|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||
Drew Sadler and Richard Cobb of Eastern Kentucky University show off their stringer from Day 1, an impressive 15.8 pounds which gave them a nearly 2.5 pound lead over Southern Illinois.
Eastern Kentucky University nearly caught enough bass for the entire field in the first round of the Smash-Mouth College Bass Championship in Pine Bluff, Ark., on Sunday.
Drew Sadler and Richard Cobb represented the Colonels with the five-fish limit for a weight of 15.8 pounds, which put them in first place.
Twenty-five teams came down to represent their schools in a national championship and fish the waters of the 1984 Bassmaster Classic. The anglers are fishing for large-mouth bass 15 inches or longer and spotted bass (or Kentucky bass) 12 inches or longer.
Only four teams brought in a full bag on Sunday, and there was a total of 50 fish brought to the scales. Meanwhile, EKU spent most the day throwing keepers back into the river.
"We had all of our fish caught by 9 a.m.," Sadler said. "We caught eight keepers total."
Sadler and Cobb said they scoped a place out in pre-fishing that looked good, and the spot didn't disappoint in the competition.
"We found about five places that looked good in pre-fishing, and we didn't even get to all of them today," Sadler said. "We really got lucky; we didn't lose any fish. We left our spots alone and went to look for some new stuff, and we found a couple more good spots."
Rusty Reinoehl and Scott Kehlenbrink of Southern Illinion University were the only other team to top 10 pounds on Sunday. Their 13.35 pounds put them in second place.
Cobb said there is no reason to change anything going into tomorrow.
"We're going to camp out on our spots tomorrow," Cobb said. "We took what we thought we needed out of them today, and hopefully they'll hold up for tomorrow."
Southern Illinois University is in second after catching the limit and weighing in at 13.35 pounds. St. Ambrose and Ball State both caught the limit, and they are third and fourth, respectively, followed by Murray State in fifth.
No. 1-ranked and defending national champion Stephen F. Austin was set back by boat troubles early in the day and bagged only two fish worth 2.4 pounds. Illinois, the No. 2-ranked team in the nation, didnÕt catch a single keeper all day and has a long way to go to try and make the finals.
The field will be cut to five after the weigh-in on Monday, with the top-five combined (Sunday and Monday) weights advancing to the finals on Tuesday, which will be fished in a "mystery" lake that none of the anglers know about.
In addition to a shot at the title, the top five will get a free lesson from professional angler Greg Hackney on Monday night. Hackney finished second in the Bassmaster Legend, which finished on the Arkansas River on Sunday.
EKU is in a great position to get lessons from the pro, but Cobb said they could run into a little problem on Monday.
Tony and Tim DeVolder of Saint Ambrose University weighed-in 9.2 pounds to take third place.
"I'm afraid it's going to be an early bite like it was today, and we're one of the last to leave the dock," Cobb said. "I hope it works out tomorrow like it did today."
If EKU does move on, Cobb doesn't seem to think the lack of pre-fishing should be a problem.
"I think a good fisherman has to be versatile," he said. "He has to have the ability to adapt, change and think on his feet. Whoever is able to dissect the water the fastest, and whoever has the most skills, is going to do the best."
