Joshua Butts (left) and Reid Connor of Wallace State-Hanceville take the lead on the second day of the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Wild Card presented by Bass Pro Shops on Lay Lake with a two-day total weight of 29 pounds, 14 ounces.
Photo by Ronnie Moore/B.A.S.S.
June 9, 2017
Wallace State Seizes Lead At Bassmaster College Wild Card On Lay Lake
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SHELBY COUNTY, Ala. — Conditions changed once again at Lay Lake as the full field of teams battled to not only take the top spot, but also to make the cut and fish on the final day.
Joshua Butts and Reid Connor of Wallace State-Hanceville took the lead on Friday during the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Wild Card presented by Bass Pro Shops after bringing 15 pounds, 3 ounces, to the scales. Their two-day total is 29-14.
After the heavy rains earlier in the week, the generation schedule at Lay has created a lot of current on the Coosa River, thus bringing a lot of dirty water and heavy current into the fishery. Butts and Connor found themselves in second place Thursday, but after Alabama Power slowed the generation, they jumped into the top spot heading into the final day.
“We’ve been fishing a current break all week, and one big key has been baitfish,” Butts said. “They are pulled in there all day, but the bass seem to school up in the morning and feed heavy for 30 minutes or so before they disperse out deep.”
Butts and Connor had a limit in less than 45 minutes Friday and elevated their weight from 14-11 to 15-3 with efficiency being one big factor.
“We lost some fish on Thursday during the key time of the morning,” Connor said. “But today we landed everything and capitalized on the best part of the day.”
During three-day events, managing fish is a task sometimes. Deciding when to leave, stay or change your rotation is a tough task, but Connor and Butts have tried to make their best area last for three days. Their hope is another 14- to 15-pound bag of spotted bass will show up on the final day.
“After that big flurry in the morning, we can occasionally catch one that will cull for us,” Butts said. “Our other game plan has been to run south of our area and flip for a good largemouth bite. We got one on Thursday, but didn’t need one today.”
Right behind Wallace State in second place is the team of Hunter Louden and Cully Scroggins from Bethel University. They brought 15-2 to the scales to elevate from 11th into the runner-up position.
They have focused on spotted bass primarily, but have caught an occasional largemouth that has helped the cause. Fishing rock and current have been big players for much of the Top 21 and that isn’t any different for Louden and Scroggins.
“We only got six keeper bites on Thursday, and we got five in the boat,” Louden said. “I’m not sure why, but they were on fire this morning. We caught a quick limit and culled three or four times.”
While the leaders have focused on a reaction bite, Louden and Scroggins have worked slower moving baits through the water column to trigger their fish. After missing the National Championship cut by one spot and a few ounces at Cherokee Lake, they are certainly pleased to be well inside the cut with just one day left in the event.
Now their sights are set on a possible Bassmaster College Series victory.
JP Kimbrough and Jared Rascoe, the Day 1 leaders from Louisiana State University-Shreveport, fell to third place after a brutally slow day. After landing four keepers in the first two hours, the duo didn’t fill their limit until 1:30 p.m. with just one hour left to fish.
Their 9-pound limit has them 3-13 behind the leaders, but certainly in striking distance heading into the final day.
Kimbrough and Rascoe did major damage Thursday because of an early boat draw as their morning bite is crucial to their success. They headed out in the last flight Friday and it showed by their lack of a kicker. Leaving the dock in third place has them confident they can land a few bonus fish before the sun beats down.
Nolan Minor and Casey Lanier of West Virginia University hold down the fourth spot with 25-12, and Austin Mize and Parker Davis of the University of North Alabama round out the Top 5 with 25-7.
The 127-boat field was cut to the Top 21 after Friday’s weigh-in, and they will battle it out Saturday for a Top 18 National Championship berth.
The final day takeoff will happen at Beeswax Landing at 5:30 a.m. CT, and weigh-in will begin on the University of Montevallo’s campus (75 College Dr. Montevallo, Al 35115) at approximately 3 p.m.
The event is hosted by Discover Shelby County and the University of Montevallo Presidential Outdoors Scholarship Program.
Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Wild Card presented by Bass Pro Shops
6/8/2017 – 6/10/2017
Lay Lake – Beeswax State Park – Shelby County, AL
STANDINGS BOATER DAY 2
Name # Fish # Live Lbs – Oz # Fish # Live Lbs – Oz
1 Joshua Butts – Reid Connor Wallace State Hanceville 5 5 15- 3 10 10 29-14
2 Hunter Louden – Cully Scroggins Bethel University 5 5 15- 2 10 10 28- 0
3 JP Kimbrough – Jared Rascoe LSU Shreveport 5 4 9- 0 10 9 26- 1
4 Nolan Minor – Casey Lanier West Virginia University 5 5 11-15 10 10 25-12
5 Parker Davis – Austin Mize University of North Alabama 5 4 13- 9 10 8 25- 7
6 Brady Bowden – Tyler Pennington Faulkner University 5 5 12- 3 10 10 25- 6
7 Brody McWilliams – Tristan Gold Indiana University 5 5 11-11 10 10 25- 1
8 Sloan Pennington – Hunter McCarty U. of North Alabama 5 5 12-14 10 10 24-13
9 Benjamin Hager – Noah Shaver UNC Charlotte 5 5 12- 1 10 10 24-12
10 Luke Gillund – Robby Troje Bemidji State University 5 5 14- 6 10 10 24- 5
11 Dalton Childers – Josh Oliver Auburn University 5 5 9-13 10 10 24- 3
12 Austin Handley – Caleb Wozniak Auburn University 5 5 13- 3 10 10 24- 0
13 Josh Worth – Colorado Mesa University 5 5 10- 6 10 10 23-15
14 Dustin Nash – Gregory Green Northwestern State University 5 5 12- 9 10 10 23- 8
15 Zane Loveday – Denver Satterlee Calhoun Community College 5 5 12-12 10 9 23- 6
16 Chase Christie – Brandon Black University of West Georgia 5 5 11-14 10 10 22-10
17 John Jay – Grant Pietsch Texas A&M University 5 5 12-12 10 10 22- 6
18 Zachary Ramsey – Joshua Rockefeller Augusta University 5 5 8-11 10 10 22- 2
19 Hunter Ward – Stewart Ward Central Alabama Comm College 5 5 11- 0 10 10 22- 2
20 Jordan Mullis – Joe Long Indiana University 5 5 11-14 10 10 21-12
21 Connor Chapman – Jaron Deal Kennesaw State University 4 4 11- 3 9 9 21-12
22 Holden McBride – Austin Finley Central Alabama Comm College 5 5 9- 6 10 10 21-10
23 Jake Biram – Rhett Meyer Oklahoma State University 5 5 10-15 10 10 21-10
24 J T Russell – John Turner University of Montevallo 5 5 7-15 10 10 21- 8
25 Sean Hall – Justin Roberts SCAD 5 5 9- 2 10 10 21- 5
26 Nathan Wood – Jake Soto Dallas Baptist University 5 5 8- 5 10 10 21- 4
27 Jackson Carrell – Kyle Pasket Sam Houston State University 5 5 11- 0 10 10 21- 0
28 Nick Schultz – Cody Pack UNC Charlotte 5 5 8-14 10 10 20-15
29 Alex Murray – Trent Manuel McNeese State University 5 5 11- 7 10 10 20-15
30 Lee Mattox – University of Alabama 4 3 9- 7 9 8 20-10
31 Luke Potter – Stephen Thomas Lamar University 5 5 8- 2 10 10 20- 9
32 Miller Spivey – Larry Partain Wallace State Hanceville 5 5 10-10 10 10 20- 9
33 Nick Hatfield – Corey Neece Tusculum College 5 5 9- 5 10 10 20- 8
34 Collin Bode – Sam Houston State University 5 5 12- 2 10 8 20- 4
35 Ryan Kent – Tyler Wilson Georgia Southern University 4 4 8-15 9 8 20- 1
36 Zachary Graham – Cody Batterson Gallia High School 5 5 9- 4 10 10 20- 1
37 Jared Penton – Dustin Pearcy East Texas Baptist University 5 5 9-11 10 10 20- 1
38 Austin Chapman – Curtis Lilly McKendree University 5 5 8-13 10 10 20- 0
39 Tyler Nekolny – Kansas State University 5 5 11- 1 10 10 19- 9
40 Chase Serafin – Nick Czajka Adrian College 5 5 8-14 10 10 19- 7
41 Chance Rich – Hunter Presley Central Alabama Comm College 5 5 9-15 10 10 19- 4
