Auburn Wins MLF College Fishing Tournament on Pickwick Lake

COUNCE, Tenn. (Oct. 24, 2022) – The Auburn University duo of Blake Milligan of Auburn, Alabama, and Matthew Parrish of Decatur, Alabama, won the MLF College Fishing Tournament on Pickwick Lake Friday with a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 7 ounces. The victory earned the Tigers’ bass club $3,000, including a Mercury contingency bonus, and a slot in the 2023 MLF College Fishing National Championship.

“We got there for practice and started on a secondary point instead of taking off down the lake,” Parrish said. “That was the best decision we could have made, because we found shell beds. In the first five minutes of finding the shell beds we caught a 3½-pound smallmouth. So, we decided to run shell beds for the tournament.”

Parrish said the team started the tournament fishing mid-lake, below Waterloo, and caught two 3-pound smallmouth in the first 15 minutes of competition. They threw Alabama rigs over the tops of the shell beds and stumps. Their method produced 25 to 30 keepers over 2¾ pounds throughout the day.

“It just went right for us,” Parrish said. “As the water warmed, we found the bass holding on the stumps more than on the shell beds.

“Throughout the whole day we were nauseous because we were so excited and nervous,” Parrish added. “When we put the bag in the tray and the scale said 18-7, we were speechless.”

The top 10 teams that advanced to the 2023 College Fishing National Championship are:

                1st: Auburn University – Blake Milligan of Auburn, Ala., and Matthew Parrish of Decatur, Ala., five bass, 18-7, $3,000
                2nd: Bethel University – Matthew Cummings, Troy, Tenn., and Levi Mullins, Nineveh, Ind., five bass, 18-1, $1,400
                3rd: Auburn University – Rob Cruvellier, Auburn, Ala., and Carson Maddux, Hoover, Ala., five bass, 17-11, $500
                4th: Kentucky Christian University – Riley Lawson, Mount Sterling, Ky., five bass, 16-4, $500
                5th: Lander University – Kaleb Brown, Greenwood, S.C., and Chad Mrazek, Montgomery, Texas, five bass, 15-0, $500
                6th: University of Montevallo – Peyton Harris and Dalton Head, both of Montevallo, Ala., five bass, 14-12
                7th: University of Louisiana-Monroe – Dylan Nimrod, De Soto, Kan., and Connor Nimrod, Monroe, La., five bass, 14-7
                8th: Wabash Valley College – Andrew Leonard and Gannon Stork, both of Flora, Ill., five bass, 14-7
                9th: McKendree University – Jack Stephens, St. Louis, Mo., and Evan Sutton, Highland, Ill., five bass, 14-3
                10th: University of Montevallo – Merritt Arnold, Watkinsville, Ga., and Chance Schwartz, Ball Ground, Ga., five bass, 14-1

MLF also advances one additional team to the National Championship for every 10 teams over 100 that compete. A total of 224 teams participated in this event, so also advancing to the 2023 College Fishing National Championship are:

                11th: University of Montevallo – Ryan Thomas and Will Thomas, both of Madison, Ga., five bass, 13-13
                12th: Lander University – Kaden Buchmann, Mooresville, N.C., and Jared Hubbard, Bernardston, Mass., five bass, 13-12
                13th: University of Montevallo – Nicholas Dumke, Montevallo, Ala., and Easton Fothergill, Grand Rapids, Minn., five bass, 13-12
                14th: Auburn University – Connor Jacob, Peoria, Ill., and Samuel Smith, Auburn, Ill., five bass, 13-11
                15th: Lander University – Riley Hendricks, Hurricane, W.V., and Garrett Smith, Mt. Holly, N.C., five bass, 13-10
                16th: Bethel University – Sean O’Brien, McKenzie, Tenn., and Joseph Senn, New Paris, Ind., five bass, 13-8
                17th: Murray State University – William Burch, Washington, Ind., and Max Newkirk, Louisville, Ky., five bass, 13-7
                18th: Campbellsville University – Nathan Fiant, Delaware, Ohio, and Brett Hill, Ashland, Ohio, five bass, 13-6
                19th: Blue Mountain College – Lake Norsworthy, Brandon, Miss., and Nick Staub, Germantown, Tenn., five bass, 13-3
                20th: East Tennessee State University – Garrett Jennings, Johnson City, Tenn., and Landon Stacy, Piney Flats, Tenn., five bass, 13-2
                21st: Auburn University – Carty Shoen, Auburn, Ala., and Tucker Smith, Birmingham, Ala., five bass, 13-2
                22nd: Southern Arkansas University – Adam Simmons, El Dorado, Ark., and Asher Williams, Nashville, Ark., five bass, 12-13

Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI event on Pickwick Lake was hosted by the Hardin County Convention and Visitors Bureau. It was the third and final regular-season tournament for Southeastern Conference anglers. The next event for College Fishing anglers will be the Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI event on Lake of the Pines, Nov. 11, in Jefferson, Texas.