Texas Tech Bass Anglers Association
Home of the Red Raider Bass fishing team
2010 College Bass National Championship
In a nutshell, “versatility” was the key to success at the 2010 College Bass National Championship. This year the Arkansas River flow and height were variable and ever changing thanks to heavy rain in the area and upstream of Little Rock. Many anglers noted changes in water level over 1 foot in their fishing spots and/or boat ramps though the period of a single day. Unable to find a reliable largemouth bite (15 inch minimum), Texas Tech anglers, Jake Szot and Scott Jones, keyed on spotted bass (12 inch minimum) hoping for an occasional largemouth to add weight to their bag. Day one went exactly as planned. After locking down, they arrived at their spot amidst three other competitors and had their first keeper in the boat in the first three casts. They proceeded to catch one keeper per hour until they had to lock back up around 1 o’clock. At a final stop on the way back to weigh-in, Jake and Scott landed two solid keepers almost simultaneously as time ran out, upgrading their bag by a full pound. Following police escort to Academy Sports in North Little Rock, Texas Tech sat in 10th place with 8.4 lbs, In striking distance of top five (Top five zero their weights and compete a third day).
At weigh-in, the anglers’ rumors were confirmed as they were told the Arkansas River would soon be flowing at dangerous levels and that they would be fishing at an alternative location, Lake Maumelle on day two. After being given some time to rehydrate and resupply at Academy, practice reopened from 5pm-9pm for Maumelle. Jake and Scott decided to focus their efforts offshore to avoid the competition for shoreline spots. They left practice with an uneasy confidence finding a rock pile with keeper spotted bass relating to it, but that was all they found.
Day two went again, as planned. Jake and Scott arrived at the rock pile, deployed buoys and stayed there the entire day. By 8am, they had a limit of spots and upgraded by ounces all day. Unfortunately, misfortune struck by the end of the day. As the fish accustomed to deep cool water struggled in the 90 degree livewells, two died before the team could weigh-in. Texas Tech sustained a 1 pound dead fish penalty dropping their total weight to 4.37. After day two, Texas Tech sat in 9th place with 12.77 pounds total, about 3.5 lbs out of the top five. “Even if we’d landed the one good one we had get off day one, and not lost those two fish day two, I still think we would have been just out of the cut.” Scott Jones. “I think we finished well considering the circumstances and I know we could have done a little better if we didn’t miss a couple opportunities, but we stuck with our game plan and found two solid limits. We put ourselves in contention on the first day and that itself is a difficult task and I’m proud of that.” Jake Szot.
Eastern Kentucky ended up winning it all with a huge 21.39lb. sack at Lake Brewer, the third different body of water the top five competed on while fighting for the championship.
Despite falling just short of their goals, Texas Tech finished as the top team out of Texas and the Big 12 conference. A strong finish for the college career of Scott Jones, and the team Jake and Scott held for two seasons and three national championship appearances.
FINAL RESULTS
Day 1 Day 2 Total Day 3
1 EKU Jonas Ertel Tyler Moberly 8.51 7.84 16.35 21.39
2 UG Randy Tolbert Ben Cleary 14.55 5.53 20.08 11.53
3 Bama Dustin Connell Daniel Taylor 9.14 7.89 17.03 7.88
4 NWSU Paul Rini Zach Hester 9.64 10.63 20.27 7.28
5 LSU Travis Laurent Doug McClung 10.78 9.49 20.27 6.74
6 UA Clay Ramey Mook Miller 10.47 5.73 16.2
7 AU Jordan Lee Shane Powell 8.49 5.55 14.04
8 ASU Mitch Kistner Craig Carroll 6.34 6.47 12.81
9 TTU Jake Szot Scott Jones 8.40 4.37 12.77
10 OSU Cody Fuller Chad Warren 7.33 5.11 12.44
Full Results and Story
2010 Boat US National Championship
With daily highs reaching into the mid 90’s and no wind to speak of,
the Tech Anglers never managed to find the right bites. Conditions on day one of practice, with winds from the South at 15-20 and patchy clouds may have thrown many of the competitors off. Some successful areas and patterns on day one of practice were no good when the tournament came around. Despite relying on a failed pattern on day 1, Jake and Scott managed to finish 34th out of 133 of the nation’s best. For final results and full story, visit
http://www.collegiatebasschampionship.com/.
Jake and Scott will be moving on to compete in the ESPN National Championship on the Arkansas River this July. Hopefully, second time is the charm!
