STEVENS POINT, Wis. — Tyler Rivet and Allyson Marcel of Nicholls State University hauled in 8 pounds, 7 ounces on Friday to vault from eighth place and into the second-round lead of the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops.
The Louisiana college’s team ground out a three-bass limit heavy enough to claim a 6-ounce lead heading into the final day of team competition Saturday on Lake DuBay. While catches for most of the 81 teams in the championship were smaller on the second day, Rivet and Marcel stayed with the tactics and locations that had them among the leaders in the first round. “We did exactly the same thing today and fished the exact same spots,” Rivet said. “It’s an undercut bank in a small canal, and it reminds us of how we fish back in Louisiana. We had to hit the bank with our baits, or we wouldn’t have a chance to catch a bass.” Consistency has been the key for Nicholls State, but with increased fishing pressure on Lake DuBay this week, fish catches are expected to decline even more in Saturday’s final round. “I think we will be fine,” Marcel said. “I don’t want to jinx us, but we missed two fish today, and I think they could bite again tomorrow at some point.”
The first-round leaders from Texas A&M University, Josh Bensema and Matthew McArdle, checked in with 6 pounds, 9 ounces of DuBay bass to stay within striking distance of the lead and a possible National Championship title. Bensema and McArdle started quickly Thursday, catching a limit before 7 a.m., but Friday was much different. The Texas duo didn’t land a keeper bass until around 9:30 a.m. After a slow start, however, they began to figure out where the fish were positioning and when they might expect to get a bite from a keeper bass. “The water level came up some in our area, and the fish seemed to farther into the cover,” McArdle said. “We just had to fish our baits a little deeper in the cover to get bit.” Bensema and McArdle used a one-two punch of lures the first day but switched to a topwater bait to boat their three bass Friday. “Later today, Matt picked up a frog and caught our final keeper,” Bensema said. “I think on Saturday we will throw that for at least 90 percent of the day.”
The University of North Carolina-Charlotte team of Jake Whitaker and Andrew Helms — defending national champions from 2014 — moved into third, less than 2 pounds behind the leaders. Whitaker and Helms have been concentrating on a specific area of DuBay the first two days and don’t plan to change locations. Their hope is to be the first collegiate anglers to claim back-to-back titles in the Carhartt Bassmaster College championship. “Our first goal is to get three fish in the boat,” Whitaker said. “Depending on what time we can get our limit, we will go big and swing for the fences because we want to win. We know what it feels like, and we know a big fish can do it.” Whitaker and Helms made passes along a specific stretch of bank throughout the first two days of competition, switching up baits as they went along to see what baits were key during different parts of the day.
Trevor Lo and Chris Burgan from the University of Minnesota weighed in two smallmouth for 3 pounds, 13 ounces to slip into the Top 5 and are currently in fourth heading into the final day.
Frank Appaluccio and Logan Shaddix of the University of Alabama squeezed into the Top 5 finals after winning a tiebreaker provision over East Carolina’s Zach Blalock and Mike Corbishley. Both teams had 11-11 after two rounds of fishing.
Tyler Rivet and Allyson Marcel of Nicholls State weighed in the Bass Pro Shops/Nitro Big Bag of the tournament (8-7) so far with one day remaining; the winner of this award also receives a $250 Bass Pro Shops gift card. Rivet and Marcel also earned the Livingston Lures Leader Award, which is given to the team leading after two days. Both members will receive a $250 Livingston Lures gift card. John Garrent and Brian Pahl of Bethel University currently hold the Carhartt Big Bass award with a 3-11 bass from Day 1. A $500 Carhartt gift card goes to the tournament’s biggest bass.
by Helen White,Bassmaster Media & photo by Shaye Baker, Bassmaster Media
