Keowee Day 1 Coverage
One hour until weigh-in
Though we aren’t covering the FLW College Fishing National Championship with a Tour sized crew, we’ll still do our best to keep you updated throughout the day. So far, the weather is perfect for day one of the championship presented by the Lowrance Insight Genesis College Cup.
2:30 p.m.: Time for teams to make a move
With just one hour until weigh-in, right now should be about the best time to interecept shallow fish. Several teams reported that the shallow bite really turned on at around 11 a.m. in practice, and it was good the rest of day when the sun was high. Today does seem a little tougher though. We haven't seen many of Keowee's kickers out on the water, just a lot of small largemouths and spots. But we only were able to track down about one-third of the field, so surely someone is catching them.
Most teams are running and gunning like crazy right now, trying to find a cooperative kicker on the bank. The breeze has picked up – almost enough to call it wind, but not quite – and that might make sight-fishing just a bit tougher in some pockets. Overall, there's a good mix of tactics being used, from sight-fishing to dock-fishing to targeting prespawn areas with finesse and power baits.
1:30 p.m.: Just a couple hours to go on day one
As the day has drawn on, the majority of the field has headed to the banks in pursuit of bedding bass. Many are working way back in pockets in pursuit of largemouth, while the spotted bass seem to be spawning mostly in pockets that are closer to deep water. The weather is still perfect, but there’s now just a little bit of wind to go with the bluebird skies and warm temps.
One constant is the use of spinning rods and finesse tactics. Even on beds, a lot of the teams are really leaning on light line to coax a bite. Based on our reporting, it looks like there will be plenty of bags in the 8- to 10-pound range and the separator will be the presence of a kicker.
Thomas and Billy Arens of Shenandoah University has one in the box, but they’ve caught 13 shorts throughout the day. The local favorite, Ross Burns and Isaac Nesbitt of Clemson, have five for about 9 pounds
11:50 a.m.: Lunchtime update
We’re not stopping to eat and neither are the bass, but we’ll give you a lunchtime update anyhow. Since the prior updates, we’ve only run into one team with a limit. That team is Sacramento State. At the moment, Tanner Austin and Ethan Clark are working are 2-pounder on a bed, so they haven’t got giants. Nonetheless, it’s never a bad thing to have five.
Samuel Sobiek and Connor Graham of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point have three with “one good one,” but their biggest fish marked in practice is gone. Word is it was a 5- or 6-pounder, so that’s certainly a disappointment.
Also on the board is CNU with a dink, and Northwest Missouri State with a trio on shaky heads.
The weather is still basically perfect, and there’s plenty of time left before weigh-in starts at 3:30 p.m. ET.
10:46 a.m.: Central Oklahoma is on the right size
Though they’re “new to this spot fishing,” the Central Oklahoma duo of Colten Hutson and Brock Enmeier is on the right ones. They’re bed fishing for spotted bass on docks, and already have a pair of 3-pounders in the box along with two smaller fish. Supposedly, the best of the day came in about 8-inches of water and they seem pretty dialed in at the moment.
10:18 a.m.: Midmorning updates
Lots of teams are making moves at the moment, as boats are zipping all over the place headed off the starting spots. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and the big weights from Keowee’s largemouths might be about to show up.
Just a minute ago, the Dallas Baptist University team stuck their third fish from a ditch in the back of a cove after running a line of docks, and they have at least one nice one to go with their partial limit.
Also checking in with fish is Alabama, who has one good one and is throwing a topwater in about 50 feet of water.
9:33 a.m.: Plenty of fish are being caught
So far, the majority of the field has stayed a little off the bank, targeting cruisers and fish that have yet to move up to the beds. For that, a big mix of techniques are in play, from spinnerbaits and underspins to topwaters and jerkbaits. Additionally, to our knowledge, a largemouth has yet to be caught.
We’re told that yesterday a lot of fish were locked on the beds and ready to bite, but the cool night seems to have discouraged some anglers form targeting them. Of course, just like on Hartwell, the conditions for sight fishing are just about perfect.
As for catches, the early leaders are Eastern Washington’s Cy Floyd and Travis Opel, who have busted up their prop and won’t be moving much today, but already have four spotted bass for about 8 pounds and one that is over 3 pounds.
Andrew Tate and Dawson Lenz of North Alabama also have one good one in the box, and both Adrian College teams have multiple keepers.
Early update: Auburn is on the board
While the sun was still below the trees most of the teams started their day chasing spotted bas and looking for a quick limit. Of them, Mitchell Jennings and Timmy Ward of Auburn have one solid spot in the boat to start things off and the Adrian College duo of Jarrett Martin and Jacob Bayer have a pair of small ones.
As the sun continues to rise, more teams are likely to head to the bank in search of big largemouths.