FINAL RESULTS
Fish Net Weight Fish Net Weight Fish Weight
1 UG Ben C. Bo P. 5 18.34 5 18.07 10 36.41
2 UNC-C Eric S. Tyler B. 5 15.81 5 17.75 10 33.56
3 WKU David S. Andy S. 5 19.68 5 10.92 10 30.60
4 UA-F Clay R. Kyle B. 5 17.45 5 12.99 10 30.44
5 EKU Richard C. Tyler M. 5 12.02 5 16.84 10 28.86
6 TSU John A. Brandon F. 5 18.22 5 10.63 10 28.85
7 TAMU Andy S. Matt M. 5 17.15 5 11.52 10 28.67
8 GCSU Matt H. Walker S. 5 17.11 5 10.71 10 27.82
9 OU Chip P. Mark J. 5 20.30 3 7.28 8 27.58
10 LSU-S Zach C. Joe L. 5 16.62 5 10.55 10 27.17
34 TTU Jake S. Scott J. 5 8.52 3 10.47 8 18.99
101 TTU Matt V. Cody C. 3 5.41 2 2.47 5 7.88
125 TTU Laramie C. Wes M. 4 4.27 0 0.00 4 4.27
ESPN West Super Regional - Lake Tyler
The Tech anglers traveled to Tyler, Texas to compete in the ESPN West Super Regional on Lake Tyler in order to qualify the team for competition in the 2010 ESPN National Championship later this year on the Arkansas River. With wet and windy conditions during practice, and the threat of severe thunderstorms looming the morning of tournament day one, many anglers were predicting record weights. Though the fishing was good, it was not quite that good. The storms left the anglers alone and Coleman Crook, being forced to fish alone, put on a show day one keying in on a good top-water bite early. Bringing in nearly 20lbs, Coleman sat in 2nd place to start day two. High wind and blue-bird skies shortened the top-water bite and the anglers who were able to adjust excelled. Despite struggling day two, Coleman managed to finish strong, ending up 15th overall.
FINAL RESULTS
1 LSU-S Zach Caudle-Joe Landry 29.27
2 FU Vaughn Humerickhouse-Jayme Bristow 29.21
3 TAMU Tyler James-Matt Day 28.74
4 UT-T Mason Holmes-Michael Huss 26.64
5 TSU John Anderson-Brandon Foard 26.23
6 TAMU Kyle Bates-David Doonan 26.00
7 SFA Ryan Watkins-Blaze Platt 25.60
8 TSU Justin Holmes-Bryan Carethers 25.52
9 OU Chip Porche-Mark Johnson 24.96
10 OSU Bryce Bechtel-Cody Fuller 23.28
15 TTU Coleman Crook 22.09
24 TTU Maverick Jennings-Preston Wittenburg 16.98
26 TTU Scott Jones-Jake Szot 16.86
News O.H. Ivie O.H. Ivie was the final destination for the Texas Tech Bass Anglers on the road to national championship qualification. With the top four teams being separated by only 3 points, Ivie was sure to be a white-knuckled shootout; it did not disappoint. Following a two hour delay Saturday morning due to a strong thunderstorm, the Tech Anglers took the lake to find several hundred other tournament anglers already hard at work. The late start didn’t stop Laramie and Dylan from bagging 24.08 lbs. and the day one win, defeating the 2nd place team Matt and Cody by over 12 pounds. Day two presented the Anglers with 30+ mph sustained winds. Matt and Cody managed the winds and landed a colossal 10.91 lb. fish late in the day to bring their total bag to 15.87 lbs., the win on day two, and qualifying them for a championship appearance in their first year with the club. Final Results and Stats Top 3 Teams & Championships Team Pts. Lbs. Ave. Lbs. Championship Top 5 Total Weights Weight Team Location Top 5 Big Bass Weight Team Location
1) Jake S & Scott J 692 118.86 11.89 Lewisville & Arkansas
2) Matt V & Cody C 691 91.84 9.18 Lewisville
3) Laramie C & Dylan C 690 129.81 12.98 Lewisville
1) 26.95 Laramie C & Dylan C Day 1 Oak Creek Photo
2) 24.08 Laramie C & Dylan C Day 1 O.H. Ivie Photo
3) 22.36 Jake S & Scott J Day 1 Oak Creek Photo
4) 21.55 Jake S & Scott J Day 1 Amistad Photo
5) 19.69 Wes M & Garrett C Day 2 Oak Creek
1) 10.91 Matt V & Cody C Day 2 O.H. Ivie Photo
2) 10.53 Jake S & Scott J Day 1 Amistad Photo
3) 10.41 Jake S & Scott J Day 1 Oak Creek Photo
4) 9.15 Laramie C & Dylan C Day 1 Oak Creek Photo
5) 8.79 Laramie C & Dylan C Day 1 O.H. Ivie Photo
Texas Tech Open Fundraiser Tournament
Hubbard Creek - March 13, 2010
Hosted by Sandy Creek Marina
6512 US Hwy 180 W
Breckenridge, TX 76424
800-292-3004
http://www.sandycreekmarina.com/
Congratulations to Fry and Hallford with their 29.88 pound bag and win at the inaugural Texas Tech Open Fundraiser Tournament!
Fair weather conditions and active fish resulted in several 20+ pound bags this weekend including a monster 11.94 pound fish caught by Montfort and Lozzpone!
The tournament was a great success and we hope to see you all next year at the 2nd annual Texas Tech Open! Thanks again to all competitors and to those who helped set up and administer the tournament.
Texas Tech Bass Anglers Association
The Tech Bass Anglers Association provides an opportunity to experience competitive bass fishing at the college level. Whether you simply fish as a hobby or plan to pursue a professional fishing career, Tech Bass Anglers provides a welcoming atmosphere for both. Teams consist of two anglers, so you do not have to own a boat to join. The Tech Bass Anglers Association is a member of the Association of Collegiate Anglers and competes in regional tournaments, the Boat U.S. National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship and the Under Armour College Bass National Championship. The Tech Bass Anglers conduct a series of weekend tournaments each spring as means to qualify for each national tournament.
We welcome men, women, experienced, and beginners alike. Joining is easy, just click Here and we'll get the ball rolling.
If you have any questions about the club or the website, email us Here or post a message in the forum section.
