Lake Toho Selected to Host Major League Fishing’s 2023 Abu Garcia College Fishing National Championship Presented by Lowrance

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (Oct. 11, 2022) – The 2023 Major League Fishing (MLF) Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI National Championship Presented by Lowrance, the national championship of college bass fishing, is coming to Kissimmee.

MLF, in conjunction with the Kissimmee Sports Commission, announced today that Lake Tohopekaliga – commonly referred to as Lake Toho – has been named the location of the 2023 Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI National Championship Presented by Lowrance, Feb. 21-23, 2023.

The Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI National Championship Presented by Lowrance will showcase the top teams from the 2022 College Fishing season competing for a top prize of $43,500, including a $33,500 Phoenix 518 Pro boat powered by a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000. The winning team also advances to the 2023 Toyota Series Championship to compete as pros for a shot at winning as much as $235,000. The highest finishing team member at the Toyota Series Championship advances to REDCREST 2024 to compete against the world’s best pros for the sport’s top prize of $300,000.

The second-place club at the 2023 Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI National Championship Presented by Lowrance receives a $33,500 Phoenix 518 Pro boat powered by a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard. The team also advances to the 2023 Toyota Series Championship to compete as pros. The third-place finishers at the 2023 National Championship receives $4,000, and the team advances to the 2023 Toyota Series Championship as co-anglers for a shot at winning a $33,500 Phoenix 518 Pro powered by a 115 HP Mercury. Every team in the top 10 at the 2023 College Fishing National Championship receives at least $1,000.

“Major League Fishing has been a great partner over the years,” said Tyler Weyant, Senior Manager of Sports Development at the Kissimmee Sports Commission. “We have had the pleasure of hosting many of Major League Fishing’s professional events, and now adding the College National Championship to Kissimmee is an excellent opportunity for these competitors and local businesses to showcase all that Kissimmee has to offer.”

“We couldn’t be more excited to be bringing our 2023 College Fishing National Championship to Kissimmee and Lake Toho,” said Kevin Hunt, MLF Senior Director of Tournament Operations, College and High School. “We’ve had great success hosting previous MLF events in Kissimmee, and the phenomenal fishing and local enthusiasm at our previous tournaments has made bringing our National Championship to Lake Toho an obvious choice. We look forward to showcasing the top college anglers from the 2022 season to our fans in Florida and those watching across the country.”

Although Lake Toho has played host to dozens of MLF (and former FLW) tournaments over the years, this event will mark the first time that the MLF College Fishing circuit has ever visited the largest lake in Osceola County, Florida. In addition to the College Fishing National Championship, the venue will also play host to the MLF Bass Pro Tour (Feb. 13-18), and the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (Feb. 25) in 2023.

Each day of competition at the 2023 Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI National Championship Presented by Lowrance will feature weigh-ins livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com. Television coverage of the event will be showcased in the fall of 2023 on the CBS Sports Network.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular College Fishing updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, the Discovery Channel, the Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, the World Fishing Network, and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with offices in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 13 countries. In 2019, MLF expanded its portfolio of catch, weigh, and immediately release events to include the sport’s strongest five-biggest-fish format tournament circuits. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.