Posted -  September 21st, 2008  6:49pm CST
 
ARKANSAS WINS NCBFC AT LEWISVILLE 
Chasing Shad a Key To the Win
                                                                                                                                     Story and Photos by Gary Dollohan

Lewisville, TX - When the day began, it was a University of Arkansas team positioned to be the lone spoiler among the five finalists capable of keeping a Texas school from again taking home the BoatU.S. National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship trophy. Included in the final-day shootout were Arkansas, Baylor, Texas Tech, Texas A&M-Kingsville and defending champion Texas A&M. 

All teams started the day with a score of zero and the equal beginning seemed to keep the anglers patient, focused and fishing to their strengths. By weigh-in, several keeper bass had found the way to livewells and the stage at Sneaky Pete's Marina. The crowd of fans and onlookers that had gathered were wowed once more by impressive catches that have become the norm for the week. 

The Arkansas team did outlast the Texas finalists, with Kazuki Kitajima and Bodie Drake claiming the championship for the Razorbacks with five bass weighing 17.37 pounds, anchored by two near 4-pounders.

"We chased shad the whole time and were fishing a depth range of 5-14 feet," said Kitajima. "We concentrated on a short point with some foundations and rock that had a subtle break. Our key bait was a Berkley Power Finesse Worm in blue flake. We also caught a couple on a War Eagle jig, some on a deep crankbait, but caught most of our fish on a shakey head. To win this one means a lot."

"We have a strong fishing club at the University, and this win is great for our school and the club," said partner Drake. "It's been a great experience for both of us." 

The Arkansas team's total was just enough to hold off last year's winner Justin Rackley and new partner Andy Shafer, from Texas A&M. They had five bass totaling 16 pounds. 

Rounding out the top five teams who advanced to the third and final day of the championship were: 3rd place - Texas Tech's Ryan Dupriest and Laramie Coggan with five fish weighing 11.98 pounds; 4th place - Texas A&M-Kingsville's Jerod Hawkes and Daniel Brock with 5 bass weighing 11.17 pounds; and 5th place - Baylor's Jay Holland and Chris Gass with two bass totaling 3.34 pounds. 

The Arkansas team takes home a $14,000 scholarship check to their fishing club. Texas A&M was awarded $8,000, Texas Tech received $5,000, Texas A&M Kingsville took $3,000 and Baylor won $2,000.

The five, all fishing from tournament-provided Ranger boats equally equipped with Yamaha outboards, Garmin electronics and MotorGuide trolling motors, had advanced to the championship round by being the top five among all 194 anglers competed during the previous two days. The full field represented 23 states and 51 schools of all sizes and conferences. 

Finishing in the top 10 for the tournament and also receiving scholarship cash prizes for their respective school fishing clubs are: 6th place - Faulkner University (Ala.), Kyle Tindol and Michael Eubanks, $1,000; 7th place - Northwestern State University (La.), Zack Gagnard and Paul Rini, $700; 8th place - Murray State University (Ky.), Dan Langton and Cory Carr, $600; 9th place - Stephen F. Austin (Texas), Ryan Watkins and Andrew Upshaw, $400; and 10th place - University of Alabama-Birmingham, Tim Waits and Braxton Setzer, $300.

Of the daily incentive awards, Texas Tech's Coggan received the daily Abu Garcia Big Bass $1,000 scholarship for his 4.29 pounder. Arkansas' Kitajima and Drake were awarded the Berkley Big Bag award receiving $1,500 in merchandise for today's heaviest total catch.

For the heaviest bag of the entire tournament, the American Rodsmiths Big Bag award of $500 went to Baylor for Holland and Gass' 22.05-pound bag from yesterday. 

Throughout the tournament the entire group of talented anglers smashed all previous NCBFC records for numbers of fish caught, heaviest limits and total weight. There were 622 bass caught, including 69 limits, totaling 1,455.36 pounds.

The 2008 BoatU.S. NCBFC is sponsored by BoatU.S., BoatU.S. Angler, Ranger Boats, Cabela's, American Rodsmiths, Anglers' Legacy, Abu Garcia, Aviva Fishin' Buddy, Berkley, Costa Del Mar, EPIC Sports Video Cam, Falcon FTO tackle organizers, Fenwick, Frogg Toggs, Garmin, Gemini Sport Marketing, Lago Vista Lodge, Gene Larew Lures, MotorGuide, Power-Pole, Rapala's Fishing Frenzy, Sebile, Sperry Top-Sider, Stearns, TruckVault, Witz Sportcases, Yamaha, City of Lewisville, Sneaky Pete's Marina and Fox College Sports.

