HENDERSON, Nev. (March 4, 2019) – The California Polytechnic State University duo of Jesse Wilson of Atascadero, California, and Daniel Papp of Salinas, California, won the YETI FLW College Fishing tournament on Lake Mead Saturday with a five-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 4 ounces. The victory earned the Mustang’s bass club $2,000 and a slot in the 2020 FLW College Fishing National Championship.
“We were fishing out of a 17½-foot Tracker Boat – the smallest boat in the field,” said Papp, a freshman majoring in Agricultural Systems Management. “Because of that, we couldn’t go far, but that turned out to be the right decision.
“We were fishing the outside brush lines in a few different cuts and coves,” Papp continued. “I caught our first fish on a 3½-inch Strike King Pro Tube (green-pumpkin and purple fleck) early. That spot wasn’t producing any more bites, so we went to our next cut and were targeting secondary points with swimbaits. Jesse caught the next two keepers – the biggest bites of the day – on a pro blue and red pearl-colored Keitech Easy Shiner.”
Around 9 a.m. the sun came out, and Papp said that it shut the fishing down. The Mustang duo didn’t catch their final two keepers until just 30 minutes before check in.
“The waves were brutal, so we were forced to head back to the cove near the launch ramp,” Papp said. “We managed to catch two more at the end of the day – both smallmouth. Our fifth keeper literally came on my very last cast. It turned out to be the winning fish.”
The top 10 teams that advanced to the 2020 College Fishing National Championship are:
1st: California Polytechnic State University – Jesse Wilson, Atascadero, Calif., and Daniel Papp, Salinas, Calif., five bass, 11-4, $2,000
2nd: Arizona State University Polytechnic Campus – Dillon Davis, Queen Creek, Ariz., and Travis Race, Tempe, Ariz., three bass, 10-9, $1,400
3rd: Northern Arizona University – Levi Wittrock, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Gunnar Stanton, Boulder City, Nev., five bass, 9-0, $700
4th: Grand Canyon University – Joseph Dwyer, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Tommy Sendek, Tucson, Ariz., four bass, 7-8, $950
5th: California Polytechnic State University – Hugh Cosculluela, The Woodlands, Texas., and Patrick Ellis, San Diego, Calif., four bass, 7-0, $750
6th: Arizona State University – John Herrero, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Logan Mueller, Gilbert, Ariz., three bass, 6-11
7th: New Mexico State University – Ty Faulconer, Santa Clarita, Calif., and Daylon Smith, Frazier Park, Calif., four bass, 5-13
8th: Arizona State University – Ryan Slivkoff and A.J. Holland, both of Tempe, Ariz., three bass, 5-11, $250
9th: Arizona State University – Brandon Cook, Gilroy, Calif., and Steven Latino, Chandler, Ariz., two bass, 5-7
10th: California State University-Long Beach – Cole Thomas, Lakewood, Calif., two bass, 3-4