MONROE, La. — Coby Carden took a gamble on Day 2 of the 2014 B.A.S.S. Nation Championship tournament on Louisiana’s Ouachita River, and it paid off.
“I did something completely different today,” said Carden after the Day 2 weigh-in. “Because I was near the front of the takeoff line, I thought I could be one of the first ones to Bayou D’Arbonne.”
His spot on Day 2 was nowhere near his Day 1 area, where he caught 11 pounds, 8 ounces and took the lead of the tournament. But he knew he couldn’t count on getting that one big-fish bite in his primary area, and he wanted to cement his lead in the championship and earn back-to-back Bassmaster Classic berths. It was a good call. Carden caught 11 pounds, 12 ounces in the bayou. Then, at 10:45 a.m., he was heading back down the lake. He found a great fish and got her to bite three times, but couldn’t get her to commit. He decided to move on, and that’s when his motor started acting up.
“My high pressure fuel pump had gone out,” Carden said. “I could prime the bulb and run for a quarter-mile, but then I’d have to stop.”
He called the tournament director and eventually the service crew for help. It took him almost the rest of the fishing day — three hours and 15 minutes, to be exact — to get his boat in.
“The service crews got me fixed up, and I got to go back out for 15 minutes, really just to be sure it ran fine. Then it was check-in time.”
It was frustrating for sure, but luckily for Carden, he already had enough fish in his livewell to keep him afloat for the second day in a row.
Carden has set himself in prime position to score tops in his division, if not overall for the championship. He’s got 23 pounds, 4 ounces, and the runner-up in the Southern Division, Raleigh Todd of Tennessee, is 6 pounds, 4 ounces behind. If Carden wins the Southern Division, he receives an automatic berth in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic in February. He qualified to compete in the Classic last year and earned 24th place among a field of the world’s best bass anglers.
Each year, the B.A.S.S. Nation sends six anglers to the Classic. Interestingly, four of those six from 2014 are in line to go back. Tim Johnston of Montana leads the Western Division, Jeff Lugar of Virginia leads the Mid-Atlantic, and Paul Mueller of Connecticut leads the Eastern. The leaders in the other two divisions, the Central and Northern, have never been to a Classic before. Teb Jones of Mississippi leads the Central, and JJ Patton of Iowa leads in the North.
Despite his 6-plus-pound lead, Carden will not rest on his laurels on the final day for a potential Classic qualification. “I need 15 pounds to feel comfortable,” he said. So his plan for Day 3 is to repeat his Day 2 performance — minus the multiple-hour break for boat troubles.
“I’m going back up to the bayou tomorrow,” Carden said.
How Day 3 will play out, though, is anyone’s guess. Day 2 was decidedly different than the first day. The water was down on Day 2 — by a foot according to some anglers — and it prevented several of them from getting to their spots, or at least made it much more difficult. The numbers of fish were down slightly, as were the number the limits. But the size of fish increased 1/10 of a pound on average — which doesn’t sound like much but definitely appeared that way on stage. Only three bags heavier than 10 pounds crossed the stage on Thursday, but eight hit the scales on Friday, including one sack, caught by Arizona’s Steve Lund, weighing in at a whopping 13 pounds, 8 ounces.
Lund also caught Day 2’s biggest fish, a 4-5. Still, Carden holds the lead in the Big Bass competition for the 4-10 he brought in on Thursday. As the Day 2 leader, Carden wins the Livingston Lures Leader Award, worth $250.
The Day 3 launch takes place at Forsythe Park in Monroe, La., at 6:15 a.m. CT, and the weigh-in is in the same place at 2:30 p.m. CT.
2014 BASS Nation Championship 11/6-11/8
Ouachita River, Monroe LA.
