Collins comes from behind to win on Ouachita River – Bass

Albert Collins of Nacogdoches, Texas, caught 44 pounds, 15 ounces over three days to win the Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Championship on the Ouachita River held out of Monroe, La. 

Nov. 7, 2015

Collins comes from behind to win on Ouachita River

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MONROE, La. — Albert Collins’ victory in the 2015 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Championship was a year in the making. The Texas angler lost his bid to the Classic by 1 1/2 pounds on the Ouachita River in November 2014; he’s been planning for his next chance ever since.

Collins ended the 2015 championship with 44 pounds, 15 ounces over three days, and he earned a berth in the 2016 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro. He also won the Bryan V. Kerchal Memorial Trophy and a Skeeter ZX200 with a Yamaha motor, a Minn Kota trolling motor and Lowrance electronics.

Collins has qualified for the Classic before, back in 2013 when he won the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series Championship. But he really wanted to make it through the B.A.S.S. Nation.

“It means something special to qualify through the Nation,” said Collins, who has tried several times to qualify through the Nation Championship and, like one year ago, fell just short.

“What I learned last year was that I needed an aluminum boat,” said Collins. “Last year, I used my fiberglass boat, and it’s just not made to go through those stumps and all that shallow water. So I bought an aluminum one for this tournament.”

It paid off. The Triton 18 TX he bought, equipped with a 115 Mercury Pro XS, got him into Bayou D’Arbonne, north of the launch area at Forsythe Park. It topped out at 47 miles per hour, but it let him slip into areas most of the other anglers couldn’t.

“It all revolved around last year,” said Collins, a member of the Nacogdoches Bass Club he helped found several years ago. “I knew where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do; I just needed to get the details.”

The details are what he focused on in pre-fish and practice. He liked that D’Arbonne area because it fits his style of fishing.

“I like to flip and throw spinnerbaits and crankbaits, and that’s what you do there,” he said. “There’s a lot of backwater, a lot of stumps and a good channel, and you can fish multiple ways up there.”

He did flip and he did throw crankbaits, but the standout for him was spinnerbaits.

“I used a Stanley spinnerbait, white/chartreuse with silver and gold willow blades,” said Collins. “I was fishing a medium retrieve, 6 to 10 inches underneath the surface.”

That’s how he started out the final day, too, when he was behind the leader, Jamie Laiche, by nearly 2 pounds. After no fish in the first hour, he changed his tactic.

“They were not as active today,” said Collins, “so I started slow rolling it.” That method accounted for 90 percent of his catches on Day 3, when he brought in a 16-pound, 6-ounce bag.

By winning the tournament, Collins also won his division, edging out two-day leader Jamie Laiche of Louisiana by 1 pound, 13 ounces. The winner of each of the six divisions earns a Classic berth. Joining Collins at the Classic will be Charles Sim of Ontario in the Eastern Division; Fabian Rodriguez, Delaware, Mid-Atlantic; Greg Vance, Iowa, Northern; John Proctor, South Carolina, Southern; and Levi McNeill, Wyoming, Western.

None of those five anglers has ever qualified for the Classic before. Most of them couldn’t even find the words to express their excitement.

“I’m speechless,” said Sim. “I’m only the second Canadian ever to make it! This is phenomenal.”

Overall, the catches on Day 3 were significantly lighter than on the previous days. Still, the biggest bass of the tournament was boated on the final day by Matthew Roberts of the Missouri B.A.S.S. Nation. It was a 5-pound, 6-ounce largemouth, the first 5-plus-pounder anyone had seen during this event. Roberts won $500 for catching the tournament’s big bass.

Jamie Laiche won the other award, the Livingston Lures Leader Award, for leading on Day 2. He earned $250.

The biggest bag of the tournament was a tie between Laiche and Collins. Laiche brought in 16-6 on the first day, and Collins brought in the same bag on the third day.

Keep up with the journey of the six competitors who qualified for the Classic over the next few months at Bassmaster.com/Nation. The Classic will take place March 4-6, 2016, and the new season for the Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Regionals will resume in April 2016.

