MONTEVALLO, Ala. — Joshua Butts and Reid Conner of Wallace State-Hanceville rose to the top of the leaderboard once again as they took the title of the Bassmaster College Series Wild Card tournament at Lay Lake with a three-day total of 40 pounds, 11 ounces. Although the final day presented numerous changes and obstacles, Butts and Conner started Saturday with a bang and rode the slight uptick in momentum to the Wild Card victory. After leaving Beeswax Landing at 5:30 a.m., the duo ran 25 minutes up the Coosa River, and it didn’t take long to get the day rolling in the right direction. Conner’s first cast resulted in the team’s kicker fish, a hefty spotted bass, which anchored their 10-13 to win the title.
“I think the feeding window was getting earlier every day because of the change in the moon phase,” Butts said. “They didn’t feed on this spot until 8 a.m. on Thursday, then it was 6 a.m. on Friday.”
Today’s feeding frenzy was so short that Butts and Conner only landed three fish off their main spot, two of which were barely keepers. After bouncing around some current breaks up the Coosa River, they landed a limit and slowly culled throughout the day.
“We had used a big crankbait all week to land our good fish, but today we had to use a jig and shaky head heavily,” Conner and Butts said. “There were some big boulders that the fish were hanging behind as the water pushed past it. We would get hung up often, but we knew that’s where the fish were.”
Butts has now taken home two Bassmaster College Series victories, the other being on Lake Barkley in 2015. Both events were the Wild Card “last chance” format to get to the Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented.
“It means so much to win events like this,” Butts said. “I’m so happy Reid could win this with me because of how great it makes you feel, not just around our region, but nationally too.”
Luke Gillund and Robby Troje of Bemidji State University almost chased down the eventual champions as they brought the biggest bag of the final day to the scales. With 14-1 on Saturday, Gillund and Troje vaulted from 10th to second when the scales closed. This duo had an immense amount of pressure on their shoulders as the national championship is in their school’s city later this summer. The Bemidji Chain of Lakes will host the 2017 national championship and will have two home teams qualified as Gillund and Troje join the Swanson brothers who qualified via the Midwest Regional.
“To qualify for the national championship and for it to be in our backyard is awesome,” Gillund and Troje said. “We can see the lakes from our school, that’ll be a neat experience.”
Gillund and Troje earned the Bassmaster Big Bass Award of the event, with a 6-13 largemouth they brought to the stage on Saturday. It topped the previous mark by over a pound and a half.
“We tried to make our shallow bite work on Thursday,” Gillund said. “But after we finished in 58th, we knew that bite was dying for us.”
They switched it up and fished trees and stumps on an offshore ledge and improved their standing every day. They mainly used a crankbait and a shaky head to catch their fish. On Friday the crankbait netted Gillund a double, his first ever, and on Saturday the shaky head landed the big bass of the event. Austin Mize and Parker Davis of the University of North Alabama moved into third place after weighing 12-1 pushing their three-day total to 37-8. The teammates had a two pronged approach that they keyed on during different times of the day.
“We had an early shad spawn bite in the morning, but it was dying every day of the event,” Mize said. “It gave us a good one on Thursday, and it came in handy today as we landed a few more.”
Once their shad spawn bite died an hour into the day, the duo fished offshore and pounded a school of bass each of the three days. A crankbait paid big dividends on Thursday, but as the week wore on more finesse approaches landed fish for the teammates. Brody McWilliams and Tristan Gold of Indiana University landed in fourth place with 37-5, and Brady Bowden and Tyler Pennington rounded out the Top 5 with 36-13. JP Kimbrough and Jared Rasco of the University of Louisiana-Shreveport took home the Bass Pro Shops Nitro Big Bag of the event because of their 17-1 weight on Day 1, which gave them the early lead. Butts and Conner also took home the Livingston Lures Day 2 Leader Award for holding the lead after Friday. The Top 18 teams are now qualified for the national championship, which is August 7-12 on Bemidji Lake in Minnesota.
