Jacksonville State’s Elkins and Hansard win Bassmaster College Series event on Louisiana’s Red River

Seth Elkins and Dale Hansard of Alabama’s Jacksonville State University have won the Strike King Bassmaster College Series at Red River presented by Bass Pro Shops with a two-day total of 29 pounds, 9 ounces. 

Photo by Chase Sansom/B.A.S.S.

May 5, 2023

Jacksonville State’s Elkins and Hansard win Bassmaster College Series event on Louisiana’s Red River

NATCHITOCHES, La. — Seth Elkins and Dale Hansard burned an estimated 80 gallons of gas over two days of the Strike King Bassmaster College Series at Red River presented by Bass Pro Shops.

It was worth every last drop.

The tandem from Jacksonville (Ala.) State University finished with a total of 10 bass that weighed 29 pounds, 9 ounces, which was enough to win the derby in northwest Louisiana.

Elkins and Hansard claimed their spot in the College Series National Championship with authority, but they had to work for the win. They made a 2 1/2-hour, one-way run from Grand ECORE Recreational Area to Pool 5 of the Red River, where they fished a creek in the Caspiana area.

That left them with only three hours of fishing time each day, but they made the most of it. They fished in about 9 feet of water on Thursday but went a bit deeper on Friday.

“It was about 12 feet today,” Elkins said. “We noticed the fish had pulled off the tree stumps and some were closer to the bank. We were throwing a black Whopper Plopper 110 yesterday and a lighter-colored model today.

“But the main lure for us was an Ima Skimmer walking bait in a pearl or bone color. That was drawing the bigger bites. And really, those are the only two lures that were working for us at all.”

Hansard caught a 6-5 largemouth on Day 1 which anchored their bag of 13-12 and also was the big bass of the tournament. They didn’t have one as big on Day 2, but the catch was consistent.

“The heaviest today was a 4-pounder, but we had more quality bites,” Elkins said. “We had to fish slow. You really had to make the bait look appetizing or make them mad enough to eat it.”

Hansard said winning a tournament was a special way to qualify for the College National Championship.

“It’s the first time either of us have made it,” Hansard said. “It feels good like a weight is off our shoulders. And I’d like to think the win is for our past teammates … We had (eight people on our team) last year and now we’re the only ones here.”

Day 1 leaders Cole Holloway and Brandon Martin of Georgia’s Emmanuel College slipped to second overall with 10 bass weighing 28-9. Rounding out the Top 5 tandems were Brayden Nichols and William Tew of LSU-Shreveport, third, 23-11; Tripp Bowman and Matthew Nesbit, also of LSU-Shreveport, fourth, 23-2; and fifth, Nicholas Holtgrave and Colsyn Head, of McKendree University in Illinois, 23-0.

B.A.S.S. officials will verify Team of the Year standings in the coming days, which will earn one duo a spot in the Bassmaster College Classic Bracket presented by Lew’s later this year. The Top 3 teams (six anglers in all) from the Strike King Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops will earn the other three spots in the head-to-head competition.

Those eight anglers then will compete for a spot in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota when it’s held next March in Tulsa, Okla., with fishing on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees. 

A total of 135 teams competed, and 14 of them punched their tickets to the College National Championship, which will be held later this year on a fishery yet to be announced.

The fishing action isn’t complete just yet here on the Red River, though.

Following a day off on Saturday, the Strike King Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors will hit the water Sunday, as will the Junior Series anglers. Coverage from those two events will be available on Bassmaster.com.

The tournaments all are hosted by the Red River Waterway Commission.

