Tyler Stewart and Nick Joiner from the University of Louisiana-Monroe led wire-to-wire to take the title at the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Central Regional presented by Bass Pro Shops on the Atchafalaya Basin with a three-day total of 42 pounds even.
On Championship Saturday, the duo put 14 pounds, 14 ounces in the boat to officially pull away from the field. They entered the final frame with just over a 4-pound cushion, and with the help of the second biggest limit of the tournament, Stewart and Joiner bested the competition by an 8-pound, 11-ounce margin.
Having faith that quality fish were in their area proved to be crucial as they caught six fish on Saturday and grinded out one cull the entire day to push through for the title. They kept a weightless wacky rigged Gary Yamamoto 5-inch Senko in their hands all day, and slowly, but surely, added necessary bass to their bag. The confidence they had in their technique and in their area stemmed from numerous days of practice before the tournament ever got started.
“We went south on our first practice day, and we probably caught 40 to 50 fish,” Stewart said. “None of those fish were bigger than two pounds, but we figured we could at least scratch out eight to 10 pounds a day and give ourselves a shot. On our second practice day, we decided to explore the north end of the basin around Lake Verret.”
On that second practice day, they proceeded to catch several 4-pound bass, and they were completely sold on sticking to that area and expanding on their few spots each day. The entire college field dealt with an influx of rain and a cold front that passed through this week, but that didn’t hurt Stewart and Joiner because they could slow down knowing what lived in their areas.
After the teammates started the tournament off with a bang, catching 17 pounds, 9 ounces on Day 1, they managed their areas and sustained their lead after catching 9 pounds, 9 ounces on Day 2. On the final day, they could pressure their spots and catch as many fish as needed. But, the duo didn’t start on their normal spot. Instead, Stewart and Joiner took a gamble and fished an area they hadn’t fished in the tournament.
“We didn’t want to start on that spot today because we knew this other canal had some good quality fish,” Joiner said. “We knew could always lay-up at our other spot if we needed to catch a limit, and that’s actually what we did today.”
Stewart and Joiner started Saturday strong as they boated a 4-pounder within 15 minutes after arriving. Then they proceeded to catch a 3-pounder and two bass around 2 pounds. With four fish in the livewell at 10:30 a.m., they ran to their normal area and caught a quick keeper to fill their limit.
They later added 2 pounds to their weight with a significant cull after moving back to their canal. Gunner Durrett and Austin Watkins of Louisiana Tech tried their best to catch ULM, but after boating 11 pounds on the final day, they came up short. With a three-day total of 33 pounds, 5 ounces, Durrett and Watkins relied on flipping patches of reeds in the 70-mile area of the Atchafalaya Basin.
They didn’t have any problems boating fish this week, but after Day 1 quality fish seemed to funnel to the numerous areas they targeted. They weighed only 9 pounds on Thursday, but backed it up with 13 pounds, 5 ounces including the Carhartt Big Bass of the tournament that weighed 6 pounds, 7 ounces.
Primarily, the Louisiana Tech team flipped a Strike King Space Monkeys in black-and-blue and a Ballistic Blue Missile D Bomb rigged it on a 3/8-ounce weight.
“The deeper the reeds we fished, the better quality showed up it seemed,” Durrett said. “I think that’s why the heavier weight excelled for us compared to the lighter sizes.”
Matthew Leblanc and Matthew Benoits of the host school, Nicholls State, finished in third with a three-day total of 31 pounds, 11 ounces. They relied on moving baits like a spinnerbait to put an early limit in the boat in the first 15 minutes every day of the tournament.
“We knew consistency was going to be big,” Benoits said. “Knowing where the deeper water was helped out enormously because when it got cold, those fish wanted to funnel as deep as they could.”
The Top 13 teams earned a berth into the 2016 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship on a body of water to be named later.
Along with the win, Stewart and Joiner of ULM took home the Livingston Lures Leader award as well as the Nitro Big Bag of the tournament for their 17-9 effort on Day 1.