Bassmaster College Series Wild Card Regional
6/8/2017 - 6/10/2017
Lay Lake - Beeswax State Park - Shelby County, AL
STANDINGS BOATER DAY 3
Name # Fish # Live Lbs - Oz # Fish # Live Lbs - Oz
1 Joshua Butts - Reid Conner Wallace State Hanceville 5 5 10-13 15 15 40-11
2 Luke Gillund - Robby Troje Bemidji State University 5 5 14- 1 15 15 38- 6
3 Parker Davis - Austin Mize University of North Alabama 5 5 12- 1 15 13 37- 8
4 Brody McWilliams - Tristan Gold Indiana University 5 5 12- 4 15 15 37- 5
5 Brady Bowden - Tyler Pennington Faulkner University 5 4 11- 7 15 14 36-13
6 Nolan Minor - Casey Lanier West Virginia University 5 5 10- 1 15 15 35-13
7 Hunter Ward - Stewart Ward Central Alabama Comm College 5 5 13- 0 15 15 35- 2
8 Hunter Louden - Cully Scroggins Bethel University 3 3 6-15 13 13 34-15
9 Dustin Nash - Gregory Green Northwestern State University 5 5 11- 2 15 15 34-10
10 Sloan Pennington - Hunter McCarty U. of North Alabama 5 5 9- 5 15 15 34- 2
11 Dalton Childers - Josh Oliver Auburn University 5 5 9-12 15 15 33-15
12 JP Kimbrough - Jared Rascoe LSU Shreveport 5 5 7- 6 15 14 33- 7
13 Benjamin Hager - Noah Shaver UNC Charlotte 5 5 8-11 15 15 33- 7
14 Josh Worth - Colorado Mesa University 5 5 9- 7 15 15 33- 6
15 Zane Loveday - Denver Satterlee Calhoun Community College 5 5 8-12 15 14 32- 2
16 Connor Chapman - Jaron Deal Kennesaw State University 4 4 10- 3 13 13 31-15
17 Austin Handley - Caleb Wozniak Auburn University 5 5 7- 3 15 15 31- 3
18 Chase Christie - Brandon Black University of West Georgia 5 3 8- 9 15 13 31- 3
19 John Jay - Grant Pietsch Texas A&M University 4 4 8- 0 14 14 30- 6
20 Jordan Mullis - Joe Long Indiana University 5 3 8- 6 15 13 30- 2
21 Zachary Ramsey - Joshua Rockefeller Augusta University 5 5 5- 5 15 15 27- 7
22 Holden McBride - Austin Finley Central Alabama Comm College 10 10 21-10
23 Jake Biram - Rhett Meyer Oklahoma State University 10 10 21-10
24 J T Russell - John Turner University of Montevallo 10 10 21- 8
25 Sean Hall - Justin Roberts SCAD 10 10 21- 5
26 Nathan Wood - Jake Soto Dallas Baptist University 10 10 21- 4
27 Jackson Carrell - Kyle Pasket Sam Houston State University 10 10 21- 0
28 Nick Schultz - Cody Pack UNC Charlotte 10 10 20-15
29 Alex Murray - Trent Manuel McNeese State University 10 10 20-15
30 Lee Mattox - University of Alabama 9 8 20-10
31 Luke Potter - Stephen Thomas Lamar University 10 10 20- 9
32 Miller Spivey - Larry Partain Wallace State Hanceville 10 10 20- 9
33 Nick Hatfield - Corey Neece Tusculum College 10 10 20- 8
34 Collin Bode - Sam Houston State University 10 8 20- 4
35 Ryan Kent - Tyler Wilson Georgia Southern University 9 8 20- 1
36 Zachary Graham - Cody Batterson Gallia High School 10 10 20- 1
37 Jared Penton - Dustin Pearcy East Texas Baptist University 10 10 20- 1
38 Austin Chapman - Curtis Lilly McKendree University 10 10 20- 0
39 Tyler Nekolny - Kansas State University 10 10 19- 9