2023 Strike King Bassmaster College Series at Red River presented by Bass Pro Shops 5/4-5/5Red River, Natchitoches  LA.(BOATER) Standings Day 2

    Angler                                       Club/School                       Pts

1.  Seth Elkins – Dale Hansard                   Jacksonville State University       250  Day 1: 5   13-12     Day 2: 5   15-13   Total:  10  29-092.  Cole Holloway – Brandon Martin               Emmanuel College                    249  Day 1: 5   15-14     Day 2: 5   12-11   Total:  10  28-093.  Brayden Nichols – William Tew                LSU – Shreveport                    248  Day 1: 5   11-12     Day 2: 5   11-15   Total:  10  23-114.  Tripp Bowman – Matthew Nesbit                LSU – Shreveport                    247  Day 1: 5   10-14     Day 2: 5   12-04   Total:  10  23-025.  Nicholas Holtgrave – Colsyn Head             McKendree University                246  Day 1: 5   10-09     Day 2: 5   12-07   Total:  10  23-006.  Caleb Dachenhaus – Sam Shoemaker             Adrian College                      245  Day 1: 5   10-01     Day 2: 5   12-00   Total:  10  22-017.  Kyle Zainitzer – Avery Whitwell              University of North Alabama         244  Day 1: 5   07-04     Day 2: 5   14-08   Total:  10  21-128.  Blake Bullock – John Mark Berry              Blue Mountain College               243  Day 1: 5   11-01     Day 2: 5   10-09   Total:  10  21-109.  Cal Culpepper – Ryan Thomas                  University of Montevallo            242  Day 1: 5   10-12     Day 2: 5   10-02   Total:  10  20-1410. Trey Schroeder – Lane Stephens               McKendree University                241  Day 1: 5   10-04     Day 2: 5   09-13   Total:  10  20-0111. Kaden Proffitt – Cason Ragsdale              East Texas Baptist University       240  Day 1: 5   10-06     Day 2: 5   09-10   Total:  10  20-0012. Tyler Cory – Scott Sledge                    University of Montevallo            239  Day 1: 5   09-08     Day 2: 5   10-07   Total:  10  19-1513. Levi Mullins – Matthew Cummings              Bethel University                   238  Day 1: 5   10-03     Day 2: 5   09-12   Total:  10  19-1514. Bryson O’steen – Ty Jackson                  Florida Gateway College             237  Day 1: 5   10-00     Day 2: 5   09-10   Total:  10  19-1015. Hunter McClaskey – Landon Lawson             King University                     236  Day 1: 5   10-03     Day 2: 5   09-04   Total:  10  19-0716. Corey Morris – Brayden Mercer                East Texas Baptist University       235  Day 1: 5   07-10     Day 2: 5   11-06   Total:  10  19-0017. Gus McLarry – Jared West                     Texas A & M Commerce                234  Day 1: 5   11-07     Day 2: 5   07-07   Total:  10  18-1418. Turner Hart – Summer Dees                    Bryan College                       233  Day 1: 5   08-10     Day 2: 5   10-04   Total:  10  18-1419. Morgan Miracle – Jake Thornbury              Campbellsville University           232  Day 1: 5   10-00     Day 2: 5   08-11   Total:  10  18-1120. William Travis – Victor Alford               Bryan College                       231  Day 1: 5   09-07     Day 2: 5   09-04   Total:  10  18-1121. Zach Pocos – Trey Budach                     McKendree University                230  Day 1: 5   07-10     Day 2: 5   10-14   Total:  10  18-0822. Hayden Marbut – Tucker Smith                 Auburn University                   229  Day 1: 5   09-09     Day 2: 5   08-14   Total:  10  18-0723. James Willoughby – Jacob Pfundt              University of Montevallo            228  Day 1: 5   09-10     Day 2: 5   08-09   Total:  10  18-0324. Parker O’Bryan – Miller Dowling              University of Montevallo            227  Day 1: 5   11-15     Day 2: 3   06-02   Total:   8  18-0125. Tommy Dunaway – Seth Jones                   Florida Gateway College             226  Day 1: 5   09-08     Day 2: 5   07-13   Total:  10  17-0526. Jeremy Dellinger – Garrett Smith             Lander University                   225  Day 1: 5   09-06     Day 2: 5   07-09   Total:  10  16-1527. Carter Koza – Drew Pitts                     Carson-Newman University            224  Day 