SHREVEPORT, La. -

National Guard FLW College Fishing is headed to Cross Lake Feb. 13 for the third of four stops in the Texas Division series. Forty collegiate teams will be competing for a top award of $10,000 to be split evenly between the school and bass fishing club.

"Water temperatures will play a big factor in this tournament," said FLW Tour pro Jim Dillard, originally from West Monroe, La. "The fish are going to be looking for warm water pockets. The young anglers should look for pre-spawn fish close to the deep side of the water; they will want to pitch to the banks in vegetated areas."

"The tournament will probably be won with 15 pounds; however, the lake is capable of producing 20 - 25 pound sacks. Anglers will need to be patient. If they can key in on one good bite they should fish the area thoroughly, where there is one there will be more. The most successful anglers will be the ones that hunker down and fish it out, they might be surprised at what they catch."

Soft Plastics will work best for this time of year on Cross Lake. Dillard recommends anglers should search for fish using Rat-L-Trap type baits. He thinks the bite will be aggressive and reactionary, creature baits such as Brush Hogs and frogs should work well.

Anglers will take off from American Legion Post #14 located at 5315 South Lakeshore Drive in Shreveport, La., at 7:30 a.m. Weigh-in will be held at the American Legion Post as well beginning at 2 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

Schools competing in this week's tournament include:

Angelo State

Baylor University

Lamar University

Louisiana Tech University

LSU

LSU-Shreveport

Northeastern State

Oklahoma State University

Oral Roberts University

Sam Houston State

Southeastern Louisiana University

Stephen F. Austin

Tarleton State Texas

Texas A&M

Texas A&M-Kingsville

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Texas State University

University of Louisiana

University of North Texas

University of Oklahoma

University of Texas

University of Texas-San Antonio

University of Texas-Tyler.

The top five teams from each tournament will qualify for the regional championship where the first-place team wins $25,000 cash for their school and a Ranger 177TR bass boat for their fishing club. The top five teams from each regional advance to the national championship where the first-place team wins $50,000 for their school and $25,000 cash and a Ranger 177TR bass boat for their fishing club.

FLW Outdoors 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.

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.

www.FLWOutdoors.com

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