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: Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha, Berkley, GoPro, Huk
2016 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Supporting Sponsors: Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Power-Pole, Rapala, Shell Rotella, Shimano, ABU Garcia, A.R.E. Truck Caps, Costa
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 3
Name # Fish # Live Lbs – Oz # Fish # Live Lbs – Oz
1 Tyler Stewart – Nick Joiner La Monroe 5 5 14-14 15 15 42- 0
2 Gunner Durrett – Austin Watkins LA Tech 5 5 11- 0 15 15 33- 5
3 Matthew Benoits – Matthew Leblanc Nicholls State 5 5 9- 1 15 15 31-11
4 Travis Harriman – Chaz Miller University of Arkansas 5 5 11-15 14 14 30-12
5 Brennan Fertig – Evan Cook Texas A&M University 5 5 10- 8 15 15 30- 3
6 Tyler Rivet – Jess Robertson Nicholls State University 5 5 10-14 15 15 28-15
7 Bradley Fleming – Clark Mannas Texas A&M University 5 5 10- 1 15 15 28- 3
8 Marcus Kliebert – Francis Robichaux Nicholls State 2 2 3-14 11 11 26-15
9 Adam Forester – Scott McClellan LA Tech 5 5 9-13 15 15 26-13
10 Brandon Simoneaux – Colby Ogden Lamar University 5 5 9- 5 15 15 25-12
11 John Authement – Cameron Naquin Nicholls State 2 2 3- 1 12 12 24- 4
12 Ronnie Gray – Ladd Owens Arkansas Tech University 5 5 7-10 15 15 23- 6
13 Trent Newman – Nathan Wood Dallas Baptist University 5 5 7- 2 15 15 22- 0
14 Zach Ziober – Dakota Ebare Tarleton State University 2 2 2-10 11 11 21-13
15 Adam Burkett – Christian Brown LSU Shreveport 4 4 4- 7 13 13 21- 6
16 Stetson Overton – Justin Seeton Tarleton State University 4 4 4-12 13 13 20-13
17 JP Kimbrough – Jared Rascoe LSU Shreveport 3 3 5- 7 12 12 20-12
18 Cameron Gautreau – Andrew Tucker Nicholls State 1 1 1- 3 11 11 17-14
19 Ty Hibbs – Matthew Waguespack Nicholls State 1 1 0-15 9 9 16- 2
20 Tanner Crim – Zach Montalvo Tarleton State University 1 1 1- 4 11 11 15-12
21 Cody Metzger – Micheal King Northeastern State University 8 8 14- 5
22 Spencer Lambert – Luke Oneal La Monroe 7 7 14- 1
23 Wyatt Frankens – Hunter Price Stephen F Austin University 9 9 14- 0
24 Jared Bourgeois – Parker White LSU 9 9 13-12
25 Hutton Leppert – Scott Fair Northwestern State University 10 10 13-11
26 Josh Bensema – Tyler Anderson Texas A&M University 9 9 13- 9
27 Justin Cooper – John Ledet Northwestern State University 10 10 13- 9
28 Tyler Woods – Robert Tweed Stephen F Austin State University 8 8 13- 7
29 Hunter Prestenback – Breagan Liner Nicholls State 7 7 13- 6
30 Jacob Fournier – Jared Bascle Nicholls State 8 8 13- 2
31 Hunter Freeman – Tyler Craig La Monroe 9 8 13- 1
32 Michael Mata – Dax Baker Arkansas Tech University 9 9 12-15
33 Jeremy Cooper – Zachary McDill UAM-CTC 5 5 11-12
34 Dalton Warrington – Collin McFeeters Southwestern Oklahoma State University 6 6 11- 6
35 Colten Hutson – Easton Ramsey University of Central Oklahoma 8 8 11- 6
36 Dakota Sparks – Levi Sharp LSU 9 9 11- 5
37 Zack Remedies – Matt Glad LSU 7 7 11- 2