FINAL STANDINGS

Pl. School Angler 1 Angler 2 Day 1 Day 2 Total Final Day
Fish Net Weight Fish Net Weight Fish Net Weight Fish Net Weight
1 University of Arkansas Kazuki Kitajima Bodie Drake 5 14.61 5 18.18 10 32.79 5 17.37
2 Texas A&M University Justin Rackley Andy Shafer 5 15.09 5 16.40 10 31.49 5 16.00
3 Texas Tech Ryan Dupriest Laramie Coggan 5 9.31 5 22.05 10 31.36 5 11.98
4 Texas A&M University - Kingsville Jerod Hawkes Daniel Brock 5 14.34 5 13.47 10 27.81 5 11.17
5 Baylor University Jay Holland Chris Gass 5 14.98 5 11.85 10 26.83 2 3.34
6 Faulkner University Kyle Tindol Michael Eubanks 4 10.95 5 15.59 9 26.54
7 Northwestern State University Zack Gagnard Paul Rini 5 11.53 5 14.27 10 25.80
8 Murray State University Dan Langton Cory Carr 5 12.50 5 13.27 10 25.77
9 Stephen F. Austin State University Ryan Watkins Andrew Upshaw 5 13.20 5 11.96 10 25.16
10 University of Alabama - Birmingham Tim Waits Braxton Setzer 5 15.15 5 9.78 10 24.93
11 Eastern Kentucky University Andrew Luxon Richard Cobb 5 19.42 2 4.58 7 24.00
12 Southeast Missouri State University Taylor Gorton Mike Rains 5 18.28 2 5.25 7 23.53
13 University of Alabama Foster Bradley Brent Frederick 5 14.06 4 9.00 9 23.06
14 North Carolina State University Josh Hooks Chad Bazen 5 10.95 5 11.51 10 22.46
15 Tarleton State University John Anderson Kent Andries 5 16.05 4 5.86 9 21.91
16 University of Alabama Daniel Statum Rusty Jones 3 7.63 5 14.12 8 21.75
17 Virginia Tech Scott Wiley Charlie Machek 5 19.60 2 1.97 7 21.57
18 Auburn University Richard Peek Paul Davis 5 14.11 4 7.36 9 21.47
19 Auburn University Sam Rochell JT Murphy 5 11.25 4 10.05 9 21.30
20 Texas Tech Courtney Caruthers Dustin Perry 3 7.65 5 13.51 8 21.16
21 University of Alabama Ben Weldon Warren Hoffman 5 8.78 5 12.32 10 21.10
22 University of Oklahoma Chip Porche' Matt Pangrac 3 6.82 5 14.22 8 21.04
23 Western Kentucky University Adam Hock David Stephens 4 9.39 5 11.45 9 20.84
24 Lamar University Josh Maddox Matt Morrison 5 9.11 5 11.69 10 20.80
25 Stephen F. Austin State University Kendall Wleczyk Cale Schrock 5 14.52 4 6.25 9 20.77
26 Eastern Kentucky University Tyler Moberly James Wathen 5 10.91 5 9.52 10 20.43
27 Oklahoma State University James Elam Kris McDonald 5 10.05 5 9.87 10 19.92
28 University of Oregon Chris Parks Joe Cote 4 6.65 5 13.19 9 19.84
29 Kansas State Casey Smith Jared Brooks 5 11.21 4 8.57 9 19.78
30 Purdue University Aaron McAlexander Ben Wood 5 12.68 3 6.33 8 19.01
31 University of Nebraska Tony Cimino Seth Zentner 4 9.30 5 9.01 9 18.31
32 Arizona State Brent Perkins Mike Eyler 5 10.83 3 7.47 8 18.30
33 Tarleton State University Cole Koenig (pronounced "King") Kyle Barfield 2 7.34 3 10.55 5 17.89
34 Drury University Alex Sahliyeh Derek Brown 2 4.01 5 13.84 7 17.85
35 University of Wisconsin-Madison Derek Frederixon Drew Frederixon 5 9.91 3 7.75 8 17.66
36 Indiana University Eric Boger Tyler Zschiedrich 5 8.57 4 8.88 9 17.45
37 Metropolitan State College of Denver Adam McHenry Kat Cammack 2 3.42 5 13.97 7 17.39
38 Arizona State Mitch Kistner Craig Carroll 4 13.60 2 3.26 6 16.86
39 University of Texas - Austin Bill Waldschmidt Micah Scheler 5 12.20 3 4.60 8 16.80
40 Virginia Tech Brett Thompson Jonathan Pace 4 8.69 3 8.09 7 16.78
41 University of Montevallo Clent Davis Chuck Holderfield 4 11.17 2 5.26 6 16.43
42 University of Texas - Austin Ty Brockhoeft Bobby Frey 4 7.45 4 8.43 8 15.88
43 University of Louisville Travis  Andres Cody Greenwell 5 9.93 4 5.76 9 15.69
44 University of North Texas Brandon Dickenson Kevin Lain 5 11.97 1 3.66 6 15.63
45 Northwestern State University Jeff Rich Aaron Sistrunk 4 12.51 1 3.01 5 15.52
46 Texas Tech Chad Pabody John Guest 4 9.15 4 6.25 8 15.40
47 Murray State University Drew Snider Treston Smith 2 3.18 5 11.83 7 15.01
48 Georgia College & State University Matt Henry Zach Olson 3 5.45 5 8.82 8 14.27
