid, N.Y.
Franklin & Marshall College - Collin Martin, Sykesville, Md., and Nicholas Brown, Manheim, Pa.
Kent State University - Andrew George, Canton, Ohio, and Riley Minerd, Rocky River, Ohio
Kent State University - Tanner Ward, Coshocton, Ohio, and Jacob Klicman, Deerfield, Ohio
Kutztown University - Joe Tini, Archibald, Pa., and Sean Cassel, Marlton, N.J.
Mansfield University of Pennsylvania - Lock Holmes, Fairport, N.Y., and Ty Faichney, Mechanicsburg, Pa.
Mansfield University of Pennsylvania - Logan Murray, Easton, Pa., and Billy Gregory, Swoyersville, Pa.
Ohio State University - Gardon Wycoff, Delaware, Ohio, and Patrick Henry, Stanhope, N.J.
Ohio State University - Colton Lindsey, Raymond, Ohio, and Jacob Middleton, London, Ohio
Paul Smith's College - Brandon Johnson, Collins, N.Y., and Frank Keegan, Watervliet, N.Y.
Penn State University - Derek Horner and Matthew Huggler, both of State College, Pa.
Penn State University - Stephen Jesso, Plymouth, Pa., and Ryan Fox, Thornhurst, Pa.
Penn State University - Jonathan Dietz, Corry, Pa., and Shane Rolle, Hanover, Pa.
Slippery Rock University - Kyle Brown, Wexford, Pa., and Jeffrey Henderson, Perkasie, Pa.
Slippery Rock University - Nathan Quince, Imperial, Pa., and Samuel Jenesky, Pittsburgh, Pa.
State University of New York-Buffalo - Anthony DeGregorio, Queensbury, N.Y., and Noah Weinstein, Jamestown, N.Y.
State University of New York-Buffalo - Austin Keppler, Hamburg, N.Y., and Zachary Hector, Hamburg, N.Y.
State University of New York-Cobleskill - Tristen Bauer, Port Leyden, N.Y., and Drew Tiano, Hudson, N.Y.
State University of New York-College of Environmental Science and Forestry - Peter Denton, Central Square, N.Y., and Austin Lamica, East Branch, N.Y.
State University of New York-College of Environmental Science and Forestry - Caleb Konrad, Brooklyn, N.Y., and Tyler Hodges, Chittenango, N.Y.
State University of New York-College of Environmental Science and Forestry - Mitchell Natalizio and Nicolas Echevarria, both of Port Jervis, N.Y.
State University of New York-College of Environmental Science and Forestry - Patrick Durand, Cherry Hill, N.J., and Benjamin Schultes, Ontario, N.Y.
University of Massachusetts-Amherst - Julian Burgoff, Amherst, N.Y., and Jon Hastings, Leominster, Mass.
University of Pittsburgh - Henry Colberg, Pittsburgh, Pa., and Dominic Vitale, Shickshinny, Pa.
Virginia Highland Community College - Clay Winebarger and Dustin Murray, both of Abingdon, Va.
Virginia Highland Community College - Ryan Strong, Bristol, Va., and Dylan Andis, Abingdon, Va.
Virginia Tech University - Perry Marvin, Peru, N.Y., and Jeffery Cullop, Marion, Va.
Virginia Tech University - Robert Swope, Orange, Va., and Cole Bitler, Earlysville, Va.
West Virginia University - Miles Perzynski, Churchville, Md., and Bailey Gordon, Hurricane, W. Va.
Youngstown State University - Jared Latone, Austintown, Ohio, and Jonathan Creed, Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown State University - Stan Miketa, New Middletown, Ohio, and Mike Soots, McDonald, Ohio
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 announced in early fall.
For more, go to FLWFishing.com