40 Chase Serafin - Nick Czajka Adrian College 10 10 19- 7
41 Chance Rich - Hunter Presley Central Alabama Comm College 10 10 19- 4
42 Ryan Kennedy - Spencer Guthrie Kennesaw State University 9 9 19- 0
43 Cole Burdeshaw - Cameron Mercer Auburn University 9 9 18-12
44 Andrew Cannon - Justin Lane U. of North Alabama 10 10 18-10
45 Brooks Phillips - Mitchell Jennings Auburn University 10 10 18- 9
46 Justin Jones - AJ Etheredge Troy University 9 9 18- 7
47 Taylor Schmitt - Shane Campbell McKendree University 8 8 18- 6
48 Justin Cooper - Johnny Ledet Northwestern State University 10 10 18- 6
49 Luke Andress - Jeremy Willis U. of South Alabama 8 8 18- 5
50 Wesley Griner - Nathan Ragsdale University of Georgia 10 9 18- 5
51 Sean Murphy - Will Phillips Auburn University 10 10 18- 4
52 Trevor McKinney - Dailus Richardson McKendree University 10 9 18- 4
53 Kendall Pierce - Chris Hiott UAB 7 7 17-11
54 Tyler Lawwill - Chris Carnes UNC Charlotte 10 10 17-10
55 Hunter Franklin - Jesse Morrison U. of South Alabama 9 8 17- 9
56 Tyler Brown - Brodie Cox Clemson University 10 10 17- 9
57 Chad Poulsen - Noah Batts East Texas Baptist University 9 9 17- 9
58 Daniel Kennedy - Cody Stahl SCAD 9 9 17- 5
59 Cole Hewett - U. of Central Florida 10 10 17- 5
60 Joshua Bensema - Bradley Fleming Texas A&M University 10 10 17- 3
61 Hunter Whitman - Alec Lower NC State University 10 9 17- 2
62 Caiden Sinclair - Hunter Gibson University of Alabama 8 8 17- 0
63 Chase Farris - Levi Baker U. of North Georgia 10 10 16-12
64 Tripp Hodges - Caleb Dennis Central Alabama Comm College 10 10 16-11
65 Joseph Sales - Tristan Stalsworth Carson Newman University 10 10 16-10
66 Laura Ann Foshee - Alexis Joyce SCAD 8 8 16- 8
67 Brody Anderson - Grand Valley State Univ 8 8 16- 4
68 Breanna Wyatt - Joseph Lacy Faulkner University 9 9 16- 3
69 John Byrd - Thomas Oltorik III Stetson University 10 10 16- 1
70 Zachariah Edwards - Cutler Stafford University of Central Oklahoma 9 9 16- 0
71 Cody Billings - Daulton Smith University of Georgia 10 10 15-15
72 Logan Brewster - Ben Dodson U. of Tennessee 8 7 15-15
73 Zeke Gossett - Hayden Bartee Jefferson State 7 7 14-14
74 Luke O'Neal - University of Louisiana at Monroe 7 7 14-13
75 Jeff Ramsey - Riley Bornaman LSU Shreveport 7 7 14- 7
76 Mitchell Gowen - Caleb Fisk Calhoun Community College 9 9 14- 6
77 Brandon Acker - Faulkner University 9 9 14- 6
78 Derek Freeman - Robert White Clemson University 10 10 14- 5
79 Reese Hudson - Derek Horner Penn State University 9 9 14- 3
80 Jarrett Brown - Porter James University of Montevallo 7 7 14- 2
81 Connor Whisenant - Texas A&M University 9 9 14- 2
82 Ty Dyer - Ricky Harris Bethel University 10 10 14- 1
83 Austin Miles - Colorado State University-Pueblo 9 9 14- 0
84 Austin Tubbs - University of West Alabama 7 7 13-15
85 Taylor Tindall - Garrett McDonald LA Tech 7 7 13-14