1: 5   08-01     Day 2: 5   08-13   Total:  10  16-1428. Cole Rankin – Riley Faulkner                 Carson-Newman University            223  Day 1: 5   10-11     Day 2: 4   05-15   Total:   9  16-1029. Easton Fothergill – Nick Dumke               University of Montevallo            222  Day 1: 5   07-00     Day 2: 5   09-09   Total:  10  16-0930. Ben Brockwell – Justice Gayhart              Kentucky Christian University       221  Day 1: 5   08-14     Day 2: 5   07-09   Total:  10  16-0731. Cy Lambert –                                 University of North Alabama         220  Day 1: 5   06-07     Day 2: 5   09-15   Total:  10  16-0632. Levi Thibodaux – Chance Shelby               LSU – Shreveport                    219  Day 1: 5   09-00     Day 2: 4   07-00   Total:   9  16-0033. Connor Jacob – Sam Smith                     Auburn University                   218  Day 1: 5   08-02     Day 2: 5   07-10   Total:  10  15-1234. Christian Turner – John Gray                 Coastal Carolina University         217  Day 1: 5   08-11     Day 2: 5   06-13   Total:  10  15-0835. Harmon Marien – Jack Stephens                McKendree University                216  Day 1: 5   07-15     Day 2: 5   07-08   Total:  10  15-0736. Reid Farris – Colton Swize                   Texas A&M University                215  Day 1: 5   11-10     Day 2: 3   03-12   Total:   8  15-0637. Zach Bushey – Brandon Traw                   Tarleton State University           214  Day 1: 5   06-08     Day 2: 5   08-13   Total:  10  15-0538. Matthew Dettling – Austin Wadzinski          University of Tennessee             213  Day 1: 4   05-06     Day 2: 5   09-13   Total:   9  15-0339. Jaxson Freeman – Maxwell Trotter             McKendree University                212  Day 1: 5   05-07     Day 2: 5   09-12   Total:  10  15-0340. Cody Domingos – Luka Strepacki               University of Tennessee             211  Day 1: 5   06-15     Day 2: 5   08-02   Total:  10  15-0141. Drake Sturgill – Beau Browning               University of Montevallo            210  Day 1: 5   07-01     Day 2: 5   07-14   Total:  10  14-1542. Seth Slanker – Jackson Swisher               Florida Gateway College             209  Day 1: 5   08-13     Day 2: 5   06-01   Total:  10  14-1443. Trevor Easter – Clayton Easter               Tarleton State University           208  Day 1: 5   05-11     Day 2: 5   09-02   Total:  10  14-1344. Tyler Cain – Cole Dodson                     University of Montevallo            207  Day 1: 3   05-14     Day 2: 5   08-11   Total:   8  14-0945. Zach McNary – Mason Phillpotts               Grand Valley State University       206  Day 1: 5   08-02     Day 2: 5   06-06   Total:  10  14-0846. Cade Lipham – Caleb Coleman                  Drury University                    205  Day 1: 5   05-11     Day 2: 5   08-12   Total:  10  14-0747. Wade Roberts –                               LSU – Shreveport                    204  Day 1: 5   09-00     Day 2: 4   05-06   Total:   9  14-0648. Brendan Vinton – Dalton Eury                 Catawba Valley Community College    203  Day 1: 5   08-07     Day 2: 5   05-11   Total:  10  14-0249. Kaden Buchmann – Jared Hubbard               Lander University                   202  Day 1: 5   10-13     Day 2: 3   03-04   Total:   8  14-0150. Ridge Rutledge – Ryan Daugherty              Campbellsville University           201  Day 1: 5   07-01     Day 2: 5   07-00   Total:  10  14-0151. Carson Kamien – Tyson Verkaik                University of Florida               200  Day 1: 5   06-01     Day 2: 5   07-07   Total:  10  13-0852. Ryan Park – Sam Niemeyer                     Murray State University             199  Day 1: 5   09-04     Day 2: 3   04-03   Total:   8  13-0753. Noah Trant – Evan Howe                       Northwestern State University (8    198  Day 1: 5   05-00     Day 2: 5   08-07   Total:  10  13-0754. Cody Monlezun – Atlan Pfluger                Texas A&M University                197  Day 1: 5   08-13     Day 2: 3   04-06   Total:   8  13-0355. Wyatt Pearman – Dustin Bauer                 Campbellsville University           196  Day 1: 4   05-12     Day 2: 5   07-07   