42 Ryan Kennedy – Spencer Guthrie Kennesaw State University 4 4 6- 5 9 9 19- 0
43 Cole Burdeshaw – Cameron Mercer Auburn University 5 5 8-12 9 9 18-12
44 Andrew Cannon – Justin Lane U. of North Alabama 5 5 7-13 10 10 18-10
45 Brooks Phillips – Mitchell Jennings Auburn University 5 5 9-13 10 10 18- 9
46 Justin Jones – AJ Etheredge Troy University 5 5 11- 0 9 9 18- 7
47 Taylor Schmitt – Shane Campbell McKendree University 5 5 10- 8 8 8 18- 6
48 Justin Cooper – Johnny Ledet Northwestern State University 5 5 9- 8 10 10 18- 6
49 Luke Andress – Jeremy Willis U. of South Alabama 3 3 5-12 8 8 18- 5
50 Wesley Griner – Nathan Ragsdale University of Georgia 5 4 8-12 10 9 18- 5
51 Sean Murphy – Will Phillips Auburn University 5 5 7- 9 10 10 18- 4
52 Trevor McKinney – Dailus Richardson McKendree University 5 4 10-10 10 9 18- 4
53 Kendall Pierce – Chris Hiott UAB 3 3 6-12 7 7 17-11
54 Tyler Lawwill – Chris Carnes UNC Charlotte 5 5 7- 5 10 10 17-10
55 Hunter Franklin – Jesse Morrison U. of South Alabama 4 4 7- 5 9 8 17- 9
56 Tyler Brown – Brodie Cox Clemson University 5 5 7- 6 10 10 17- 9
57 Chad Poulsen – Noah Batts East Texas Baptist University 5 5 8-13 9 9 17- 9
58 Daniel Kennedy – Cody Stahl SCAD 5 5 11- 7 9 9 17- 5
59 Cole Hewett – U. of Central Florida 5 5 10- 0 10 10 17- 5
60 Joshua Bensema – Bradley Fleming Texas A&M University 5 5 5- 2 10 10 17- 3
61 Hunter Whitman – Alec Lower NC State University 5 5 9-14 10 9 17- 2
62 Caiden Sinclair – Hunter Gibson University of Alabama 3 3 6-13 8 8 17- 0
63 Chase Farris – Levi Baker U. of North Georgia 5 5 7-15 10 10 16-12
64 Tripp Hodges – Caleb Dennis Central Alabama Comm College 5 5 7- 9 10 10 16-11
65 Joseph Sales – Tristan Stalsworth Carson Newman University 5 5 9- 5 10 10 16-10
66 Laura Ann Foshee – Alexis Joyce SCAD 5 5 9- 7 8 8 16- 8
67 Brody Anderson – Grand Valley State Univ 3 3 6- 9 8 8 16- 4
68 Breanna Wyatt – Joseph Lacy Faulkner University 5 5 10- 7 9 9 16- 3
69 John Byrd – Thomas Oltorik III Stetson University 5 5 6-13 10 10 16- 1
70 Zachariah Edwards – Cutler Stafford University of Central Oklahoma 5 5 9- 1 9 9 16- 0
71 Cody Billings – Daulton Smith University of Georgia 5 5 8-10 10 10 15-15
72 Logan Brewster – Ben Dodson U. of Tennessee 5 4 8-10 8 7 15-15
73 Zeke Gossett – Hayden Bartee Jefferson State 2 2 3-12 7 7 14-14
74 Luke O’Neal – University of Louisiana at Monroe 2 2 4-13 7 7 14-13
75 Jeff Ramsey – Riley Bornaman LSU Shreveport 3 3 5-11 7 7 14- 7
76 Mitchell Gowen – Caleb Fisk Calhoun Community College 5 5 9- 0 9 9 14- 6
77 Brandon Acker – Faulkner University 4 4 6-14 9 9 14- 6
78 Derek Freeman – Robert White Clemson University 5 5 7-12 10 10 14- 5
79 Reese Hudson – Derek Horner Penn State University 5 5 6- 1 9 9 14- 3
80 Jarrett Brown – Porter James University of Montevallo 2 2 2-12 7 7 14- 2
81 Connor Whisenant – Texas A&M University 4 4 8- 1 9 9 14- 2
82 Ty Dyer – Ricky Harris Bethel University 5 5 7- 4 10 10 14- 1
83 Austin Miles – Colorado State University-Pueblo 5 5 9- 3 9 9 14- 0
84 Austin Tubbs – University of West Alabama 3 3 3-15 7 7 13-15
85 Taylor Tindall – Garrett McDonald LA Tech 2 2 3- 0 7 7 13-14
86 Ashley Ruggles – Devin Hendrix Drury University 4 4 7-15 8 8 13-11
