LINCOLN, Ala. — On a fishery known for its spotted bass population, University of North Georgia’s Jonathon Garbacz and Kevin Dunahoo focused on largemouth and caught a limit of 15 pounds, 7 ounces to lead Day 1 of the Strike King Bassmaster College Series Wild Card tournament on Logan Martin Lake.
“We knew coming in that 10 big largemouth would win,” Garbacz said. “So that’s what we’re going for.”
One of 105 teams in the event, Garbacz and Dunahoo head into Saturday’s championship round with a lead of 1-4 over Baylor University’s Parker Greer and Andrew Shadle. Dealing with extreme heat, the leaders pointed to mental toughness as a key element of their performance. Air temperatures pushed into the low to mid-90s and water temperatures weren’t far behind.
“In the morning, the water temperature was about 86, and later in the day, it got up to about 92,” Garbacz said. “You just have to keep your head in the game. The heat is going to throw you off, but you just have to keep your concentration and find the pattern.”
Noting that they believe they’ve found something unique, the leaders kept the details thin. However, Garbacz said he and Dunahoo are working a game plan based more on quality than quantity.
“We found a pretty good pattern that we can run pretty much up and down the lake, but we’re thinking it’s more of an area type thing,” Garbacz said. “It’s about maximizing your bites because we’re not getting a ton. You have to capitalize on every single bite because you never know when it’s going to be a big one.”
Dunahoo said their day involved a variety of different habitat features. Flexibility, he said, played a significant role in the outcome.
“We moved our way throughout the day and adapted,” Dunahoo said. “We did the same thing in practice; we have not (fished the same way all week) and I expect we probably won’t be able to do the same thing tomorrow.”
Dunahoo said he and Garbacz hit approximately 60 spots to get what they had. Locking up their weight by 11:30 a.m., they fished a combination of finesse and reaction baits. The latter, Garbacz said, required pinpoint accuracy.
“These fish are going to eat, but you have to put it right in front of them,” Garbacz said.
Dunahoo said he and his partner will likely follow a similarly flexible script on Saturday.
“We don’t have any new water we know we’re going to fish, so we’re either going to be running the same (areas) or getting on the graph tonight and searching for new water.”
Turning in a limit of 14-3, Greer and Shadle anchored their bag with a 4-2. As Greer explained, their day saw them visiting a broad range of habitats.
“This has been a junk-fishing tournament; we’re fishing everything from docks to ledges,” Greer said. “We started this morning in some current throwing a glidebait where we caught some good ones in practice.
“We left that area with two fish and started swimming a jig. I actually flipped to a fish I could see — that 4-2 largemouth. It was in a little cut with thousands of gizzard shad. That fish actually spit up three large gizzard shad in the livewell.”
After catching a 3 1/2-pound spotted bass off a sunken boat in the middle of a cove, Greer said he and Shadle wrapped up their day fishing ledges — a pattern that yielded two final culls. In addition to the glidebait, Greer and Shadle caught fish on a football jig, a drop shot and upsized shaky heads.
“We’re from Texas, we like to throw big stuff, so we upsized to a 1/2- and 3/4-ounce shaky head with a 6th Sense Magnum Trick Worm,” Greer said.
Tucker Smith and Logan Parks of Auburn University are in third place with 14-2. Spending most of their time offshore, the duo endured a plodding pace but their diligence was rewarded with an afternoon kicker.
“The day started off slow and we hit a few places but didn’t catch much,” Smith said. “We just started running and gunning a bunch of places that we like to hit up here.
“We landed on a good place and Logan caught one (that weighed 6-2) at the end of the day and that really helped out a lot.”
Parks said his big fish culled out a 1 1/4-pounder.
Working 40 to 50 different spots, the Auburn anglers caught fish on a variety of structure in 12 to 17 feet. Reaction baits and slower presentations produced fish, but the latter did most of the work.
“The fish are just moving out there, everybody’s pounding on them and they’re getting kind of finicky,” Smith said. “You have to fish slower.”
Saturday’s takeoff is scheduled for 5:30 a.m. CT at Lincoln’s Landing. The weigh-in will be held at the Landing at 1:30 p.m.
