The Fresno State team of Kong Moua and Christopher Delgado won the National Guard FLW College Fishing Western Regional Championship on Saturday with two bass weighing 3 pounds, 6 ounces.
The team had a three day total of 10 bass weighing 23 pounds, 11 ounces to take home a prize package worth $ 50,000. The team will split the prize between their university and the university’s bass fishing club – $ 12,500 and a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower outboard wrapped in school colors for the bass club and $ 12,500 for their school.
The duo also earned a berth in the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship which will be held in April 2012. Moua and Delgado beat their closest competitor, California Polytechnic, by a solid 8 pounds. “This is what dreams are made of, I’ve been so blessed,” said the senior history major Delgado. “Kong and I make a great team and to be able to win like this is unbelievable.”
“The change in weather really shut down the fishing today,” Delgado went on to say. “We really struggled and had to grind it out. We caught our first two fish within the first hour this morning and then nothing. We went to the same spot we were in yesterday, we weren’t about to leave the dog pound. Unfortunately we sat there so long we drained our battery. One of the high school teams had to “escort” us in.”
Exhausted and overwhelmed by their victory, the two are looking forward to their first trip to the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship next April.
Rounding out the top five teams and also qualifying for the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship are: 2nd: California Polytechnic – Scott Hellesen and Damian Bean, both of San Luis Obispo, Calif., eight bass, 15-11, $ 10,000 3rd: Sacramento State – Robert Matsuura, Sacramento, Calif., and Thomas Kanemoto, Elk Grove, Calif., nine bass, 14-3, $ 5,000 4th: Chico State – Thomas White, Fountain Valley, Calif., and Frank Vogt, Chico, Calif., six bass, 13-15, $ 5,000 5th: Chico State – Bo Harkins, Chico, Calif., and Anthony Dayton, Walnut Creek, Calif., eight bass, 13-4, $ 5,000 The top five teams from each of the five regional tournaments will advance to the national championship where the first-place team will win a top award of $ 100,000; $ 25,000 for their school and $ 50,000 cash and a Ranger 177TR bass boat with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard wrapped in school colors for their fishing club.
Coverage of the FLW College Western Regional Championship will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS. “FLW Outdoors,” will air Dec. 25 from 1 – 2 p.m. ET.
“FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide. College Fishing is free to enter and FLW provides boats and drivers for each competing team along with travel allowances.
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. Both young anglers are planning to go to the University of Oregon so they can compete on the bass team while in college.
The winning team was determined by the heaviest weight for a maximum of five bass. Winning teams from each of five regional championships advances to the High School Fishing National Championship for a chance to win a $ 10,000 scholarship ($ 5,000 to each team member).