87 Chance Scott – Quinten Brown Greenville College 5 5 6-11 9 9 13- 8
88 Hunter Bland – Conner Young University of Florida 5 5 7- 5 9 9 13- 3
89 Daniel Murkerson – Case Key UAB 4 4 6- 5 8 8 13- 3
90 Cody Salzmann – Kenneth Prince University of Arkansas – Pine Bluff 5 5 7- 0 8 8 12-14
91 Ethan Raleigh – Austin Polly Morehead State University 5 5 6-11 9 9 12- 8
92 Micahel Smallwood – Leslie Dunstan Auburn University 3 3 3-12 8 8 12- 4
93 Benton Turner – Andrew Burnett University of Georgia 1 1 2- 2 6 6 12- 2
94 Austin Mau – Isaac Johnson Bemidji State University 5 5 9- 8 7 7 12- 2
95 Austin Stanley – Knox Daniels Georgia College 5 5 9-14 6 6 11-13
96 Cameron Simmons – Dexter Flick Oklahoma State University 3 3 4- 1 8 8 11- 8
97 Mason Bond – Tucker Sweat Georgia College 3 3 7- 2 6 6 11- 5
98 Ethan Flack – University of Alabama 0 0 0- 0 5 5 11- 3
99 Stetson Overton – Tarleton State University 5 5 7-15 7 7 11- 0
100 Brett Blackwood – Justin Grigg Winthrop University 5 5 10-11 5 5 10-11
101 Armando Ortiz – Dylan McKee Auburn University 3 3 4- 6 6 6 10- 7
102 Justin Barnes – Cole Blackmon Alabama Southern Bass Team 0 0 0- 0 5 5 10- 4
103 Nathan Martin – Bridger Thomas U. of North Alabama 3 3 4- 7 8 8 9-14
104 Jacob Keith – Brett Clark East Texas Baptist University 3 3 4- 7 5 5 7-15
105 Joe Bardill – Jacob Fleming Murray State University 0 0 0- 0 5 5 7-10
106 Jared Mataczynski – Steve Nebel U. of Wisconsin Whitewater 5 5 6-11 5 5 6-11
107 David Bercier – Tanner Smith McNeese State University 0 0 0- 0 4 4 6- 0
108 Brandon Durr – Riley Rathbun Drury Univeristy 5 4 5-13 5 4 5-13
109 Kyler Chelminiak – Alec Piekarski Bethel University 0 0 0- 0 5 5 5-12
110 Garret Sanders – Florida State University 0 0 0- 0 5 5 5- 0
111 Hayden Carnell – Joshua McQueen UAB 0 0 0- 0 3 3 4- 6
112 John Defore – Colton Granger Troy University 2 2 1- 8 4 4 4- 3
113 Joachim Speldrich – Jacob Gieske St Cloud State University 0 0 0- 0 3 3 3-13
114 Michael Elkins – U. of North Alabama 0 0 0- 0 2 2 2- 9
114 Jaci Skipper – Ryleigh Tyson SCAD 0 0 0- 0 2 2 2- 9
116 Ty Cox – Jake Houston Itawamba Community College 0 0 0- 0 2 1 2- 4
117 Braden Marshall – Jonathan Peck Bryan College 0 0 0- 0 2 2 2- 3
118 Mike Anderson – Benjamin Lenerz U. of Wisconsin Oshkosh 0 0 0- 0 1 1 1-15
119 Zac Bennett – Georgia College 0 0 0- 0 1 1 1- 5
119 Brennan Chuprinko – Jared Reed University of Delaware 0 0 0- 0 1 1 1- 5
121 Chris Zins – Zach Holliday University of Central Oklahoma 0 0 0- 0 1 1 0-15
122 Michael Blake – Jayme Dewberry Auburn University 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
122 Jordan Hartman – Mason Grabowski Murray State University 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
122 Greg Lundvick – Carlos Ramirez Texas State University 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
122 Colby Simmons – Brandon Barber East Texas Baptist University 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
122 Tyler Smith – U. of South Alabama 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
122 Richie Young – Emmanuel College 0 0 0- 0 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 WoznHiaeklena, AL 4-15
TOTALS
Day # Fish # Live Lbs-Oz # Limits
1 512 504 1022– 8 79
2 473 466 911- 3 78