2022 Bassmaster College Series Wild Card Tournament at Logan Martin Lake 6/17-6/18
Logan Martin Lake, Lincoln AL.
(BOATER) Standings Day 1
Angler Club/School Pts
1. Jonathon Garbacz - Kevin Dunahoo University of North Georgia 250
Day 1: 5 15-07 Total: 5 15-07
2. Parker Greer - Andrew Shadle Baylor University 249
Day 1: 5 14-03 Total: 5 14-03
3. Logan Parks - Tucker Smith Auburn University 248
Day 1: 5 14-02 Total: 5 14-02
4. Ryan Branch - Kopeland Rosser University of Montevallo 247
Day 1: 5 13-11 Total: 5 13-11
5. Tommy Sendek - Cal Culpepper University of Montevallo 246
Day 1: 5 12-14 Total: 5 12-14
6. Lucas Smith - Dalton Mize Jacksonville State University 245
Day 1: 5 12-13 Total: 5 12-13
7. Victor Alford - Logan East Bryan College 244
Day 1: 5 12-05 Total: 5 12-05
8. Caleb Bridges - Jacob Davidson Bryan College 243
Day 1: 5 11-14 Total: 5 11-14
9. Matthew Wilson - Southern union state community c 242
Day 1: 5 11-14 Total: 5 11-14
10. Clent Blackwood - Bryar Chambers Wallace State Community College 241
Day 1: 5 11-11 Total: 5 11-11
11. Caleb Barrow - Reese Kingston Brewton Parker College 240
Day 1: 5 11-10 Total: 5 11-10
12. Cy Casey - Tanner Hadden Emmanuel College 239
Day 1: 5 11-10 Total: 5 11-10
13. Grayson Morris - Cade Holcomb University of Montevallo 238
Day 1: 5 11-09 Total: 5 11-09
14. Colton White - Jack Alexander University Montevallo 237
Day 1: 5 11-07 Total: 5 11-07
15. Clayton Primrose - Fisher Davis ETBU 236
Day 1: 5 11-05 Total: 5 11-05
16. Lane Bailey - Justin Eggers Catawba Valley Community College 235
Day 1: 5 11-05 Total: 5 11-05
17. Cody Griffith - Drew Jennings Auburn University 234
Day 1: 5 11-02 Total: 5 11-02
18. Reese Melven - Hunter Waldrop University of South Carolina 233
Day 1: 5 10-15 Total: 5 10-15
19. Hunter Keller - Wesley Smith Catawba Valley Community College 232
Day 1: 5 10-13 Total: 5 10-13
19. James Romig - Colton Morris Florida Gateway College 232
Day 1: 5 10-13 Total: 5 10-13
21. Gus McLarry - Jared West Texas A and M Commerce 230
Day 1: 5 10-12 Total: 5 10-12
22. Brady Duncan - Stevie Mills Carson-Newman University 229
Day 1: 5 10-10 Total: 5 10-10
23. Tyler Cain - Cole Dodson University of Montevallo 228
Day 1: 5 10-07 Total: 5 10-07
23. Andrew Vereen - Connor Cartmell Coastal Carolina University 228
Day 1: 5 10-07 Total: 5 10-07
25. Drew Traffanstedt - Dakendrick Patterson University of Montevallo 226
Day 1: 5 10-05 Total: 5 10-05
26. Kaden Proffitt - Cason Ragsdale East Texas Baptist University 225
Day 1: 5 10-01 Total: 5 10-01
27. James Willoughby - Jacob Pfundt University of Montevallo 224
Day 1: 5 10-00 Total: 5 10-00
28. Spencer Black - Grant Harris Catawba Valley Community College 223
Day 1: 4 09-14 Total: 4 09-14
29. Brenton Godwin - Hunter Odom University of Montevallo 222
Day 1: 5 09-13 Total: 5 09-13
30. Brody Robison - Carson Miller University of Montevallo 221
Day 1: 5 09-12 Total: 5 09-12
31. Carson Palmer - Chase Hastings Carson-Newman University 220
Day 1: 5 09-11 Total: 5 09-11
32. Vince Maffei - Andrew Ready Webber International University 219
Day 1: 5 09-10 Total: 5 09-10
33. Wes Kinard - Dillan Olvera Shelton State Community College 218
Day 1: 5 09-09 Total: 5 09-09
34. Cole Thompson - John Heacock University of North Alabama 217
