Montevallo Claims Day 1 Lead In Bassmaster College National Championship On Winyah Bay

James Willoughby and Jacob Pfundt of the University of Montevallo are leading after Day 1 of the 2022 Strike King Bassmaster College Series National Championship on Winyah Bay presented by Bass Pro Shops with 15 pounds, 15 ounces.

September 2, 2022

Montevallo Claims Day 1 Lead In Bassmaster College National Championship On Winyah Bay

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GEORGETOWN, S.C. — Growing up in Mississippi, James Willoughby learned very quickly how to fish the tidal waters of the Pascagoula River. So, when it was announced the Strike King Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops would be held on Winyah Bay, he thought he and his partner Jacob Pfundt would feel right at home.

Sure enough, the Montevallo duo caught 15 pounds, 15 ounces to take the lead on the first day of the prestigious tournament. They hold a 1 1/2-pound lead over Andrew Vereen and Connor Cartmell from Coastal Carolina University and over a 2-pound advantage over Cole Lamb and Tristan Weaver from Arkansas Tech.

Securing a big bag this early in the tournament takes some of the pressure off, Pfundt said.

“It takes the weight off our shoulders for sure,” the Lake Lanier native said. “I wouldn’t say we got the hardest part done with, but we aren’t working uphill at this point. I don’t think Montevallo has won a National Championship, so it would be huge to accomplish that.”

After visiting several spots without a bite, the duo continued to move around and grinded out five good bites, including two 4-pounders. Willoughby said that while he knew they were around bass in practice, he had no idea what the quality would be like.

“It had to be better than we expected,” he said. “Nobody can guess they are going to get two 4-pound bites. I knew we were around some fish, but I didn’t think they were going to be that big. I truly don’t know what we will have tomorrow. It could be anything. It could be 6 pounds.

There is no telling. We set our target weight at 10 or 11 pounds because we thought you could catch 22 pounds and make it to the final day. But it seems like they caught them a lot better than we thought.”

Tide creates bite windows for anglers each day and is crucial to Willoughby and Pfundt’s bite. And while he is familiar with tidal systems, Willoughby said Winyah Bay is different from his home waters in how much the tide swings on a given day.

“Tide plays a role in everyone’s bite out here whether they realize it or not,” he explained. “I grew up on a tidal fishery so it helps me better understand it out here. It is a unique thing to figure out, I will say. The tide swings, like, 3 feet a day and it doesn’t stop but for about 30 minutes and then it is back the other way.”

Vereen and Cartmell meanwhile, put their local knowledge to work and sacked 14-6 on Day 1.

Vereen grew up in nearby Murrells Inlet and has fished the Winyah Bay system his entire life. So, when the championship was announced on his home fishery for his senior year, he was pumped. Cartmell grew up around the Lake Murray area and has essentially taken a crash course in tidal fishing during his four years at CCU.

“It was about time to go to Saginaw Bay and we heard it was going to be at Winyah Bay and I was like, ‘Connor, we have to qualify.’ We didn’t qualify in Michigan, but we went down to (the Wild Card) at Logan Martin and qualified.”

While they are in second going into Day 2, they were a little disappointed with their total weight Friday.

“We had expectations that were higher than 14 pounds,” Cartmell said. “We wanted 16 or 17 after today. We had an okay practice but (this bag) was enough for today.”

Their starting spot only produced one 12-incher. But after a spot change, they caught everything they put on the scales in a 30-minute window in a 1/2-mile stretch of the Santee River.

“We ran up a little further and decided we were going to put our heads down and fish. We fished back until we had a limit,” Vereen said. “We got them dialed in on one bait. That is the only thing they want. We tried to catch them on other stuff but it is not happening.”

They added that several other competitors were in the same area they were fishing, more than Vereen said he would like to have around him. Getting the bite windows correct is crucial to their success as well. After 11 a.m., when the incoming tide began to filter back into the river, they did not get a bite.

Lamb and Weaver may be from Arkansas, but they spend a lot of time on the White River, which often acts as a tidal fishery depending on the dam schedules of Norfork and Bull Shoals.

