ESF Bass Fishing Team Members Qualify for Nationals

Four members of the ESF Bass Fishing team will compete in the national championship in June 2019.

The teams of Caleb Konrad/Brandon Exner, and Mitch Natalizio/Jon Hoag qualified for the 2019 College National Championship during the YETI/FLW Northeastern Division Collegiate Qualifier in Sandusky, Ohio. They are the second and third ESF teams to qualify for the championship this year. Patrick Durand and Ben Schultes qualified earlier this year during the YETI/FLW Eastern Conference Collegiate Qualifier.

Despite strong 20-30 mph winds and a last-minute closing of the main lake, both teams walked away with great finishes.

The squad consisting of Konrad and Exner weighed in 14 pounds, 6 ounces of largemouth bass, good for a seventh-place finish. The duo focused on laydowns for much of the day and relied on jigs to catch all their fish.

The team of Natalizio and Hoag brought a mixed bag worth 12 pounds, 7 ounces to the scales, enabling them to claim 11th place. They rotated between a rocky breakwall and a bridge all day, and caught their fish on a variety of presentations.

The 2019 College National Championship will be held on the Potomac River system in June 2019.

The Bass Fishing team competes again Sept. 18 on Lake George.