(BOATER) Standings Day 2
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts
1. Coby Carden Shelby, AL (South) 10 23-04 0
2. Jeff Lugar Mcgaheysville, VA (MidA 10 18-10 0
3. Paul Mueller Naugatuck, CT (East) 10 18-06 0
4. George Cooper Buxton, ME (East) 10 18-05 0
5. Teb Jones Hattiesburg, MS (Cntrl) 10 17-12 0
6. Doug Brownridge Milton ONTARIO CANADA ( 10 17-07 0
7. Randy Huffman Charleston, WV (MidAt) 10 17-02 0
8. Raleigh Todd Lexington, TN (South) 10 17-00 0
9. JJ Patton Eldridge, IA (North) 10 16-09 0
10. Troy Diede Sioux Falls, SD (North) 9 16-07 0
11. Albert Collins Nacogdoches, TX (Cntrl) 10 16-04 0
12. Tim Johnston Kalispell , MT (West) 10 14-13 0
13. Steve Lund Glendale, AZ (West) 6 14-11 0
14. Josh Wray Omaha, AR (Cntrl) 8 14-10 0
15. Stratos Orphanides MARONDERA ZIMBABWE (Mid 9 13-15 0
16. John Soukup Jr Agra, OK (Cntrl) 10 13-14 0
17. David Cavell Prairieville, LA (Cntrl 9 13-06 0
18. Gianni Rizzo BOARA PISANI ROVIGO IT 8 13-02 0
19. Chad Prough Bonifay, FL (South) 7 12-11 0
20. Mike Lavallee Sandy, UT (West) 7 12-11 0
21. Mark Wiese Jr High Ridge, MO (Cntrl) 9 11-14 0
22. Daniel Gray Butler, PA (MidAt) 9 11-13 0
23. Leo Bevelaqua Wyoming, RI (East) 6 11-12 0
24. Preston Frazell Cleveland, OK (Cntrl) 9 11-12 0
25. Levi McNeill West Valley, UT (West) 6 11-11 0
26. Rodney Rice Narrows, VA (MidAt) 8 11-04 0
27. Jesse Weener Holland, MI (North) 8 11-01 0
28. Japie Botha Groblersdal SOUTH AFRIC 7 10-15 0
29. Eric Corbella Salvia Mollerusa SPAIN (East) 9 10-08 0
30. Will Duncan Conway, SC (South) 6 10-05 0
31. Jason Hickey Weiser, ID (West) 9 09-13 0
32. Michael Sentore Gloucester City, NJ (Mi 8 09-12 0
33. Kurt Denning St Meinrad, IN (North) 7 09-09 0
34. Richard Lindgren Lakeville, MN (North) 8 09-07 0
35. Greg Alexander Hebron, MD (MidAt) 9 09-07 0
36. Rob Digh Denver, NC (South) 6 09-06 0
37. Cody King Island City, OR (West) 8 09-06 0
38. Russell Phillips Guilford, VT (East) 7 09-05 0
39. Scott Sheldon Loveland, CO (West) 9 09-04 0
40. Randy Burch Ladysmith, WI (North) 5 08-07 0
41. Ian MacDonald Downers Graove, IL (Nor 7 08-06 0
42. Waine Pittman Villa Rica, GA (South) 7 08-03 0
43. Koji Kuroda Tarumi JAPAN (West) 4 08-02 0
44. Danny Ryan Jr Cleves, OH (North) 6 07-05 0
45. Ken Golubjatnikov Pittsford, NY (East) 5 07-04 0
46. Brian Trieschman Ellicott City, MD (MidA 7 07-02 0
47. Rob Messenger Sunapee, NH (East) 6 07-01 0
48. Kevin Wiggins Las Vegas, NV (West) 5 06-11 0
49. Max Pieper Windhoek NAMIBIA (MidAt 6 06-07 0
50. Michael Boggs II Portsmouth, OH (South) 6 06-04 0
51. Ricardo Mira Azaruja PORTUGAL (North 4 06-01 0
52. Clint Johanson Benton City, WA (West) 3 04-09 0
53. Jeffrey Kenney Franklin, MA (East) 3 04-03 0
54. Tony Choe Fairfax, VA (MidAt) 3 03-07 0
55. Edgar Romero Renteria Bumgamilias Leon Guanaj 3 03-02 0
56. Lee Wubbels Lincoln, NE (Cntrl) 2 02-08 0
57. Ronald Welch Corona, CA (West) 3 02-06 0
58. Troy Danes New South Wales New Sou 2 02-05 0
59. Earl Conway Albuquerque, NM (West) 1 00-15 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 29 220 319-13
2 25 199 310-02
----------------------------------