“People think about trout fishing there but we bass fish,” Lamb said. “It is probably the only place that isn’t tidal that rises and falls 4 or 5 feet a day. Because of that, we have spots that change all day and as the tide comes up we can switch.”

That helped the Arkansas Tech duo adjust to real tidal fishing quickly and catch 13-9 on Day 1 at Winyah Bay to land in third.

“It is a tough spot to get into, but once we started fishing it went down pretty quickly,” Lamb said. “After 30 minutes, we were done fishing so we could save it for the next few days. We hope there are more there. We probably caught 20 in the first 30 minutes.”

Lamb and Weaver have one main area they are fishing, but there are a couple of sweet spots they have located where the bass will position depending on what the tide is doing. They estimated they caught around 20 or 30 bass and their bag was anchored by a 4 1/2-pounder.

“Today went a little better than we expected,” Lamb said. “We had a couple of bigger fish and we expected all our fish to be an average size. We had some bigger bites today and were fortunate enough to get them in the boat. Hopefully, we can get them again tomorrow.”

The Drury University team of Jacob Welch and Lee Lambrecht caught a 7-2 largemouth to lead the Big Bass of the Tournament standings.

The full field will launch from Carroll A. Campbell Marine Complex in Georgetown starting at 6:30 a.m. ET and return for weigh-in in downtown Georgetown beginning at 2:30 p.m. The Top 12 teams after the Day 2 weigh-in will advance to Championship Sunday. Weigh-in coverage will be carried on Bassmaster.com.

2022 Strike King Bassmaster College Series National Championship at Winyah Bay presented by Bass Pro Shops 9/2-9/4Winyah Bay, Georgetown  SC.(BOATER) Standings Day 1

    Angler                                       Club/School                       Pts

