03-24-2009, 03:10 PM
113 collegiate anglers representing 26 schools from 11 states met in Russellville, Arkansas to contest the 2009 Arkansas Tech University (ATU) Invitational held at Lake Dardanelle March 20 - 21. The huge turnout makes it very apparent that the explosive growth of collegiate bass fishing will continue as this event eclipsed the mark established earlier this year by the Southern Collegiate Bass Fishing Series (SCBFS) as the biggest regional collegiate bass tournament ever.
Although the weather was near perfect on day one of the event, the anglers found the bite to be extremely tough by Lake Dardanelle standards. Although many teams had a productive practice period, only 8 bags over ten pounds crossed the scales. Cody Greenwell and Daniel Day of Louisville took the day one lead with 18.22 pounds.
The chamber of commerce weather from day one gave way to a chilly and rainy day two. Despite the drastic change in weather conditions, Cody and Daniel were able to adjust and secure the victory for the University of Louisville with a day two weight of 16.30 pounds, giving the team a two day total of 34.52.
By concentrating on the northwest section of the lake, Cody and Daniel were able to locate warm water where they found fish in the deepest sections of shallow spawning areas. They covered water with spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits to locate fish, then slowed down and used a variety of soft plastics and jigs to catch their bigger bass. For their effort, the team claimed the Cabela's Collegiate Cup award ($375 gift card) and free lodging for their club at the 2009 BoatU.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship.
Foster Bradley and Jeremy Christian of the University of Alabama backed up their day one effort of 12.24 pounds with 19.89 to claim second place and the Berkley Big Bag award ($500 tackle). The pair targeted any piece of cover they could find in spawning areas up to 5 feet deep with crankbaits and jigs. They also reported losing two bass in the 8 pound class that came unbuttoned on Red Eye Shad crankbaits.
Murray State University's Daniel Langton and Cory Carr sacked 16.76 on day one and backed it up with 14.58 on day two to claim third place. The team focused on pre-spawn bass positioned in deep water near spawning areas. Their strongest pattern involved flipping jigs to isolated boulders and swimming jigs along rip rap, however, the 2 biggest bass they caught on day two were fooled with spinnerbaits.
Rounding out the top 5 places was:
Ben Fuchs - Jared Fish, Kansas State University, 25.74
James Ket - Paul Musielak, Wabash University, 25.21
The biggest bass of the event was hauled in by Casey Burden and Ryan Baker of Kansas State University with a 6.72 pound beauty. Because the team relied on All Star rods during the tournament, they were awarded the All Star Big Bass award (2 All Star ASR rods). The team was also presented with Costa Del Mar sunglasses for their efforts.
Arkansas Tech University Club Advisor, Christy Austin stated "I'm overwhelmed and amazed by the growth of this event over the past 4 years. Despite several mechanical breakdowns, all the kids had a great time and remained safe. I'm already excited about next year's event!"
The ATU Invitational, Stephen F Austin Bucketmouth Bass Tournament, Lonestar Spring Breakout, SCBFS Championship, Tennessee River Rumble and the 2009 BoatU.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship events sanctioned by the Association of Collegiate Anglers. All of the events will be featured on the dedicated television series airing on the Versus network this fall. Additional coverage will be provided through special features within the Americana Outdoors television show, also airing on Versus.
For more information on these events and college bass fishing go to www.collegiatebasschampionship.com.
Media Contact
Collegiate Bass Championships www.collegiatebasschampionship.com
Although the weather was near perfect on day one of the event, the anglers found the bite to be extremely tough by Lake Dardanelle standards. Although many teams had a productive practice period, only 8 bags over ten pounds crossed the scales. Cody Greenwell and Daniel Day of Louisville took the day one lead with 18.22 pounds.
The chamber of commerce weather from day one gave way to a chilly and rainy day two. Despite the drastic change in weather conditions, Cody and Daniel were able to adjust and secure the victory for the University of Louisville with a day two weight of 16.30 pounds, giving the team a two day total of 34.52.
By concentrating on the northwest section of the lake, Cody and Daniel were able to locate warm water where they found fish in the deepest sections of shallow spawning areas. They covered water with spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits to locate fish, then slowed down and used a variety of soft plastics and jigs to catch their bigger bass. For their effort, the team claimed the Cabela's Collegiate Cup award ($375 gift card) and free lodging for their club at the 2009 BoatU.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship.
Foster Bradley and Jeremy Christian of the University of Alabama backed up their day one effort of 12.24 pounds with 19.89 to claim second place and the Berkley Big Bag award ($500 tackle). The pair targeted any piece of cover they could find in spawning areas up to 5 feet deep with crankbaits and jigs. They also reported losing two bass in the 8 pound class that came unbuttoned on Red Eye Shad crankbaits.
Murray State University's Daniel Langton and Cory Carr sacked 16.76 on day one and backed it up with 14.58 on day two to claim third place. The team focused on pre-spawn bass positioned in deep water near spawning areas. Their strongest pattern involved flipping jigs to isolated boulders and swimming jigs along rip rap, however, the 2 biggest bass they caught on day two were fooled with spinnerbaits.
Rounding out the top 5 places was:
Ben Fuchs - Jared Fish, Kansas State University, 25.74
James Ket - Paul Musielak, Wabash University, 25.21
The biggest bass of the event was hauled in by Casey Burden and Ryan Baker of Kansas State University with a 6.72 pound beauty. Because the team relied on All Star rods during the tournament, they were awarded the All Star Big Bass award (2 All Star ASR rods). The team was also presented with Costa Del Mar sunglasses for their efforts.
Arkansas Tech University Club Advisor, Christy Austin stated "I'm overwhelmed and amazed by the growth of this event over the past 4 years. Despite several mechanical breakdowns, all the kids had a great time and remained safe. I'm already excited about next year's event!"
The ATU Invitational, Stephen F Austin Bucketmouth Bass Tournament, Lonestar Spring Breakout, SCBFS Championship, Tennessee River Rumble and the 2009 BoatU.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship events sanctioned by the Association of Collegiate Anglers. All of the events will be featured on the dedicated television series airing on the Versus network this fall. Additional coverage will be provided through special features within the Americana Outdoors television show, also airing on Versus.
For more information on these events and college bass fishing go to www.collegiatebasschampionship.com.
Media Contact
Collegiate Bass Championships www.collegiatebasschampionship.com