DUE WEST, SC – Although they graduated from Erskine in May, Wyatt Reid and Gehrig DeFronzo are still competing for the Flying Fleet bass fishing team.
 
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The recent Erskine graduates are set to represent the college at the Carhartt Bassmaster College National Championship beginning on Thursday.
 
The three-day event hosted at the Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Florida features a tournament field of 250 boats.
 
Although the duo are graduates, they are in the unique situation to be able to compete for their alma mater as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
 
Collegiate bass fishing is not an NCAA sponsored sport, however, unlike with the cancelation of NCAA sports last spring, Bassmaster (the governing body over collegiate bass fishing) officially postponed its season allowing both Reid and DeFronzo to take the waters once again for the Fleet.
 
In Florida, the Fleet face more challenging waters to navigate than they typically see in South Carolina.
 
"This will be a different type of fishery than we are used to," head coach Ryan Teems said. "Where we are from the lakes are usually clear and deep. Down here in Florida they are shallow and grassy."
 
After a pair of practice rounds on Monday and Tuesday, Reid and DeFronzo are ready for competition to begin tomorrow.
 
"The guys have been consistently catching big fish, one close to eight pounds in practice this week," Teems said. "I feel they have a good chance (to make the final 12), it's a matter of it we can bring it all together. It's going to take roughly 15 pounds per day (to make it to Saturday)."
 
Local schools to the Upstate such as Clemson and Lander will also be represented fielding four of five teams per school.
 
The field of 250 boats is cut down to 12 after Friday's competition to make way for Saturday's championship.
 
The Fleet pair will begin competition approximately around 7:30 with their day ending around 3 in the afternoon.
 
At the end of the day, the best five fish are caught and weighed.

The weigh-ins will be live streamed on Bassmaster.com
 
MORE ABOUT THE ERSKINE COLLEGE FLYING FLEET

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