1.  James Willoughby – Jacob Pfundt              University of Montevallo            250Day 1: 5   15-15   Total:   5  15-152.  Andrew Vereen – Connor Cartmell              Coastal Carolina University         249Day 1: 5   14-06   Total:   5  14-063.  Cole Lamb – Tristan Weaver                   Arkansas Tech University            248Day 1: 5   13-09   Total:   5  13-094.  Jake Monti – Samuel Dunson                   UNC Charlotte                       247Day 1: 5   13-00   Total:   5  13-005.  Tyler Christy – Trey Schroeder               McKendree University                246Day 1: 5   12-14   Total:   5  12-145.  Matthew Zdrazil – Easton Lindus              Emmanuel College                    246Day 1: 5   12-14   Total:   5  12-147.  Blake Richards – James Gillis                Clarkson University                 244Day 1: 5   12-10   Total:   5  12-108.  Carson Maddux – Robert Cruvellier            Auburn University                   243Day 1: 5   12-08   Total:   5  12-088.  Tommy Sendek – Grayson Morris                University of Montevallo            243Day 1: 5   12-08   Total:   5  12-0810. Jackson Swisher – Seth Slanker               Florida Gateway College             241Day 1: 5   11-15   Total:   5  11-1511. Zack Barrera – Bryson Osteen                 Florida Gateway College             240Day 1: 5   11-14   Total:   5  11-1412. Ryan Franks – Jason Reding                   Kent State University               239Day 1: 5   11-12   Total:   5  11-1213. Hayden Gaddis – Ben Cully                    Carson-Newman University            238Day 1: 5   11-11   Total:   5  11-1114. Zach Malinowski – Kevin Langlands            Grand Valley State University       237Day 1: 5   11-09   Total:   5  11-0915. Russel Buffa – Jenson Kay                    Adrian College                      236Day 1: 5   11-06   Total:   5  11-0616. Connor Jacob – Sam Smith                     Auburn University                   235Day 1: 5   11-05   Total:   5  11-0517. Conner Giles – Christian Wright              Bryan College                       234Day 1: 5   11-03   Total:   5  11-0318. Chase Milholen – Cody Gregory                Bethel University                   233Day 1: 5   10-12   Total:   5  10-1219. Jacob Welch – Lee Lambrecht                  Drury University                    232Day 1: 3   10-11   Total:   3  10-1120. Cy Casey – Tanner Hadden                     Emmanuel College                    231Day 1: 5   10-08   Total:   5  10-0821. Parker Greer – Andrew Shadle                 Baylor University                   230Day 1: 5   10-07   Total:   5  10-0721. Adrian Urso – Corbin Templon                 Murray State University             230Day 1: 5   10-07   Total:   5  10-0723. Ryan Feehan – Spence Francis                 Virginia Tech University            228Day 1: 5   10-06   Total:   5  10-0624. Victor Alford – Logan East                   Bryan College                       227Day 1: 5   10-03   Total:   5  10-0325. Owen Januszewski – Matt Mosby                Adrian College                      226Day 1: 5   10-01   Total:   5  10-0126. Matthew Benson – Nathanael Wright            Emmanuel College                    225Day 1: 5   09-15   Total:   5  09-1526. Luke Glasgow – James Ikerd                   Mississippi State University        225Day 1: 5   09-15   Total:   5  09-1528. Drew Traffanstedt – Dakendrick Patterson     University of Montevallo            223Day 1: 5   09-14   Total:   5  09-1429. Tyler Cory – Scott Sledge                    University of Montevallo            222Day 1: 5   09-13   Total:   5  09-1329. Peyton Harris – Dalton Head                  University of Montevallo            222Day 1: 5   09-13   Total:   5  09-1331. Lane Lassiter – Tyler Finley                 University of North Alabama         220Day 1: 5   09-11   Total:   5  09-1132. Wyatt Pearman – Dustin Bauer                 Campbellsville University           219Day 1: 5   09-10   Total:   5  09-1033. Chase Hubble – Brent May                     Florida Gateway College             218Day 1: 5   09-09   Total:   5  09-0933. Mitch Johnson – Gunner Whitaker              Kentucky Christian University       218Day 1: 5   09-09   Total:   5  09-0935. Matthew Davis –                              Adrian College                      216Day 1: 5   09-09   Total:   5  09-0936. Avery Hammock – Garrett Smith                Erskine College                     215Day 1: 5   09-07   Total:   5  09-0737. Brian Linder – Nathan Thompson               Minnesota State – Mankato           214Day 1: 5   09-06   Total:   5  09-0638. Matthew Cummings – Levi Mullins              Bethel University                   213Day 1: 5   09-05   Total:   5  09-0539. Connor Hicks – Austin Wadzinski              University of Tennessee             212Day 1: 5   09-03   Total:   5  09-0339. Michael Postlewait – Andrew Rickman          Dallas Baptist University           212Day 1: 5   09-03   Total:   5  09-0341. Braden Perry – Aidan England                 Carson-Newman