REDDING, Calif. – National Guard FLW College Fishing is headed to Lake Shasta Jan. 15 for the first of four stops in the Western Division.

Forty college teams will be competing for a top award of $10,000 to be split between the school and bass fishing club; $7,500 for bass club and $2,500 for their school.

“The great thing about Lake Shasta is that you’ll be catching fish all day, they might be small, but you’ll be catching them,” said FLW pro Cody Meyer of Grass Valley, Calif., who was runner up at the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup. “The key is going to be finding quality fish in the two pound range to fill your limit and then adding a three pound kicker fish.

“Swimbaits, drop-shot and jigs will be the way to go,” added Meyer. “With the change of rule for this year allowing teams to fish as a team instead of each bringing in their own limit, the fishing is going to be a lot more exciting and I think weights will definitely improve.

“I would advise teams to have one guy fishing from the back of the boat with a drop-shot going for the limit and the guy in the front of the boat going for that kicker fish. There are a lot of trout in Shasta so swimbaits for that big fish are going to be important. A football jig with a Yamamoto Hula Grub always works well or of course the Jackall Crosstail Shad.

“It’s going to be a really fun tournament and the guys are going to catch a lot of fish. It will probably take about 10-11 pounds to win.”

Anglers will take off from Bridge Bay Resort located at 10300 Bridge Bay Road in Redding, Calif., at 7:30 a.m. Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 1:30 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

Schools competing in this week’s tournament hosted by the Shasta Lake Chamber of Commerce include:

• Arizona State University (2)

• Boise State University (4)

• California Polytechnic

• California State University, Long Beach (2)

• Chico State (4)

• Colorado State University

• Eastern Washington University

• Fresno State (4)

• Humboldt State University (4)

• Oregon State University

• Sacramento State (4)

• San Jose State University

• Sonoma State University

• University of California, Davis (2)

• University of Nevada, Reno (2)

• University of Oregon (4)

• Washington State (2)

The top five teams from each tournament will qualify for the regional championship where the first-place team wins $12,500 cash for their school and $12,500 cash and a Ranger 177TR bass boat with a 90 horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard wrapped in school colors for their fishing club.

The top five teams from each regional tournament advance to the national championship where the first-place team wins $25,000 for their school and $50,000 cash and a Ranger 177TR bass boat with a 90 horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard wrapped in school colors for their fishing club.

College Fishing is free to enter and 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.

FLW Outdoors is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 191 tournaments in 2011.

FLW Outdoors has taken fishing mainstream with the world’s richest fantasy sports game, FLW Fantasy Fishing, where competitors can play for free as well as sign up for Player’s Advantage to gain an edge.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit www.FLWOutdoors.com or www.FantasyFishing.com.