49 Louisiana State University-Shreveport Zach Caudle Harmon Carson 5 14.02 0 0.00 5 14.02
50 University of Oklahoma Jordon Nichols Justin Hurd 5 13.96 0 0.00 5 13.96
51 University of Texas-Arlington Tiffany Spencer Taryn Bishop 3 7.38 3 6.06 6 13.44
52 University of South Alabama Jonathan Pope Joshua Pope 4 4.77 5 8.22 9 12.99
53 Arkansas Tech Scott Lambert Trevor Graddy 2 5.39 2 7.37 4 12.76
54 University of Arkansas Jerid Jones Chris Jackson 3 4.41 4 8.03 7 12.44
55 University of Texas-Arlington Stephen Pineau Drew Bryan 3 5.65 4 6.62 7 12.27
56 Troy University Craig Karrh Tyler Weaver 2 2.95 5 9.24 7 12.19
57 University of Oregon Carter Troughton Ross Richards 2 4.27 4 7.87 6 12.14
58 Kansas State Ben Fuchs Aaron Barney 5 9.36 2 2.49 7 11.85
59 Faulkner University John Galloway Justin Barnes 5 10.56 1 1.28 6 11.84
60 Eastern Kentucky University Ryan Oller Chris Davis 4 7.19 2 4.54 6 11.73
61 Northwestern State University Nathan Fields Jonathan Bennett 2 4.94 3 6.73 5 11.67
62 University of Arkansas Matt Graves Jay Berry 4 8.67 2 3.00 6 11.67
63 Texas A&M University Scott Edmonds Kenny Stewart 3 7.68 2 3.33 5 11.01
64 University of Central Florida Scott Noce Patrick Mangold 1 1.54 5 9.24 6 10.78
65 University of South Alabama Tyler Pitts Justin Feller 5 6.83 2 3.80 7 10.63
66 University of Louisiana-Lafayette Cody McCrary Neil Arnaud 2 7.99 1 1.86 3 9.85
67 Tarleton State University Chris Michels Tanner Morgan 3 5.80 1 3.61 4 9.41
68 Oklahoma State University Daniel Davis Orie Chambers 5 9.31 0 0.00 5 9.31
69 Baylor University Andrew McAdams Ryan Thompson 5 8.75 0 0.00 5 8.75
70 University of Texas - Austin Mason Welch John Reina 1 1.89 2 6.72 3 8.61
71 Sam Houston State Joshua Rush Bubba Gough 4 8.56 0 0.00 4 8.56
72 Louisiana Tech University Aaron Rogillio Jordan Wiggins 1 1.79 3 6.71 4 8.50
73 University of Montevallo Dustin Gray Josh Lamar 3 6.19 1 2.18 4 8.37
74 University of Tennessee-Martin Michael Keatts Matthew Jones 4 8.00 0 0.00 4 8.00
75 University of Iowa Tyler Mehrl Bob Downey 2 3.17 2 4.74 4 7.91
76 University of Central Florida Brent Compton Joe Forker 2 4.07 2 3.37 4 7.44
77 Penn State Jason Haney Derrick Hughes 1 2.88 3 4.53 4 7.41
78 University of Texas-Arlington Brady Beal Bryan Lewis 3 5.78 1 1.48 4 7.26
79 University of Tennessee-Martin Matt Tubbs Kevin Shorey 3 7.12 0 0.00 3 7.12
80 Purdue University Jacob Spencer Chris Bookout 4 6.89 0 0.00 4 6.89
81 Freed - Hardeman University John Lawson Nathan Pirtle 4 6.82 0 0.00 4 6.82
82 Louisiana State University-Shreveport Patrick Morton Will Moore 3 6.14 0 0.00 3 6.14
83 Webber International University Marty Wilson Alicia Mohler 1 2.71 2 3.40 3 6.11
84 Southern Illinois University Bryan Partak Colby Thompson 1 2.22 2 3.50 3 5.72
85 University of North Texas Austin Hollowell Chaz Pair 2 5.65 0 0.00 2 5.65
86 Southern Illinois University Richard Dunham Tyler Ailor 3 4.68 0 0.00 3 4.68
87 Southeast Missouri State University Adam Zielinski Alex Skelton 0 0.00 2 4.34 2 4.34
88 University of Iowa Josh Heine Matt Taylor 2 4.23 0 0.00 2 4.23
89 North Carolina State University Will White Kyle Hodgin 2 4.17 0 0.00 2 4.17
90 Drury University Drew Sanford Drew Simon 2 4.05 0 0.00 2 4.05
91 Louisiana Tech University Brock Brunson Brandon Holmes 2 3.70 0 0.00 2 3.70
92 Arkansas Tech Eric Shatford Matt Goddard 2 2.98 0 0.00 2 2.98
93 Arizona State Chris Yee Whitney Cummins 1 1.81 0 0.00 1 1.81
94 Auburn University Adam Murphree Clay Messer 1 0.98 0 0.00 1 0.98
95 University of Mississippi Chad Hollan Harrison Banks 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00
96 Purdue University Chad Dunham Kent Ballard 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00
97 Webber International University Duane Bowman Harris Hartley 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00

 

 

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