The California Polytechnic team of Scott Hellesen and Damian Bean won the National Guard FLW College Fishing Western Division on the California Delta Saturday with 5-bass weighing 10 pounds, 6 ounces. The victory earned the team $10,000 to be split evenly between the university and the university’s bass-fishing club. The win also helped them advance to the Western Division Regional Championship where they could ultimately win a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower engine wrapped in school colors for their school’s bass club and $25,000 for the school they represent.

“The wind made it impossible to fish,” said Bean, a junior in Forestry and Natural Resource Management. “We couldn’t do anything. After two hours of no bites we decided to make a run to Discovery Bay and that is where I caught my two monsters. I was using a Margarita Mutilator robo worm, it was awesome.”

The team spent the day here and there just trying to connect with some fish, between the wind and tide the two felt fortunate to bring in the sack they had. This was only the second time either of the team members had fished the Delta

“The tide hurt us in the end,” said Hellesen, a sophomore in Environmental Management and Protection. “The low tide carried the fish back out and it was too late for us to make another adjustment, so we were just happy with what we got.”

Rounding out the top five teams were Sacramento State – Robert Matsuura and Peter Lee (four bass, 9-13, $5,000); Chico State – Bastian Golladay and Frank Vogt (four bass, 9-6, $4,000); University of California, Davis– Mark White, and Travis Goldman (three bass, 9-1, $3,000); University of Oregon – Ross Richards and Reed Frazier (five bass, 8-1, $2,000).

The next National Guard FLW College Western Division tournament is scheduled for Sept. 25, at Lake Roosevelt in Payson, Ariz. College Fishing is free to enter, boats and drivers are provided by FLW Outdoors and all collegiate teams receive a travel allowance. The top five teams in each qualifying event advance to one of five televised three-day National Guard FLW College Fishing Regional Championships. The Western Division Regional Championship is scheduled for Oct. 7-9 at Folsom Lake in Sacramento, Calif.

The top five teams from each regional championship will advance to the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship. The National Championship is a three-day televised event hosting the top five teams from each regional, 25 total teams. Teams will be provided jerseys and wrapped Ranger boats towed by Chevy trucks for this competition.

The 2009 National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship is being held April 10-12 at Ft. Loudoun and is being hosted by the University of Tennessee. The winning team will be declared the National Guard FLW Collegiate National Champion and will qualify for the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup Aug. 5-8 at Lake Lanier in Atlanta, Ga. The winners will also receive use of a wrapped boat and Chevy truck for Cup competition.

ABOUT FLW OUTDOORS FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing awarding the largest prizes in the history of fantasy sports. FLW Outdoors memberships are available featuring numerous benefits including Player’s Advantage. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FantasyFishing.com. FLWOutdoors.com