College bass anglers from the West will descend upon California’s Folsom Reservoir this week for the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Western Regional presented by Bass Pro Shops, April 30-May 2.
“This will be a great tournament,” said Andrew Loberg, a competitor from Chico State who grew up near Folsom Reservoir. “I look forward to having B.A.S.S. out here.”
Loberg posted a fourth-place finish with his teammate Bo Braswell in last year’s Western Regional on Clear Lake. Now that Braswell has graduated, Loberg will be competing with Travis Bounds. Loberg and Bounds have fished on Folsom together since they were 10 years old.
The bass will be in all stages of the spawn, Loberg said, but whether they’re prespawn, midspawn or postspawn, don’t expect them to be very active.
“We’re experiencing a warming trend here on Folsom,” he said, “and the weather will be in the mid-80s this week. There will be lots of boat pressure, party boats and wakeboarders. It will be tough for fishermen to find an area that isn’t pressured. And the fish won’t be very active with all that pressure.”
Andrew Sayles, past president of the California B.A.S.S. Nation, agrees. “Folsom is not known for bigger tournaments because after two days of pressure, the fishing gets tough.”
Sayles, who lives near Folsom, says anglers have lots of great places to fish, from breaks to dropoffs to sunken trees his club has planted. Competitors will not have a problem catching fish, he said; their concern will be catching fish that are big enough.
Loberg agrees, adding that most limits will have several spotted bass in them, but to win the tournament, the key is having at least a 3- or 4-pound largemouth or two to anchor the bag.
“I imagine the winner will average 10 to 11 pounds a day, putting the winning weight around 30 to 35 pounds,” Loberg said.
Both Sayles and Loberg said they expect to see competitors look for a reaction bite in the morning with topwaters and follow it up with a drop shot, jig or shaky head as the sun comes up.
The full field will compete on Days 1 and 2, but on the final day, only the Top 20 teams will fish. Anglers are vying for a spot in the 2015 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops, July 9-11, on Lake DuBay in Wisconsin.
Twenty-two teams from the following colleges will compete on Folsom: Cal Poly, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, Chico State, Eastern Washington University, Humboldt State University, Oregon State University, Sacramento State, San Jose State and University of Oregon.
Competitors will launch from Granite Bay Activity Center in Granite Bay at 5:50 a.m. PT each day. They will weigh in at the Activity Center on April 30 and May 1 beginning at 2 p.m. PT. On May 2, competitors will weigh in on the Bassmaster Elite Series stage in Sacramento at Discovery Park.
2015 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Title Sponsor: Carhartt
2015 Bass Bassmaster College Series Presenting Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops
2015 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Official Sponsors: Toyota, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, GoPro, Humminbird, Mercury, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha
2015 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Supporting Partners: A.R.E. Accessories, Dick Cepek Tires, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Power-Pole, Rigid Industries, Shimano
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), social media programs and events. For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series presented by Allstate, Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation events, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Costa Bassmaster High School Series, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro.
By: Helen Northcutt