2015 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Championship 11/5-11/7Ouachita River, Monroe, La.(BOATER) Standings Day 3

Angler                                   Hometown                            No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

1.  Albert Collins                     Nacogdoches, TX (Cntrl)       15  44-15  02.  Jamie Laiche                     Gonzales, LA (Cntrl)              15  43-02  03.  Fabian Rodriguez              Ocean City, DE (MidAt)         15  37-11  04.  Doug Thompson                Mabelvale, AR (Cntrl)            15  35-02  05.  Billy Lemon Jr                    Sand Springs, OK (Cntrl        15  34-12  06.  John Proctor                      Conway, SC (South)              15  34-08  07.  Preston Frazell                  Cleveland, OK (Cntrl)             13  32-03  08.  Mark Pierce                       Radcliff, KY (South)                15  31-00  09.  Chad Shutty                      Northern Cambria, PA (M        15  30-13  010. Charles Sim                     Ottawa CANADA (East)           15  30-01  011. Levi McNeill                     West Valley, UT (West)            15  29-13  012. Paul Mueller                     Naugatuck, CT (East)              14  29-05  013. Greg Vance                      Dubuque, IA (North)                15  28-05  014. Joaquim Maria Lopes       Evora PORTUGAL (Cntrl)       15  27-08  015. Donald Adcock                 Richland, MS (Cntrl)                 14  25-04  016. Gary Adkins                      Green Bay, WI (North)              15  25-01  017. Dave Andrews                  Hudson, MA (East)                    15  24-07  018. Nick Leonard                    Cincinnati, OH (North)               15  24-04  019. Roger Thomas                  Snow Hill, NC (South)               15  24-00  020. Casey Smith                     Macedon, NY (East)                  15  23-12  021. Kieron Samkin                  Gillitts SOUTH AFRICA (           14  23-11  022. Corey Brant                      Minnetonka, MN (North)             12  23-05  023. Samuel Bounds Jr            Charleston, WV (MidAt)              14  22-15  024. Brian Harold                     McGaheysville, VA (MidA            14  22-14  025. Jami Fralick                      Martin, SD (North)                       15  22-07  026. Samuel Ferroni                POGGIO A CAIANO PRATO I    14  22-00  027. Matthew Roberts              Pulaski, IA (Cntrl)                        10  21-09  028. Pat Hanning                     Tucson, AZ (West)                      13  21-06  029. Robert Peixotto                 Albuquerque, NM (West)            13  21-05  030. Steven Wilson                  Rohnert Park, CA (West)            13  20-15  031. Marcelo Lozano                San Luis Potosi MEXICO           14  20-12  032. Brad Weese                      Petersburg, WV (MidAt)             13  20-09  033. Brad Durden                     Atlanta, GA (South)                    13  20-07  034. Kyle Glasgow Jr               Guin, AL (South)                         11  19-15  035. David Watson                   Sullivan, IN (North)                     13  19-14  036. Dan Brown                        Joliet, IL (North)                         13  19-08  037. Skip Sjobeck                     Randolph, VT (East)                  13  19-02  038. Bruce Cooke                     Greendale ZIMBABWE (Mid      15  19-00  039. Larry Triplett                     Castle Rock, CO (West)             13  18-14  040. Tim Johnston                    Kalispell , MT (West)                  11  18-10  041. Jerome Pape                    Milford, IA (Cntrl)                        13  17-12  042. Alex Wetherell                  Middletown, CT (East)                10  17-10  043. Davick Hansen                 Clinton, UT (West)                      11  17-09  044. David Kromm                    Kennewick, WA (West)              12  17-08  045. Brent Shores                     Boise, ID (West)                         12  16-13  046. Michael McMahon             Hackettstown, NJ (MidAt            12  16-10  047. Brian Croteau                    Blackstone, MA (East)                9  15-03  048. Cesar Ventura Pecellin Munoz Badajoz SPAIN (East)        10  13-13  049. Jeff Fischer                       Farmington, MI (North)               10  13-10  050. Robert Williamson            Gorham, ME (East)                     9  13-01  051. Lance Freeman                Eddyville, KY (South)                  9  13-00  052. Wayne Black                    San Mateo, FL (South)               10  12-05  053. Kory Ray                          Lebanon, OR (West)                   10  11-09  054. Kentaro Yamada              Osaka JAPAN (West)                  8  10-11  055. Alec Williams                    Windhoek NAMIBIA (MidAt         6  09-07  056. Stephen Kanowski            Shorncliffe AUSTRALIA              5  07-08  057. George Barnes                 Cambridge, MA (East)                 6  07-00  058. Stephen Pike                    Las Vegas, NV (West)                 2  03-15  059. Jackie Barber                    West , TX (MidAt)                       3  03-09  0———————————————————————–

———————————————————————–TotalsDay   #Limits    #Fish      Weight1       46       263       462-122       38       245       414-023       32       216       396-11———————————-116       724      1273-09