Total:   9  13-0356. Matt Short – Pruitt Lansdale                 Eastern Kentucky University         195  Day 1: 5   07-00     Day 2: 4   06-03   Total:   9  13-0357. Evan Sutton – Grant Olsen                    McKendree University                194  Day 1: 5   07-02     Day 2: 5   06-00   Total:  10  13-0258. Hunter Fillmore – Dylan Fogarty              Bethel University                   193  Day 1: 5   06-00     Day 2: 3   07-01   Total:   8  13-0159. Tucker Siminak – Kyle Hopping                McKendree University                192  Day 1: 5   06-09     Day 2: 4   06-06   Total:   9  12-1560. Brantley Anders – Cameron Dials              Kentucky Christian University       191  Day 1: 5   07-00     Day 2: 4   05-14   Total:   9  12-1461. Trent Buchholz – Dakota Posey                Lamar State College Orange          190  Day 1: 5   06-05     Day 2: 5   06-09   Total:  10  12-1462. Parker Brown – Layton Brown                  Dallas Baptist University           189  Day 1: 5   08-04     Day 2: 4   04-08   Total:   9  12-1263. Chris Baker – Elijah Kelley                  Kentucky Christian University       188  Day 1: 4   06-03     Day 2: 5   06-08   Total:   9  12-1164. Solomon Glenn – Briggs Alavezos              University of Montevallo            187  Day 1: 5   06-14     Day 2: 5   05-12   Total:  10  12-1065. Brock Blazier – Benjamin Blank               Wabash Valley College               186  Day 1: 5   05-14     Day 2: 5   06-11   Total:  10  12-0966. Bryant Martin – Luke Batts                   LSU – Shreveport                    185  Day 1: 5   05-15     Day 2: 5   06-10   Total:  10  12-0967. Drake Hemby – Szymon Piton                   Carson-Newman University            184  Day 1: 4   06-02     Day 2: 5   06-07   Total:   9  12-0968. Giancarlo Russo – Remington Potter           Florida Gateway College             183  Day 1: 5   06-11     Day 2: 5   05-12   Total:  10  12-0769. Carson Hickman – Jacob Dobbs                 Tarleton State University           182  Day 1: 5   07-09     Day 2: 5   04-12   Total:  10  12-0570. William Vega – Will Emmert                   Sam Houston State University        181  Day 1: 5   06-14     Day 2: 5   05-03   Total:  10  12-0171. Hunter Keller – Grant Harris                 Catawba Valley Community College    180  Day 1: 5   05-13     Day 2: 5   06-04   Total:  10  12-0172. Clay Osteen – John Mizell                    Tarleton State University           179  Day 1: 5   07-08     Day 2: 4   04-06   Total:   9  11-1473. Max Heaton – Brooks Anderson                 Emmanuel College                    178  Day 1: 5   07-05     Day 2: 3   04-05   Total:   8  11-1074. Derek Rodriguez Jr. – Mathias Dahline        Adrian College                      177  Day 1: 4   04-07     Day 2: 5   07-00   Total:   9  11-0775. Justin Botts – Tim Herrmann                  Bryan College                       176  Day 1: 4   06-07     Day 2: 4   04-14   Total:   8  11-0576. Ashton Hehr – Trevor Johnston                Texas A&M University                175  Day 1: 5   07-04     Day 2: 2   03-14   Total:   7  11-0277. Dustin Weinberg – Sawyer Brady               Blue Mountain Christian Universi    174  Day 1: 5   06-14     Day 2: 3   04-04   Total:   8  11-0278. Sawyer McCullough – Hunter Bettner           Troy University                     173  Day 1: 2   02-05     Day 2: 5   08-07   Total:   7  10-1279. Jadon Spencer – Chase Martin                 Catawba Valley Community College    172  Day 1: 5   08-04     Day 2: 2   02-08   Total:   7  10-1280. Russel Buffa – Dalton Mollenkopf             Adrian College                      171  Day 1: 5   07-00     Day 2: 3   03-09   Total:   8  10-0981. Cross Campbell – Ethan Thurston              East Texas Baptist University       170  Day 1: 4   06-00     Day 2: 3   04-08   Total:   7  10-0882. Carter Ball – Austin Tapley                  Adrian College                      169  Day 1: 5   05-10     Day 2: 5   04-14   Total:  10  10-0883. Chase Hubble – Brent May                     University of Florida               168  Day 1: 5   08-04     Day 2: 2   02-01   Total:   7  10-0584. Taylor McMullen –                            Emmanuel College                    167  Day 1: 4   06-05     Day 2: 2   04-00   Total:   6  10-0585. Carter Smith – Gannon Stork                  Wabash Valley College               166  Day 1: 1   03-01     Day 2: 4   07-03   Total:   5  10-0486. Caleb Bridges – Matthew Dopp                 Bryan College                       165  Day 1: 5   07-01     Day 2: 3   03-03   Total:   8  10-0487. John Karisny – Brodie Paige                  Louisiana Tech University           164  Day 1: 5   05-07     Day 2: 3   04-13   Total:   8  10-0488. Matthew Zdrazil – Easton Lindus              Emmanuel College                    163  Day 1: 5   07-06     Day 2: 2   02-09   Total:   7  09-1589. Miles Smith – Zach Henderson                 Georgia College                     162  Day 1: 5   06-12     Day 2: 1   03-00   Total:   6  09-1290. Dylan Breaux – Joel Richard                  Nicholls State University           161  Day 1: 5   07-01     Day 2: 2   02-04   Total:   7  09-0591. Colton Hill – Tomas Matual                   McKendree University                160  Day 1: 3   04-10     Day 2: 3   04-09   Total:   6  09-0392. Jordan Pennington – Andrew Oswalt            University of Montevallo            159  Day 1: 5   07-04     Day 2: 2   01-14   Total:   7  09-0293. Justin James – Keegan Trahan                 Lamar State College Orange          158  Day 1: 3   02-14     Day 2: 4   06-04   Total:   7  09-0294. Reece Keeney – Colby Kerr                    Kentucky Christian University       157  Day 1: 4   06-09     Day 2: 1   02-07   Total:   5  09-0095. Cooper Arthur – Luke Frankowicz              Louisiana Tech University           156  Day 1: 3   04-13     Day 2: 4   04-00   Total:   7  08-1396. Gavin Schmitz – Addison Sikes                University of Montevallo            155  Day 1: 5   06-05     Day 2: 2   02-05   Total:   7  08-1097. Roy Crush – Hunter Hernandez                 Texas A&M University                154  Day 1: 1   00-15     Day 2: 5   07-05   Total:   6  08-0498. Brody Robison – Jack Alexander               University of Montevallo            153  Day 1: 5   06-14     Day 2: 3   01-02   Total:   8  08-0099. Max Gosdin – Andrew Howell                   University of Montevallo            152  Day 1: 5   06-13     Day 2: 1   01-02   Total:   6  07-15100. Stephen Bovia – Preston Madere               Louisiana Tech University           151  Day 1: 2   03-09     Day 2: 4   04-06   Total:   6  07-15101. Wesley Smith II – Jacob Oliver               Catawba Valley Community College    150  Day 1: 4   06-13     Day 2: 1   00-14   Total:   5  07-11102. Nathan Coffman – Garrett Mawalls             LSU – Shreveport                    149  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 5   07-09   Total:   5  07-09103. Brett Jolley Jr. – Cade Nettles              East Texas Baptist University       148  Day 1: 5   04-15     Day 2: 2   02-10   Total:   7  07-09104. Brenton Godwin – Hunter Odom                 University of Montevallo            147  Day 1: 3   04-15     Day 2: 2   02-09   Total:   5  07-08105. Spencer Brister – Roeh Burton                Lamar State College Orange          146  Day 1: 4   04-12     Day 2: 3   02-11   Total:   7  07-07106. Gunner Whitaker – Mitch Johnson              Kentucky Christian University       145  Day 1: 5   07-00     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   5  07-00107. Hank Sturm – Mitch Straffon                  Adrian College                      144  Day 1: 5   06-14     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   5  06-14108. Conner Giles – Christian Wright              Bryan College                       143  Day 1: 2   02-11     Day 2: 4   04-01   Total:   6  06-12109. Dylan Benson – Austin Rose                   East Texas Baptist University       142  Day 1: 5   06-04     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   5  06-04110. Cole Thompson – Rees Williams                University of North Alabama         141  Day 1: 5   06-01     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   5  06-01111. Jacob Autry – Will Niebrugge                 