86 Ashley Ruggles - Devin Hendrix Drury University 8 8 13-11
87 Chance Scott - Quinten Brown Greenville College 9 9 13- 8
88 Hunter Bland - Conner Young University of Florida 9 9 13- 3
89 Daniel Murkerson - Case Key UAB 8 8 13- 3
90 Cody Salzmann - Kenneth Prince University of Arkansas - Pine Bluff 8 8 12-14
91 Ethan Raleigh - Austin Polly Morehead State University 9 9 12- 8
92 Micahel Smallwood - Leslie Dunstan Auburn University 8 8 12- 4
93 Benton Turner - Andrew Burnett University of Georgia 6 6 12- 2
94 Austin Mau - Isaac Johnson Bemidji State University 7 7 12- 2
95 Austin Stanley - Knox Daniels Georgia College 6 6 11-13
96 Cameron Simmons - Dexter Flick Oklahoma State University 8 8 11- 8
97 Mason Bond - Tucker Sweat Georgia College 6 6 11- 5
98 Ethan Flack - University of Alabama 5 5 11- 3
99 Stetson Overton - Tarleton State University 7 7 11- 0
100 Brett Blackwood - Justin Grigg Winthrop University 5 5 10-11
101 Armando Ortiz - Dylan McKee Auburn University 6 6 10- 7
102 Justin Barnes - Cole Blackmon Alabama Southern Bass Team 5 5 10- 4
103 Nathan Martin - Bridger Thomas U. of North Alabama 8 8 9-14
104 Jacob Keith - Brett Clark East Texas Baptist University 5 5 7-15
105 Joe Bardill - Jacob Fleming Murray State University 5 5 7-10
106 Jared Mataczynski - Steve Nebel U. of Wisconsin Whitewater 5 5 6-11
107 David Bercier - Tanner Smith McNeese State University 4 4 6- 0
108 Brandon Durr - Riley Rathbun Drury Univeristy 5 4 5-13
109 Kyler Chelminiak - Alec Piekarski Bethel University 5 5 5-12
110 Garret Sanders - Florida State University 5 5 5- 0
111 Hayden Carnell - Joshua McQueen UAB 3 3 4- 6
112 John Defore - Colton Granger Troy University 4 4 4- 3
113 Joachim Speldrich - Jacob Gieske St Cloud State University 3 3 3-13
114 Michael Elkins - U. of North Alabama 2 2 2- 9
114 Jaci Skipper - Ryleigh Tyson SCAD 2 2 2- 9
116 Ty Cox - Jake Houston Itawamba Community College 2 1 2- 4
117 Braden Marshall - Jonathan Peck Bryan College 2 2 2- 3
118 Mike Anderson - Benjamin Lenerz U. of Wisconsin Oshkosh 1 1 1-15
119 Zac Bennett - Georgia College 1 1 1- 5
119 Brennan Chuprinko - Jared Reed University of Delaware 1 1 1- 5
121 Chris Zins - Zach Holliday University of Central Oklahoma 1 1 0-15
122 Michael Blake - Jayme Dewberry Auburn University 0 0 0- 0
122 Jordan Hartman - Mason Grabowski Murray State University 0 0 0- 0
122 Greg Lundvick - Carlos Ramirez Texas State University 0 0 0- 0
122 Colby Simmons - Brandon Barber East Texas Baptist University 0 0 0- 0
122 Tyler Smith - U. of South Alabama 0 0 0- 0
122 Richie Young - Emmanuel College 0 0 0- 0
BIG BASS
Day Name City,State Lbs-Oz
1 J T Russell - John Turner MCCALLA, AL 5- 2
2 Austin Handley - Caleb Wozniak Helena, AL 4-15
3 Luke Gillund - Robby Troje Ham Lake, MN 6-13
TOTALS
Day # Fish # Live Lbs-Oz # Limits
1 512 504 1022- 8 79
2 473 466 911- 3 78
3 101 96 202-11 18