54 419 629-15
TEAM STANDINGS Day 2
----------------------------------
State Lbs-Oz
1 MID-ATLANTIC 108-15
2 NORTHERN 106-06
3 CENTRAL 105-02
4 WESTERN 105-00
5 EASTERN 104-03
6 SOUTHERN 100-05
INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS Day 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NORTHERN
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz
1 JJ Patton Eldridge, IA 10 16-09 0
2 Troy Diede Sioux Falls, SD 9 16-07 0
3 Gianni Rizzo BOARA PISANI ROVIGO IT 8 13-02 0
4 Jesse Weener Holland, MI 8 11-01 0
5 Kurt Denning St Meinrad, IN 7 09-09 0
6 Richard Lindgren Lakeville, MN 8 09-07 0
7 Randy Burch Ladysmith, WI 5 08-07 0
8 Ian MacDonald Downers Graove, IL 7 08-06 0
9 Danny Ryan Jr Cleves, OH 6 07-05 0
10 Ricardo Mira Azaruja PORTUGAL 4 06-01 0
CENTRAL
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz
1 Teb Jones Hattiesburg, MS 10 17-12 0
2 Albert Collins Nacogdoches, TX 10 16-04 0
3 Josh Wray Omaha, AR 8 14-10 0
4 John Soukup Jr Agra, OK 10 13-14 0
5 David Cavell Prairieville, LA 9 13-06 0
6 Mark Wiese Jr High Ridge, MO 9 11-14 0
7 Preston Frazell Cleveland, OK 9 11-12 0
8 Edgar Romero Renteria Bumgamilias Leon Guanaj 3 03-02 0
9 Lee Wubbels Lincoln, NE 2 02-08 0
WESTERN
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz
1 Tim Johnston Kalispell , MT 10 14-13 0
2 Steve Lund Glendale, AZ 6 14-11 0
3 Mike Lavallee Sandy, UT 7 12-11 0
4 Levi McNeill West Valley, UT 6 11-11 0
5 Jason Hickey Weiser, ID 9 09-13 0
6 Cody King Island City, OR 8 09-06 0
7 Scott Sheldon Loveland, CO 9 09-04 0
8 Koji Kuroda Tarumi JAPAN 4 08-02 0
9 Kevin Wiggins Las Vegas, NV 5 06-11 0
10 Clint Johanson Benton City, WA 3 04-09 0
11 Ronald Welch Corona, CA 3 02-06 0
12 Earl Conway Albuquerque, NM 1 00-15 0
EASTERN
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz
1 Paul Mueller Naugatuck, CT 10 18-06 0
2 George Cooper Buxton, ME 10 18-05 0
3 Doug Brownridge Milton ONTARIO CANADA 10 17-07 0
4 Leo Bevelaqua Wyoming, RI 6 11-12 0
5 Eric Corbella Salvia Mollerusa SPAIN 9 10-08 0
6 Russell Phillips Guilford, VT 7 09-05 0
7 Ken Golubjatnikov Pittsford, NY 5 07-04 0
8 Rob Messenger Sunapee, NH 6 07-01 0
9 Jeffrey Kenney Franklin, MA 3 04-03 0
SOUTHERN
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz
1 Coby Carden Shelby, AL 10 23-04 0
2 Raleigh Todd Lexington, TN 10 17-00 0
3 Chad Prough Bonifay, FL 7 12-11 0
4 Japie Botha Groblersdal SOUTH AFRIC 7 10-15 0
5 Will Duncan Conway, SC 6 10-05 0
6 Rob Digh Denver, NC 6 09-06 0
7 Waine Pittman Villa Rica, GA 7 08-03 0
8 Michael Boggs II Portsmouth, OH 6 06-04 0
9 Troy Danes New South Wales New Sou 2 02-05 0
MID-ATLANTIC
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz
1 Jeff Lugar Mcgaheysville, VA 10 18-10 0
2 Randy Huffman Charleston, WV 10 17-02 0
3 Stratos Orphanides MARONDERA ZIMBABWE 9 13-15 0
4 Daniel Gray Butler, PA 9 11-13 0
5 Rodney Rice Narrows, VA 8 11-04 0
6 Michael Sentore Gloucester City, NJ 8 09-12 0
7 Greg Alexander Hebron, MD 9 09-07 0
8 Brian Trieschman Ellicott City, MD 7 07-02 0
9 Max Pieper Windhoek NAMIBIA 6 06-07 0
10 Tony Choe Fairfax, VA 3 03-07 0