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SFA Teams Sweep Inaugural Collegiate Bass Invitational
Collegiate bass clubs representing 10 schools from as far away as Illinois made the trip to Sam Rayburn to compete during Christmas break. Twenty nine teams representing the states of Oklahoma, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi and Texas took to the water in unusually warm weather for the winter solstice.
Home field is an important advantage in football but home water advantage isn't always a plus to anglers, however it did seem to be for the SFA bass club members as they swept the top three spots. Runners up were Blake Whatley, the SFA fishing club president and Andrew Upshaw with 26.81 pounds. Fellow club members Evan Laws and Brett Sobczak claimed the third place honors with 24.02 pounds.
The hard work of the club members, volunteers, school staff and those recruited to help was evident from the registration and banquet held at the Ramada Inn, main sponsor of the tournament, all the way to the final weigh in at the Umphrey pavilion, where anglers and public were treated to hamburgers and hot dogs. A partial list of those who helped orchestrate the event includes: Daryl Duff, owner of Tri-Lakes Tackle, who was recruited as the tournament director; Gary Turner, of Classic Weigh-Ins in Longview, who furnished staff and equipment for the weigh in; Brooks Rogers, A Lake Fork Guide who was the Bass Pro MC at the weigh-ins; Brian Mills, SFA intramural Sports and Sports Club coordinator; Venessa McRill, SFA sports Clubs Graduate Assistant; and Elizabeth Ross, SFA campus Rec Promotions, Special Events and Sponsorships Coordinator. "We are very thankful to the 29 teams who made the trip to join us especially at this time of the year," said Whatley, SFA Bass Club president and a graduating senior. "The enthusiasm for future tournaments is in the younger members of the club and will last far past my departure from SFA." "Absolutely we will do everything in our power to be back next year," said Mills. The SFA Club has been a chartered member at SFA since 1994 and competes in intramural club tournaments and intercollegiate events. Both SFA members acknowledged the support from the sponsors that made the event possible. Major sponsors included: Ramada Inn, Wave Fishing, American Rodsmiths, Kistler rods, Well-Pro Services, L.P., Academy Sports and Outdoors, Get-Jact-Up Energy Drink and Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers. For full details of the tournament standings visit the SFA homepage at: http://www.sfasu.edu/campusrec/ For information on sponsoring future tournament events contact Elizabeth Ross at 936-468-5844 Winners Ways Although the winners Wleczyk and Watkins have been a fishing team for but 5 months and had little time to pre fish, the sophomores at SFA made the correct decisions as they caught the largest stringer on both days, and the largest bass of day 2. "We spent the first day on Veach Basin and were able to cull twice," said Wleczyk. "We went there this morning and couldn't get a bite so we went to Caney Creek and caught some, then to Black Forrest. We were focusing on drains that ran perpendicular to hydrilla flats and small coves adjacent to deep water. As the sun would warm up the shallows and the wind would pick up, we targeted the edge of the drains on the upwind side. Most of our fish came late in the day as the sun and the wind positioned the fish on the edges.We culled 6 fish for the limit today." The duo concentrated their fishing efforts in 3-5 feet of water, around grass and points with ½ ounce Gold Rat- L-Traps and Yozuri rattle baits. "We would like to thank our sponsors. Mine consist of American Rodsmiths, Vicious Fishing, Strike Pro America, Outkast Tackle and Wiley X Eyewear. Ryan's sponsors are Waterloo Rods, Suffix, and Diawa." Also they made their way to their fishing spots in a Ranger boat, powered by a Yamaha motor. "Kendall and Ryan are good fishermen and they proved it by leading from start to finish", said runner up team member Whatley. "They executed, they caught the fish they needed to win; we didn't." The SFA Club president said that he and Upshaw had several large fish on but they came undone before getting to the boat, Upshaw's Bass Cat powered by a Mercury motor. The duo concentrated their effort in 7-9 feet of water around grass, turns, bends and wind blown points in the Canyons area of the lake. They had a limit by 8 a.m. each day with their best quality fish caught between 10-11 a.m. Wacky rigged Senko plastic baits in watermelon color and Smithwick Rogues in blue and silver accounted for their fish in their first ever time fishing together. Whatley, a nursing school graduate, used Emerson rods and Shimano reels spooled with 14-pound Suffix line while the junior marketing student Upshaw used Kisler rods and Shimano reels spooled with 17-pound test Bass Pro Shop fluorocarbon line. Each acknowledged the sponsorship help from Yamamoto lures, Lead Head Lures and from Tri-Lakes Tackle. Laws and Sobczak, the third place team also targeted fish in Veach Basin in 3-5 depths with ½ ounce Rat-LTraps. They used a different pattern of the rattling hard bodied bait, redcraw/grey and gold colored. Laws, captained his Triton Bass Boat, powered by a Mercury motor during the contest. Some fish were caught in as shallow as 1 foot of water. Falcon and All Star rods, Shimano reels and Big Game green line in 15-pound test were used to catch their back-to-back five fish limits. It was the first time on Sam Rayburn Lake for the big bass of the tournament winners, Halliwell and Sartain who made a 6 ½ hour drive for the contest from MSU near Starkville and who call Ross Barnett Reservoir their home waters. The sophomores went to Rayburn point where they fished a Carolina rigged Watermelon/blue Senko. Halliwell felt the tug on his line of the big bass at around 9 a.m. on Thursday. The rig they used consisted of: a ½-ounce weight, a 1 ½ foot length of 15 pound test leader, American Rodsmith rod and Shimano reel, spooled with 12-pound test Trilene line. Sartain netted the big bass. SFA Bass Club Tournament presented by Ramada Thursday, December 20, 2007
Big Fish: David Walliwell/ Bradley Sartain Mississippi State (7.88 lbs) Big Bag: Kendall Wleczyk/Ryan Watkins SFA (17.33 lbs) Friday, December 21, 2007
Big Fish: Kendall Wleczyk/Ryan Watkins SFA (6.28 lbs) Big Bag: Kendall Wleczyk/Ryan Watkins SFA (16.92 lbs)  |
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