Tyler Stewart and Nick Joiner from the University of Louisiana-Monroe managed a solid five-bass limit during Friday’s second round of the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Central Regional presented by Bass Pro Shops on the Atchafalaya Basin.
After wrangling 17 pounds, 9 ounces on Day 1, Stewart and Joiner added 9-9 Friday — and with a two-day total of 27-2, they will carry a 4-pound, 1-ounce advantage into Championship Saturday.
Although they didn’t boast a big bag Friday, the teammates from ULM said they didn’t explore all of their spots and are hoping that fish management will pay off Saturday.
“We did save some areas that we found in practice,” Stewart said. “We don’t know if they will be big-fish areas, but we are probably going to start on one of them tomorrow. In 15 minutes during practice, we had about 10 pounds in there. So with more time, we may be able to catch more than that.”
Stewart and Joiner seemingly boated bass on whatever baits they threw Friday. But after filling their limit, they stuck with a couple of key lures hoping to catch more of the big bass they caught in practice.
They know how crucial a 4-pounder can be in this event, especially on the final day — and they have a specific plan in place to boat that kind of kicker bass Saturday.
“We are hopefully going to start with our key baits and get our quick limit, and then we will go head hunting,” Joiner said. “Hopefully, we can get one of those 4-pounders and improve our bag.”
The Warhawk teammates will need to stay focused, with the rest of the top five also from Louisiana. Marcus Kliebert and Francis Robichaux from nearby Nicholls State University caught four bass that weighed 12-5 Friday and jumped from sixth to second, just 4-1 back of the leaders.
The Nicholls State duo sported a solid bag of 10-12 on Day 1 and upgraded even more on Day 2. The one asterisk on their tournament so far is the fact they only brought four fish to the scales Friday. That could possibly hurt their chances if things are tight down the stretch.
“We had some missed opportunities today, as we lost a 3-pounder at the boat,” Robichaux said. “We are just going to focus on every bite that we get and making sure we get those in the boat, and we will see how it plays out tomorrow.”
Having that 3-pound fish would’ve put Robichaux and Kliebert right behind Stewart and Joiner with a considerably smaller margin to make up.
This tournament has featured a local flavor the entire week, as 11 of the Top 20 teams fishing Saturday are from Louisiana. Six are from the host school Nicholls State.
Matthew Leblanc and Matthew Benoits from Nicholls State are in third with 22-10, and Gunner Durrett and Austin Watkins from Louisiana Tech are in fourth with 22-5. The Nicholls State team of John Authement and Cameron Naquin is fifth with 21-3.
Stewart and Joiner also earned the Livingston Lures leader award of $250 of Livingston product for leading the second day.
The Top 20 teams will advance to Saturday’s final round, and the Top 13 teams will clinch a berth into the 2016 Carhartt College Series National Championship, which will be held at a site to be announced later this year. There is roughly a 2-pound margin separating 13th and 20th place.
Saturday’s take-off will begin at 6:30 a.m. CT from Bayou Black Marina in Gibson, with the weigh-in set for 3:30 p.m. on the campus of Nicholls State’s in Thibodaux, La.
2016 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Title Sponsor: Carhartt
2016 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Presenting Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops
2016 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2016 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Premier Sponsors: Huk, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha, Berkley, GoPro
2016 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Supporting Sponsors: Costa, Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Power-Pole, Rapala, Shell Rotella, Shimano, ABU Garcia, A.R.E. Truck Caps
About B.A.S.S.
B .A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines, Bassmaster website , television show ,The Bassmasters, 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, B.A.S.S. Nation, 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.
Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Central
2/25/2016 – 2/27/2016 Atchafalaya Basin – Bayou Black Marina – Houma,LA
STANDINGS BOATER DAY 2
Name # Fish # Live Lbs – Oz # Fish # Live Lbs – Oz
1 Tyler Stewart – Nick Joiner La Monroe 5 5 9- 9 10 10 27- 2
2 Marcus Kliebert – Francis Robichaux Nicholls State 4 4 12- 5 9 9 23- 1
3 Matthew Benoits – Matthew Leblanc Nicholls State 5 5 10-10 10 10 22-10
4 Gunner Durrett – Austin Watkins LA Tech 5 5 13- 5 10 10 22- 5
5 John Authement – Cameron Naquin Nicholls State 5 5 11-12 10 10 21- 3
6 Brennan Fertig – Evan Cook Texas A&M University 5 5 11- 0 10 10 19-11
7 Zach Ziober – Dakota Ebare Tarleton State University 4 4 6- 0 9 9 19- 3
8 Travis Harriman – Chaz Miller University of Arkansas 4 4 6-13 9 9 18-13
9 Bradley Fleming – Clark Mannas Texas A&M University 5 5 9- 4 10 10 18- 2
10 Tyler Rivet – Jess Robertson Nicholls State University 5 5 8- 4 10 10 18- 1
11 Adam Forester – Scott McClellan LA Tech 5 5 9- 8 10 10 17- 0
12 Adam Burkett – Christian Brown LSU Shreveport 4 4 7- 8 9 9 16-15
13 Cameron Gautreau – Andrew Tucker Nicholls State 5 5 10- 0 10 10 16-11
14 Brandon Simoneaux – Colby Ogden Lamar University 5 5 8- 3 10 10 16- 7
15 Stetson Overton – Justin Seeton Tarleton State University 5 5 11-10 9 9 16- 1
16 Ronnie Gray – Ladd Owens Arkansas Tech University 5 5 10- 9 10 10 15-12
17 JP Kimbrough – Jared Rascoe LSU Shreveport 4 4 6- 8 9 9 15- 5
18 Ty Hibbs – Matthew Waguespack Nicholls State 3 3 5-13 8 8 15- 3
19 Trent Newman – Nathan Wood Dallas Baptist University 5 5 6-10 10 10 14-14
20 Tanner Crim – Zach Montalvo Tarleton State University 5 5 6-15 10 10 14- 8
21 Cody Metzger – Micheal King Northeastern State University 3 3 6- 4 8 8 14- 5
22 Spencer Lambert – Luke Oneal La Monroe 5 5 11-14 7 7 14- 1
23 Wyatt Frankens – Hunter Price Stephen F Austin University 5 5 9-12 9 9 14- 0
24 Jared Bourgeois – Parker White LSU 4 4 6- 4 9 9 13-12
25 Hutton Leppert – Scott Fair Northwestern State University 5 5 7-11 10 10 13-11
26 Josh Bensema – Tyler Anderson Texas A&M University 4 4 4- 7 9 9 13- 9
27 Justin Cooper – John Ledet Northwestern State University 5 5 6-12 10 10 13- 9
28 Tyler Woods – Robert Tweed Stephen F Austin State University 4 4 7-14 8 8 13- 7
29 Hunter Prestenback – Breagan Liner Nicholls State 2 2 5-12 7 7 13- 6
30 Jacob Fournier – Jared Bascle Nicholls State 3 3 6- 7 8 8 13- 2
31 Hunter Freeman – Tyler Craig La Monroe 5 5 7- 8 9 8 13- 1
32 Michael Mata – Dax Baker Arkansas Tech University 5 5 6-12 9 9 12-15
33 Jeremy Cooper – Zachary McDill UAM-CTC 0 0 0- 0 5 5 11-12
34 Dalton Warrington – Collin McFeeters Southwestern Oklahoma State University 5 5 9- 9 6 6 11- 6
35 Colten Hutson – Easton Ramsey University of Central Oklahoma 3 3 3-10 8 8 11- 6
36 Dakota Sparks – Levi Sharp LSU 4 4 4-15 9 9 11- 5
37 Zack Remedies – Matt Glad LSU 2 2 2-13 7 7 11- 2
38 Jacob Caballero – Thomas Legendre Nicholls State 3 3 4- 2 7 7 10- 1
39 Clayton Godfrey – John-Michael Brattlof Stephen F Austin State University 2 2 2-15 6 6 9-13
40 Carson Smith – Malcolm Love Northeastern State University 3 3 3- 9 7 7 9-12
41 Aaron Belgard – Logan Laprarie Northwestern State University 3 3 4- 4 7 7 9- 5
42 Cameron DeBorde – Cameron Simmons Oklahoma State University 5 5 7- 2 7 7 9- 3