University            210Day 1: 5   09-02   Total:   5  09-0242. Will Harkins – Mitchell Grimsley             Young Harris College                209Day 1: 5   09-02   Total:   5  09-0243. Hunter Baird – Cole Breeden                  Drury University                    208Day 1: 5   09-01   Total:   5  09-0144. Brooks Anderson – Parker Guy                 Emmanuel College                    207Day 1: 5   08-15   Total:   5  08-1544. Jackson Denny – Colton Parrott               University of South Carolina        207Day 1: 5   08-15   Total:   5  08-1544. Hunter Greer – Austin Speer                  Northwestern State University       207Day 1: 5   08-15   Total:   5  08-1547. Tyler Anderson – Britt Myers                 Lander University                   204Day 1: 5   08-14   Total:   5  08-1448. Brady Rufenacht – Nick Redlin                University of Wisconsin- Plattev    203Day 1: 5   08-13   Total:   5  08-1349. Jackson Ebbers – Hunter Suchsland            University of Nebraska-Lincoln      202Day 1: 5   08-08   Total:   5  08-0850. Hunter MCClaskey – Landon Lawson             King University                     201Day 1: 5   08-04   Total:   5  08-0451. Jack Dice –                                  Liberty University                  200Day 1: 5   08-04   Total:   5  08-0452. Lucas Smith – Dalton Mize                    Jacksonville State University       199Day 1: 5   08-03   Total:   5  08-0353. Conner Dimauro – Justin Botts                Bryan College                       198Day 1: 5   08-02   Total:   5  08-0253. Robert Gee – Chad Sentell                    University of Tennessee             198Day 1: 5   08-02   Total:   5  08-0255. Cody Griffith – Drew Jennings                Auburn University                   196Day 1: 5   08-01   Total:   5  08-0156. Brody Robison – Jack Alexander               University of Montevallo            195Day 1: 5   07-15   Total:   5  07-1557. Hayden O’barr – Tyler Lubbat                 University of Alabama               194Day 1: 3   07-15   Total:   3  07-1558. Jackson Paden – Joseph Bissing               University of Tennessee             193Day 1: 5   07-14   Total:   5  07-1458. Colton White – Chance Schwartz               University of Montevallo            193Day 1: 5   07-14   Total:   5  07-1460. Tj Davis – Austin Callovini                  Greenville University               191Day 1: 5   07-13   Total:   5  07-1360. Ryan Park –                                  Murray State University             191Day 1: 5   07-13   Total:   5  07-1360. Kopeland Rosser – Ryan Branch                University of Montevallo            191Day 1: 5   07-13   Total:   5  07-1363. Chase Clarke – Peyton McCord                 Auburn University                   188Day 1: 5   07-11   Total:   5  07-1163. Camden Lewis – TJ Edwards Jr                 Blue Mountain College               188Day 1: 5   07-11   Total:   5  07-1163. Eli Stevenson – Hunter Palmer                Bryan College                       188Day 1: 5   07-11   Total:   5  07-1166. Logan Parks – Tucker Smith                   Auburn University                   185Day 1: 5   07-11   Total:   5  07-1167. Jayce Garrison – Mason Hoke                  Sam Houston State University        184Day 1: 5   07-09   Total:   5  07-0967. Hunter Keller – Wesley Smith                 Catawba Valley Community College    184Day 1: 5   07-09   Total:   5  07-0967. Kyle Simmons – Brett Halstead                Kansas State University             184Day 1: 5   07-09   Total:   5  07-0970. Joshua DeKoning – Dalton Mollenkopf          Adrian College                      181Day 1: 5   07-08   Total:   5  07-0870. Lafe Messer – Matt Messer                    Kentucky Christian University       181Day 1: 5   07-08   Total:   5  07-0872. Brady Duncan – Stevie Mills                  Carson-Newman University            179Day 1: 4   07-08   Total:   4  07-0873. Brock Bila – Dylan Chambers                  Drury University                    178Day 1: 5   07-07   Total:   5  07-0773. Noah Campbell – Troy Harris                  Georgia College                     178Day 1: 5   07-07   Total:   5  07-0775. Jeremy Dellinger – Adam Seagle               Erskine College                     176Day 1: 5   07-06   Total:   5  07-0676. John Mark Berry – Blake Bullock              Blue Mountain College               175Day 1: 5   07-03   Total:   5  07-0376. Brayden Mercer – Corey Morris                East Texas Baptist University       175Day 1: 5   07-03   Total:   5  07-0376. Kaden Proffitt – Cason Ragsdale              East Texas Baptist University       175Day 1: 5   07-03   Total:   5  07-0379. Jake Peck – Beau Browning                    Drury University                    172Day 1: 5   07-02   Total:   5  07-0280. Tanner Barclay – Lloyd Laconsay              Auburn University                   171Day 1: 5   07-01   Total:   5  07-0181. Luke Morgan – Kyle Knoll                     Southern Union State Community C    170Day 1: 5   06-15   Total:   5  06-1582. John Harrell – Camden Romero                 Hinds Community College             169Day 1: 5   06-14   Total:   5  06-1483. Griffin Fernandes – Hayden Scott             Adrian College                      168Day 1: 5   06-12   Total:   5  06-1283. Reece Martin – Mark Harris                   Dallas Baptist University           168Day 1: 5   06-12   Total:   5  06-1283. Jordan Pennington – Weston Hollar            University of Montevallo            168Day 1: 5   06-12   Total:   5  06-1286. Lane Bailey – Justin Eggers                  Catawba Valley Community College    165Day 1: 5   06-11   Total:   5  06-1186. Cordell Beckmann – Mark Burnham              Greenville University               165Day 1: 5   06-11   Total:   5  06-1188. Andrew Ready – Vince Maffei                  Webber International University     163Day 1: 5   06-10   Total:   5  06-1089. Camden Trautlein – Bryce Dallas              UW-Stout                            162Day 1: 5   06-09   Total:   5  06-0990. Tyler Pendergrass – Benson Dowler            University of North Alabama         161Day 1: 5   06-07   Total:   5  06-0791. Chase Sansom – Tyler Drown                   Marshall University                 160Day 1: 5   06-04   Total:   5  06-0492. Michael Fugaro – Louis Monetti               UNC Charlotte                       159Day 1: 5   06-03   Total:   5  06-0393. Logan Bozeman – Andrew Fryer                 Southern Union State Community C    158Day 1: 5   06-01   Total:   5  06-0194. Harmon Marien – Bailey Bleser                McKendree University                157Day 1: 5   06-00   Total:   5  06-0095. Keaton Smith – Matthew Bradham               Campbellsville University           156Day 1: 4   06-00   Total:   4  06-0096. Kyle Hopping – Jaxson Freeman                McKendree University                155Day 1: 5   05-15   Total:   5  05-1596. Bradley Martin – Jack Baron                  University of Montevallo            155Day 1: 5   05-15   Total:   5  05-1598. Easton Fothergill – Nick Dumke               University of Montevallo            153Day 1: 5   05-10   Total:   5  05-1098. Colton Hill – Trey Budach                    McKendree University                153Day 1: 5   05-10   Total:   5  05-10100. Drew Gill – Jonah Potts                      Wabash Valley College               151Day 1: 5   05-10   Total:   5  05-10101. Colin Wolinski – Garrett Weiss               Missouri State University           150Day 1: 5   05-07   Total:   5  05-07102. Logan Anderson – Tyler Little                North Carolina State University     149Day 1: 5   05-06   Total:   5  05-06103. Broxson Daigle – Aaron Hawkins               Texas A&M University                148Day 1: 5   05-03   Total:   5  05-03104. Troy Gibson – Jake Novotny                   University of Louisville            147Day 1: 4   05-02   Total:   4  05-02105. Evan Thomas – Joey Williams                  Liberty University                  146Day 1: 4   05-01   Total:   4  05-01106. Chase Carey – Dylan Akins                    Emmanuel College                    145Day 1: 5   05-00   Total:   5  05-00107. Lilly Smith – Anderson Jones                 Lander University                   144Day 1: 4   04-14   Total:   4  04-14108. Dakota Posey – Trent Buchholz                Lamar State College Orange          143Day 1: 5   04-05   Total:   5  04-05109. Cole Hopson – Callaway Robinson              Georgia College                     142Day 1: 4   04-03   Total:   4  04-03110. TJ McKenzie – Seth Jenkins                   Emmanuel College                    141Day 1: 2   04-03   Total:   2  04-03111. Solomon Glenn – Ryan Thomas                  University of Montervallo           140Day 1: 3   03-14   Total:   3  03-14112. Sam Hanggi – Sam Hoesley                     Auburn University                   139Day 1: 2   03-05   Total:   2  03-05113. Kaleb Brown – Chad Mrazek                    Lander University                   138Day 1: 2   03-00   Total:   2  03-00114. Kobe Thompson –                              Adrian College                      137Day 1: 2   02-12   Total:   2  02-12115. Zach Mcnary – Eric Hanover                   Grand Valley State University       136Day 1: 2   02-11   Total:   2  02-11115. Jack Tindel – Brett Fregia                   Lamar State College Orange          136Day 1: 2   02-11   Total:   2  02-11117. Garrett Thompson – Corey Pyles               West Virginia University            134Day 1: 2   02-08   Total:   2  02-08117. Sid Wallace – Braedon Metzgar                Texas A&M University                134Day 1: 2   02-08   Total:   2  02-08119. Cal Culpepper – Aaron Cherry                 University of Montevallo            132Day 1: 2   02-04   Total:   2  02-04120. Koltyn Harbin – Baylor Howell                Bethel University                   131Day 1: 2   02-00   Total:   2  02-00———————————————————————–TotalsDay   #Limits    #Fish      Weight1       101       558       961-03———————————-101       558       961-03

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