TEAM STANDINGS Day 3———————————-State                       Lbs-Oz1 CENTRAL              302-152 WESTERN             209-003 NORTHERN           198-064 EASTERN              193-065 SOUTHERN           186-066 MID-ATLANTIC      183-08

INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS Day 3———————————————————————–

NORTHERNAngler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$1 Greg Vance           Dubuque, IA                 15   28-05  02 Gary Adkins          Green Bay, WI              15   25-01  03 Nick Leonard        Cincinnati, OH               15   24-04  04 Corey Brant          Minnetonka, MN            12   23-05  05 Jami Fralick          Martin, SD                      15   22-07  06 Samuel Ferroni     POGGIO A CAIANO PRATO I 14   22-00  07 David Watson       Sullivan, IN                    13   19-14  08 Dan Brown            Joliet, IL                         13   19-08  09 Jeff Fischer           Farmington, MI              10   13-10  0

CENTRALAngler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$1 Albert Collins           Nacogdoches, TX         15   44-15  02 Jamie Laiche           Gonzales, LA                15   43-02  03 Doug Thompson      Mabelvale, AR              15   35-02  04 Billy Lemon Jr          Sand Springs, OK         15   34-12  05 Preston Frazell         Cleveland, OK              13   32-03  06 Joaquim Maria Lopes  Evora PORTUGAL    15   27-08  07 Donald Adcock        Richland, MS                 14   25-04  08 Matthew Roberts      Pulaski, IA                     10   21-09  09 Marcelo Lozano       San Luis Potosi MEXICO  14   20-12  010 Jerome Pape          Milford, IA                       13   17-12  0

WESTERNAngler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$1 Levi McNeill          West Valley, UT           15   29-13  02 Pat Hanning          Tucson, AZ                  13   21-06  03 Robert Peixotto     Albuquerque, NM         13   21-05  04 Steven Wilson       Rohnert Park, CA        13   20-15  05 Larry Triplett          Castle Rock, CO          13   18-14  06 Tim Johnston         Kalispell , MT               11   18-10  07 Davick Hansen      Clinton, UT                   11   17-09  08 David Kromm        Kennewick, WA             12   17-08  09 Brent Shores         Boise, ID                        12   16-13  010 Kory Ray              Lebanon, OR                 10   11-09  011 Kentaro Yamada   Osaka JAPAN                8   10-11  012 Stephen Pike         Las Vegas, NV              2   03-15  0

EASTERNAngler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$1 Charles Sim            Ottawa CANADA            15   30-01  02 Paul Mueller            Naugatuck, CT               14   29-05  03 Dave Andrews         Hudson, MA                  15   24-07  04 Casey Smith            Macedon, NY                15   23-12  05 Skip Sjobeck           Randolph, VT                13   19-02  06 Alex Wetherell         Middletown, CT              10   17-10  07 Brian Croteau          Blackstone, MA              9   15-03  08 Cesar Ventura Pecellin Munoz Badajoz SPAIN 10   13-13  09 Robert Williamson    Gorham, ME                  9   13-01  010 George Barnes        Cambridge, MA               6   07-00  0

SOUTHERNAngler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$1 John Proctor         Conway, SC                  15   34-08  02 Mark Pierce          Radcliff, KY                    15   31-00  03 Roger Thomas      Snow Hill, NC               15   24-00  04 Kieron Samkin      Gillitts SOUTH AFRICA 14   23-11  05 Brad Durden         Atlanta, GA                    13   20-07  06 Kyle Glasgow Jr    Guin, AL                        11   19-15  07 Lance Freeman     Eddyville, KY                  9   13-00  08 Wayne Black         San Mateo, FL               10   12-05  09 Stephen Kanowski Shorncliffe AUSTRALIA 5   07-08  0

MID-ATLANTICAngler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz Total $$$1 Fabian Rodriguez     Ocean City, DE              15   37-11  02 Chad Shutty             Northern Cambria, PA     15   30-13  03 Samuel Bounds Jr    Charleston, WV               14   22-15  04 Brian Harold             McGaheysville, VA          14   22-14  05 Brad Weese             Petersburg, WV               13   20-09  06 Bruce Cooke            Greendale ZIMBABWE    15   19-00  07 Michael McMahon    Hackettstown, NJ            12   16-10  08 Alec Williams           Windhoek NAMIBIA          6   09-07  09 Jackie Barber           West , TX                         3   03-09  0

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