Day 1: 5 09-06 Total: 5 09-06
35. Conner Johnson - Tyler Greenlee Georgetown College 216
Day 1: 5 09-04 Total: 5 09-04
36. Jacob Frazier - Austin Smith Carson-Newman University 215
Day 1: 5 09-01 Total: 5 09-01
37. Hagan Marlin - Tanner English University of Montevallo 214
Day 1: 5 08-15 Total: 5 08-15
38. Dawson Cowden - Nathan Coffman Louisiana State University- Shrev 213
Day 1: 5 08-14 Total: 5 08-14
39. Zane O'Domirok - Brandon Sales 212
Day 1: 5 08-11 Total: 5 08-11
40. Cole Zagrzebski - Logan Paul Western Michigan University 211
Day 1: 5 08-10 Total: 5 08-10
41. Henry Mcpherson - University Of Alabama 210
Day 1: 5 08-09 Total: 5 08-09
42. Branden Burrill - Jaret Bailey Western Michigan University 209
Day 1: 5 08-07 Total: 5 08-07
43. Hunter Jones - Dayton Scott Columbia State Community College 208
Day 1: 5 08-05 Total: 5 08-05
44. Cameron Tullis - Brett Jolley East Texas Baptist University 207
Day 1: 5 08-05 Total: 5 08-05
45. Evan Sutton - Maxwell Trotter McKendree University 206
Day 1: 4 08-04 Total: 4 08-04
46. Jordan Brewer - Conner Crosby Auburn University 205
Day 1: 5 07-14 Total: 5 07-14
47. Gabe Brown - Alex Cooke University of South Carolina 204
Day 1: 5 07-11 Total: 5 07-11
48. Jameson Jenkins - Cameron Loveless Texas A&M 203
Day 1: 5 07-06 Total: 5 07-06
49. Tommy Dunaway - Seth Jones Florida Gateway College 202
Day 1: 3 07-04 Total: 3 07-04
50. Dawson Andrews - Wyatt Ensminger Southeastern Louisiana Universit 201
Day 1: 3 07-01 Total: 3 07-01
51. Cole Rankin - Storm Cline Carson-Newman University 200
Day 1: 5 06-15 Total: 5 06-15
52. Allen Powe - Jonathan Combs Georgetown College 199
Day 1: 5 06-13 Total: 5 06-13
53. Carter Koza - Lee Koza Carson Newman University 198
Day 1: 4 06-12 Total: 4 06-12
54. Hunter Enlow - Lander University 197
Day 1: 3 06-10 Total: 3 06-10
55. Kaden Liles - Benson Dowler University of North Alabama 196
Day 1: 4 06-09 Total: 4 06-09
56. Cody Monlezun - Atlan Pfluger Texas A&M 195
Day 1: 4 06-07 Total: 4 06-07
57. Cole Holloway - Taylor Mcmullen Emmanuel College 194
Day 1: 2 06-04 Total: 2 06-04
58. Garrison Forrester - Preston Hatz Auburn University 193
Day 1: 4 06-01 Total: 4 06-01
59. Cole Taylor - Hunter Temples Lander University 192
Day 1: 4 05-15 Total: 4 05-15
60. Zach Williams - James Broderick Mississippi State University 191
Day 1: 5 05-14 Total: 5 05-14
61. Jase Smith - Reed Rambo Georgia College and State Univer 190
Day 1: 4 05-13 Total: 4 05-13
62. Garrett Huddleston - Riley Voltz Auburn University 189
Day 1: 4 05-11 Total: 4 05-11
63. Tyler Campbell - Brandon Martin Emmanuel College 188
Day 1: 4 05-10 Total: 4 05-10
64. Spencer Brister - Roeh Burton Lamar State College Orange 187
Day 1: 4 05-08 Total: 4 05-08
65. Tristen Dubbs - Colin Pflederer Grace College 186
Day 1: 3 05-07 Total: 3 05-07
66. Charlie Pennington - Carson Peevy The University of Alabama 185
Day 1: 4 05-03 Total: 4 05-03
67. Hayden Marbut - Garrett Warren Auburn University 184
Day 1: 4 05-02 Total: 4 05-02
68. Jack Dice - Jeramy Evans Liberty University 183
Day 1: 3 04-13 Total: 3 04-13
68. Brayden Nichols - Ty Gentry LSU Shreveport 183
Day 1: 3 04-13 Total: 3 04-13
70. Lucas Bowers - Luke Willis University of South Carolina 181
Day 1: 2 04-12 Total: 2 04-12
