This week B.A.S.S. heads to Smith Mountain Lake for the Carhartt College Series Super Regional. I’ll be fishing it with Pat Snellings and based on our practice it ought to be a great tournament. There are fish biting all over the lake in about any spring stage you’d like to fish. The weather should be fantastic as well and I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve never participated in a B.A.S.S. college event but based on my prior experiences with B.A.S.S. it should be really good.
The tournament is this Friday and Saturday (13/14) and it takes off out of Bridgewater Plaza with weigh-ins at 2:45 both days. You can watch weigh-ins online at www.bassmaster.com and we’ll have coverage here on Central Virginia Bass Cast as well.
The Virginia Tech Bass Fishing Team will have at least 5 teams in the event and I think all are likely to do well considering the amount of pre-fishing time many have put in. I caught up with Greg Callas, a rising star of the team and newly elected officer to ask a few questions about the upcoming tournament.
Jody: This is the first “big” tournament you have fished for the Virginia Tech Bass Fishing Team. What are your feelings going into it?
Greg: This being my first “big” tournament that I’ve fished for the Virginia Tech Bass Fishing Team I have a lot of mixed emotions going into it. I am a little nervous but extremely excited at the same time. Preston and I have put a lot of time in both on and off the water so hopefully our hard work pays off come tournament time. We both have also had past success on this lake so we will definitely be drawing from that experience. We are not going to only fish old spots though, we need to “fish in the moment” if we want to be successful. I am confident going into this tournament.
Jody: You and Preston Chrisman have been fishing together since the fall. Based on your Club Tournament finishes you obviously make a good team- what do you think are the keys to you working together so well?
Greg: Well right off the bat I think that it is important that we are both pretty versatile in our techniques so we are able to cover lots of water quickly with a lot of different baits. This comes into play during pre-fish especially. We are hardly ever throwing the same exact lure (or the same color of lure if we both throw a crankbait for example) when we are looking for fish. If he throws a moving bait, I throw a finesse bait or a different moving bait. We are both comfortable power fishing or slowing down and finesse fishing.
We also communicate well on the water. If one of us notices something, like a change in conditions or if one of us is fishing too fast or slow for example, we say something about it. If we think we need to make a change we discuss it and make the decision based on what we agree upon. We are both extremely competitive and want to win every tournament we fish, so that fire, that drive to be successful, helps us work well together.
Jody: Based on your pre-fishing, how do you think the lake will fish?
Greg: It is hard to say how the lake will fish. Odds are it will fish average for most teams but some teams will catch some good bags. It is going to be different when we start the tournament 5 days from now though, so we will see if what we found in pre-fish still holds up come tournament time. Someone is going to catch ‘em though, so I still think that it will take around 15-lbs to 17-lbs a day to be in the top 10 or so. I would not be surprised if a few 20-lb bags are brought in though (I expect there to be some actually), especially if some guys find some big females.
Jody: What do you think of B.A.S.S. getting into college fishing?
Greg: I think it is great that B.A.S.S. got into college fishing. College fishing has exploded in growth the past few years so it is awesome to see an organization as prestigious as B.A.S.S. get involved. It is good for the future of our sport because it gives college aged kids a chance to compete at high levels and have the opportunity to advance to even higher levels of tournament bass fishing.
Here is the completely tentative list of Virginia Tech teams participating:
- Jody White, Pat Snellings
- Evan Shearer, Michael Sadowski
- Preston Chrisman, Greg Callas
- Cole Blythe, Andrew Jackson
- David Bryant, Mark Condron
- Clay Ross, Nick Preskitt
- John Woodward, Zach Taeschler
