Tyler Firebaugh (left) and Chad Sweitzer of Chico State win the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Western Regional presented by Bass Pro Shops on Lake Shasta with a three-day total weight of 36 pounds, 5 ounces.
Photo by Mark Hicks/B.A.S.S.
April 21, 2017
REDDING, Calif. — Today, the Chico State team of Tyler Firebaugh and Chad Sweitzer won the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Western Regional presented by Bass Pro Shops. Their five-bass limit of 10 pounds, 14 ounces, brought their three-day total to 36-5.
Firebaugh and Sweitzer’s final limit came on a day when the fishing was slower for the field of 16 college teams than it had been the previous two days. Their final-round performance proved that the astonishing leap they made Thursday from last to first place was no fluke.
“We were catching good fish in practice when it was sunny,” said Sweitzer.
Their most productive tactic in practice was casting soft plastic Senko worms to flooded trees. However, the first day of the tournament was cloudy and their Senko bite did not produce as well as it had in practice.
“Since we were in last place the first day, we figured our only chance to win was to go for broke,” Sweitzer said.
Going for broke meant starting their second day of competition casting big, jointed, hard-plastic swimbaits to coax one of Shasta’s trophy spotted bass to bite. Sweitzer has caught spotted bass in excess of 8 pounds on other lakes with a swimbait, so this wasn’t new to him.
About 90 minutes after takeoff on Thursday, something resembling a submarine swam up and engulfed Sweitzer’s swimbait.
“He kept screaming at me that he had hooked the world-record spotted bass,” Firebaugh said.
When the rotund bass was safely netted and in the boat, they found that Sweitzer hadn’t been far off. The bass weighed 9-10 later at the weigh-in, roughly 1 pound shy of the world record. The enormous bass brought Firebaugh and Sweitzer’s second-day, five-bass limit to 18-0, which was the heaviest of the tournament.
The trophy spotted bass was the only fish the pair caught on a swimbait during the entire event.
With sunny, warm weather on the third day, the Senko pattern Firebaugh and Sweitzer had found in practice worked well again. It produced better quality bass today then the other college teams could muster.
By winning the tournament, Firebaugh and Sweitzer earned $4,500 for the Chico State bass fishing team. They also received a $1,500 first prize, plus the $500 Big Bass Award for catching the heaviest bass of the tournament. Add to this the Nitro Big Bag $250 gift card for the heaviest limit of the tournament.
Even more important, Firebaugh and Sweitzer earned a berth into the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops, which will be held later this summer.
The second place team, from the University of Oregon, also qualified for the Bassmaster College National Championship. That team consisted of one person, Jacob Wall, who fished alone on all three days. Wall won the Bassmaster College Series Western Regional last year at Lake Mead, Nevada.
Advancing to the Bassmaster College Series National Championship puts Wall, Firebaugh and Sweitzer one step closer to the dream of qualifying for the Bassmaster Classic. The eventual College Series Classic Bracket champion receives an invitation to the 2018 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.
2017 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Title Sponsor: Carhartt
2017 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Presenting Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops
2017 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2017 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Premier Sponsors: Huk, Skeeter Boats, Humminbird, Mercury, Shell Rotella, Triton Boats, Yamaha, Berkley, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole
2017 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Supporting Sponsors: Lowrance, Costa, Shimano, St. Croix Rods, ABU Garcia, Advance Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Livingston Lures, Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), social media programs and events. For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, Academy Sports + Outdoors B.A.S.S. Nation presented by Magellan, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Costa Bassmaster High School Series presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.