38 Jacob Caballero – Thomas Legendre Nicholls State 7 7 10- 1
39 Clayton Godfrey – John-Michael Brattlof Stephen F Austin State University 6 6 9-13
40 Carson Smith – Malcolm Love Northeastern State University 7 7 9-12
41 Aaron Belgard – Logan Laprarie Northwestern State University 7 7 9- 5
42 Cameron DeBorde – Cameron Simmons Oklahoma State University 7 7 9- 3
43 Jackson Blackett – Austin Joiner La Monroe 4 4 8- 7
44 Austyn Fowler – Zach Hurst Tarleton State University 4 4 8- 4
45 Alex Murray – Alex Felder Southeastern Louisiana University 4 4 8- 3
46 Alex Schieman – Garrett Reynolds Georgia College 5 5 8- 3
47 Phillip Borel – Dustin Nash Northwestern State University 6 6 8- 1
48 Colt Benedict – Chase Winston Dallas Baptist University 5 5 8- 0
49 Jed Hebert – Austin Hebert University of Louisiana LaFayette 6 6 7-13
50 Dakota Cline – Lawson Priess Stephen F Austin University 3 3 7-12
51 Jordan Ogle – Chase Arthur Arkansas Tech University 4 4 7-10
52 Darrell Henson Jr. – Brent Rome Jr LSU 5 5 7- 9
53 Andre Adams – Dustin Robicheaux UL LaFayette 4 4 7- 5
54 Reed Foster – Zackery Hines Dallas Baptist University 6 6 7- 0
55 Allyson Marcel – Tori LeBeau Nicholls State University 5 5 6-15
56 Jose Palma – Andrew Madison University of Central Oklahoma 6 6 6-15
57 Jay Lawson – Matthew Anthony Stephen F Austin State University 4 4 6- 8
58 Gregory Green – Thomas Merchant Northwestern State University 5 5 6- 4
59 Devine Deramus – Jeff Ramsey LSU Shreveport 4 4 5- 6
60 Garrett Goettee – Grant Pietsch Texas A&M University at Galveston 2 2 5- 4
61 Tyler Wilk – Brennan Soileau LA Tech 2 2 3- 4
62 Brandon Midkiff – Tommy Wendling Lamar University 2 2 2-12
63 Mitchell Decker – Chris Bradley Southwestern Oklahoma State University 2 2 2- 1
64 Alex Lamabe – Logan Abshire University of Louisiana LaFayette 1 1 1-12
65 Damon Martin – Maverick Jaggers UAM-CTC 1 1 1- 8
66 Blake Crabb – Matthew Williams Texas A&M Corpus Christi 1 1 1- 3
67 Bret Boyd – Ryan Tassin UAM-CTC 1 1 0-14
67 Gavin Goolsby – Andrew Cumberland Nicholls State 1 1 0-14
67 Cain Hamous – Lane Possoit Northwestern State University 1 1 0-14
70 Alec Castonguay – Garret Whitley Stephen F Austin State University 0 0 0- 0
70 Cody Finkbeiner – Taylor Barton Stephen F Austin University 0 0 0- 0
70 Zachary Harrell – Conley Harris UAM-CTC 0 0 0- 0
70 Brandon Johnson – Thomas Soileau La Monroe 0 0 0- 0
70 Mitchell Mayard – Owen Richard LSU 0 0 0- 0
70 Tyler Moses – Justin Terrell LA Tech 0 0 0- 0
70 Daniel Ortego – Justin Mann University of Louisiana LaFayette 0 0 0- 0
70 Oaklin Spier – Sawyer Evans Southeastern Louisiana University 0 0 0- 0
70 TJ Tucker – Hampton Hasek Arkansas Tech University 0 0 0- 0
70 Chris Zins – Nick Gill University of Central Oklahoma 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
3 Tanner Crim – Zach Montalvo Stephenville, TX 1- 4
TOTALS
Day # Fish # Live Lbs-Oz # Limits
1 244 243 408-13 32
2 214 214 374-10 25
3 75 75 139-12 11
By: Helen White, Bassmaster