Murray State University             140  Day 1: 4   04-13     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   4  04-13112. Luke Iles –                                  Northwestern State University       139  Day 1: 1   00-13     Day 2: 2   03-14   Total:   3  04-11113. Zeb Roberts – Cabe Mackey                    Catawba Valley Community College    138  Day 1: 1   01-00     Day 2: 2   03-08   Total:   3  04-08114. Kreed Averhoff – Jordan Kalsbeek             Tarleton State University           137  Day 1: 2   03-02     Day 2: 1   01-05   Total:   3  04-07115. Thomas Mingle – Braxton Simmons              University of Tennessee             136  Day 1: 3   04-06     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   3  04-06116. Lane Bailey – Justin Eggers                  Catawba Valley Community College    135  Day 1: 2   03-02     Day 2: 1   01-04   Total:   3  04-06117. Hampton Shull – Landon Surrett               Lander University                   134  Day 1: 1   01-03     Day 2: 2   02-14   Total:   3  04-01118. Seth Jenkins – TJ McKenzie                   Emmanuel College                    133  Day 1: 3   03-13     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   3  03-13119. Fischer Barber – Tucker Jordan               Troy University                     132  Day 1: 1   01-01     Day 2: 3   02-12   Total:   4  03-13120. Riley Lawson – Dawson Burton                 Kentucky Christian University       131  Day 1: 3   03-04     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   3  03-04121. Caleb Hart – Connor Vanderploeg              Grand Valley State University       130  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 2   03-03   Total:   2  03-03122. Hunter Palmer – Eli Stevenson                Bryan College                       129  Day 1: 1   01-11     Day 2: 1   01-05   Total:   2  03-00123. Kyle Knoll – Luke Morgan                     Southern Union State Community C    128  Day 1: 2   02-13     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   2  02-13124. Sid Wallace – Broxson Daigle                 Texas A&M University                127  Day 1: 1   02-02     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   1  02-02125. Caleb Jacob –                                Illinois State University           126  Day 1: 2   01-15     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   2  01-15126. Kaden Liles – Kolby Clark                    University of North Alabama         125  Day 1: 1   01-01     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   1  01-01127. Hunter Starling – William Vickery            Georgia Southern University         124  Day 1: 1   00-14     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   1  00-14128. Jacob Butts – Mark Kershaw-Klara             USC Union                             0  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00128. Carson Calvert – Austin Thomas               University of North Alabama           0  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00128. Marlee Churchman – Ty Gentry                 LSU – Shreveport                      0  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00128. Cody Clifton – Robert Hunt                   Missouri State University             0  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00128. Logan East – Rob Lindsey                     Bryan College                         0  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00128. Connor Lynch – Domenic Bartel                Grand Valley State University         0  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00128. Chandler Pruett – Wes Bailey                 Blue Mountain College                 0  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00128. Rudy Worley – Fisher Overton                 Blue Mountain College                 0  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00———————————————————————–TotalsDay   #Limits    #Fish      Weight 1        88       536       853-13 2        63       454       732-10———————————-         151       990      1586-07

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