43 Jackson Blackett – Austin Joiner La Monroe 0 0 0- 0 4 4 8- 7
44 Austyn Fowler – Zach Hurst Tarleton State University 1 1 1- 2 4 4 8- 4
45 Alex Murray – Alex Felder Southeastern Louisiana University 2 2 6- 0 4 4 8- 3
46 Alex Schieman – Garrett Reynolds Georgia College 4 4 4-12 5 5 8- 3
47 Phillip Borel – Dustin Nash Northwestern State University 5 5 7- 1 6 6 8- 1
48 Colt Benedict – Chase Winston Dallas Baptist University 5 5 8- 0 5 5 8- 0
49 Jed Hebert – Austin Hebert University of Louisiana LaFayette 4 4 4- 2 6 6 7-13
50 Dakota Cline – Lawson Priess Stephen F Austin University 0 0 0- 0 3 3 7-12
51 Jordan Ogle – Chase Arthur Arkansas Tech University 0 0 0- 0 4 4 7-10
52 Darrell Henson Jr. – Brent Rome Jr LSU 2 2 3- 9 5 5 7- 9
53 Andre Adams – Dustin Robicheaux UL LaFayette 1 1 3- 1 4 4 7- 5
54 Reed Foster – Zackery Hines Dallas Baptist University 2 2 2-10 6 6 7- 0
55 Allyson Marcel – Tori LeBeau Nicholls State University 0 0 0- 0 5 5 6-15
56 Jose Palma – Andrew Madison University of Central Oklahoma 1 1 0-15 6 6 6-15
57 Jay Lawson – Matthew Anthony Stephen F Austin State University 4 4 6- 8 4 4 6- 8
58 Gregory Green – Thomas Merchant Northwestern State University 5 5 6- 4 5 5 6- 4
59 Devine Deramus – Jeff Ramsey LSU Shreveport 2 2 2- 2 4 4 5- 6
60 Garrett Goettee – Grant Pietsch Texas A&M University at Galveston 2 2 5- 4 2 2 5- 4
61 Tyler Wilk – Brennan Soileau LA Tech 0 0 0- 0 2 2 3- 4
62 Brandon Midkiff – Tommy Wendling Lamar University 0 0 0- 0 2 2 2-12
63 Mitchell Decker – Chris Bradley Southwestern Oklahoma State University 0 0 0- 0 2 2 2- 1
64 Alex Lamabe – Logan Abshire University of Louisiana LaFayette 0 0 0- 0 1 1 1-12
65 Damon Martin – Maverick Jaggers UAM-CTC 0 0 0- 0 1 1 1- 8
66 Blake Crabb – Matthew Williams Texas A&M Corpus Christi 0 0 0- 0 1 1 1- 3
67 Bret Boyd – Ryan Tassin UAM-CTC 0 0 0- 0 1 1 0-14
67 Gavin Goolsby – Andrew Cumberland Nicholls State 0 0 0- 0 1 1 0-14
67 Cain Hamous – Lane Possoit Northwestern State University 1 1 0-14 1 1 0-14
70 Alec Castonguay – Garret Whitley Stephen F Austin State University 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
70 Cody Finkbeiner – Taylor Barton Stephen F Austin University 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
70 Zachary Harrell – Conley Harris UAM-CTC 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
70 Brandon Johnson – Thomas Soileau La Monroe 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
70 Mitchell Mayard – Owen Richard LSU 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
70 Tyler Moses – Justin Terrell LA Tech 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
70 Daniel Ortego – Justin Mann University of Louisiana LaFayette 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
70 Oaklin Spier – Sawyer Evans Southeastern Louisiana University 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
70 TJ Tucker – Hampton Hasek Arkansas Tech University 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
70 Chris Zins – Nick Gill University of Central Oklahoma 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
BIG BASS
Day Name City,State Lbs-Oz
1 Zach Ziober – Dakota Ebare Grapevine, TX 5- 6
2 Gunner Durrett – Austin Watkins Simsboro, LA 6- 7
TOTALS
Day # Fish # Live Lbs-Oz # Limits
1 244 243 408-13 32
2 214 214 374-10 25
By: Helen White, Bassmaster