71. Jake Kimbrough - Chandler Pruett Blue Mountain College 180
Day 1: 1 04-06 Total: 1 04-06
72. Mary Goode - Nicholas Watson Brewton-Parker College 179
Day 1: 2 04-04 Total: 2 04-04
73. William Vega - Will Emmert Sam Houston State University 178
Day 1: 2 04-03 Total: 2 04-03
74. Ryan Bradway - Hunter Jordan Western Michigan University 177
Day 1: 2 04-00 Total: 2 04-00
75. Lane Collier - Cody Lunsford University of North Georgia 176
Day 1: 3 03-14 Total: 3 03-14
76. Hayden Fuhr - Lander University 175
Day 1: 3 03-11 Total: 3 03-11
77. Isaac Warta - Middle Tennessee State Universit 174
Day 1: 2 03-09 Total: 2 03-09
78. Cade Fortenberry - Nicholls State University 173
Day 1: 2 03-07 Total: 2 03-07
79. Nate Triplett - Cy Lambert University of North Alabama 172
Day 1: 1 03-02 Total: 1 03-02
80. Hunter Jenkins - Dallas Baptist University 171
Day 1: 1 03-01 Total: 1 03-01
81. Matthew German - Adam Hollingsworth University Of Alabama 170
Day 1: 2 03-00 Total: 2 03-00
82. Logan Hicks - Preston Parker Shelton State Community College 169
Day 1: 2 02-14 Total: 2 02-14
83. Mason Bohland - Brady Metzger Purdue University 168
Day 1: 2 02-11 Total: 2 02-11
84. Elijah Walker - Hunter Hillanbrand AUBURN 167
Day 1: 2 02-10 Total: 2 02-10
85. Micah Goosby - Joseph Taylor Mississippi State University 166
Day 1: 2 02-07 Total: 2 02-07
86. Jacob Butts - Mark Kershaw Erskine College 165
Day 1: 3 02-05 Total: 3 02-05
87. Corey Yaden - Hunter Richie Brewton Parker college 164
Day 1: 1 02-04 Total: 1 02-04
88. Jonathan Goforth - James Bonnell Auburn University 163
Day 1: 1 02-02 Total: 1 02-02
89. Davian Smith - Jordan Turner University of Montevallo 162
Day 1: 3 02-01 Total: 3 02-01
90. Carson Maddux - Auburn University 161
Day 1: 1 01-14 Total: 1 01-14
91. K.D. Sizemore - Bryce Quick Auburn University 160
Day 1: 1 01-08 Total: 1 01-08
92. Mason Phillpotts - Grand Valley State University 159
Day 1: 1 01-07 Total: 1 01-07
93. Matthew Roberts - Alice Lloyd College 158
Day 1: 1 01-06 Total: 1 01-06
94. Jim McPherson - Mississippi State University 157
Day 1: 1 01-03 Total: 1 01-03
95. Brendon Brones - Ethan Tant Lamar State College Orange 156
Day 1: 1 01-00 Total: 1 01-00
96. Garrett Walters - Reese Walters University of Alabama 155
Day 1: 1 00-11 Total: 1 00-11
97. Syon Barnes - Jacksonville State University 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
97. Chase Davis - Camden Keeton CACC 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
97. Drew Deloney - University of Alabama 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
97. Trey Dickert - University of Montevallo 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
97. Dale Hansard - Seth Elkins Jacksonville State University 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
97. Trevor Johnston - Josh Kerr Texas AM University 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
97. Ryan Michek - University of Wisconsin Plattevi 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
97. John Ortman - Emmanuel College 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
97. Walker Sahagun - University of North Alabama 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 49 363 702-05
----------------------------------
49 363 702-05