Kit Benson (left) and Wes Lashmett of Western Illinois University take the Day 1 lead on the Mississippi River with 14 pounds, 15 ounces in the 2015 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Midwestern Regional presented by Bass Pro Shops.
May 28, 2015
Western Illinois Takes Early Lead In Carhartt College Series
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LA CROSSE, Wis. — Big smallmouth bass boosted Western Illinois University to the top of the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series leaderboard Thursday, the first round of the three-day Midwestern Regional presented by Bass Pro Shops.
The consensus among anglers prior to the start of fishing Thursday morning was that smallmouth bass would be a larger factor in the competition than largemouth. Kit Benson and Wes Lashmett of Western Illinois proved the theory at weigh-in after they brought in in two smallmouth weighing just under 4 pounds. The largest, a 3-pound, 13-ounce bass, claimed Carhartt Big Bass honors for Day 1.
Those fish anchored a five-bass limit weighing 14-15, which put the teammates just 2 ounces ahead of Justin Brown and Brandon Bissell of Northern Michigan University, and 8 ounces in front of Cade Laufenberg and Wyatt Stout of Winona State University, who had 14-7.
“We caught those two big ones on back-to-back casts,” Lashmett said.
“My hands were shaking and my legs were shaking,” Benson added. “I was so pumped.”
Lashmett and Benson didn’t want to elaborate on what they were doing to catch their fish today, but like most anglers, the Western Illinois team welcomes the storm that is forecast for Friday. Rain pelted the Mississippi River fishery throughout practice sessions, when most teams were catching bass. Anglers didn’t fare as well when competition began under much more comfortable weather conditions.
Most of the teams in the Top 10 scrambled to catch their weight in the clear-sky conditions. Those near the top of the leaderboard viewed their weigh-in bags as attempts at survival and hope rainstorms will energize bass on Friday.
The full field of 82 boats will return to the Mississippi for Day 2 of competition tomorrow with the field being cut to the Top 20 for the third and final day. The Top 13 at the end of the event will move on to the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops. Troy Switajewski and Daniel Carlson of St. Cloud State of Minnesota sit on the bubble after Day 1 with 12-2.
Day 2 begins at Veterans Freedom Park in La Crosse, Wisc., with takeoff slated for 5:30 a.m. CT. Anglers will return to Veterans Freedom Park for weigh-in at 2:00 PM CT. The Day 2 and 3 weigh-in as well as photos, stories and video from on the water can be viewed on Bassmaster.com.
The local host for the event is the LaCrosse Convention and Visitors Bureau.
2015 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Title Sponsor: Carhartt
2015 Bass Bassmaster College Series Presenting Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops
2015 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Official Sponsors: Toyota, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, GoPro, Humminbird, Mercury, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha
2015 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Supporting Partners: A.R.E. Accessories, Dick Cepek Tires, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Power-Pole, Rigid Industries, Shimano
