Consistency is going to be a key element for teams fishing the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series this year, said University of South Carolina bass team member Gettys Brannon as he prepared for the 2015 season which kicks off Jan. 3 with the Carhartt Southern Conference Regional on Florida’s St. John’s River.

Consistency is an attribute that the college teams will have to develop as B.A.S.S. has gone from two-day tournaments to three competition days starting in 2015, Brannon said. Hank Weldon, director of the college fishing program for B.A.S.S., agreed.

“College teams competing in our series are so strong now, they can easily step up to the challenge of a three-day tournament,” Weldon said “It’s exciting to see the level of competition increase every year.”

“We are seeing a lot more college anglers transition from the college level to the pro level, so I think this will help guys figure out what is needed between a one- or two-day tournament and a three-day tournament,” said Brannon, president of the Anglers @ USC, the university’s bass tournament organization. “Consistency will play a much bigger role this year than in past years.”

Consistency is a trait Brannon is looking forward to developing with his new teammate for the 2015 season, Tom Brewbaker of Montgomery, Ala. The duo will be fishing the Bassmaster Carhartt College Series and the FLW College Fishing Series, plus the Alabama Bass Trail which premiered in 2014 and has expanded both the number of lakes and the total prize money to be awarded for 2015.

While the change ends the successful partnership Brannon had with former teammate Patrick Walters of Summerville, S.C., the pair have one more major event to fish together – the FLW College Fishing National Championship on South Carolina’s Lake Murray April 17-19.

“We are the only two college anglers from South Carolina that qualified for the championship on Lake Murray,” Brannon said. “Lake Murray is a hard lake to figure out with the herring bite and the way the fish interact out there. They act like saltwater fish a lot of times.”

Brannon, a junior advertising and marketing major, and Walters finished 5th in the Southeastern Division tournament on Lake Guntersville in May and capped that with a 9th place finish in the Lake Chickamauga Invitational Oct. 18-19 to qualify for the FLW National College Championship.

In 2014 the duo finished 28th in the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Southern Division tournament on Lake Okeechobee in January, 18th in the Carhartt College B.A.S.S. Wild Card on Pickwick Lake in June, and then fished into 8th place in the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship Chatuge Reservoir in Georgia in early August.

Brannon said the change in partners was made to expand the number of teams Anglers @ USC will field in tournaments in 2015, opening the door for many of the two dozen or more freshmen anglers eager to get on the water.

“Some of them are from other areas and don’t have the ability to bring a boat here and pay storage,” he said. “We will have more teams fishing this year than we have ever had before. Hopefully, that will help us build our individual rankings even more, but build our team rankings as well.”

Brannon, who is leaving the day after Christmas for the St. John’s River, will team with Brewbaker to find out as much about the fishing as possible before the tournament begins Jan. 3. They and three other University of South Carolina teams are among the more than 100 preregistered teams competing for a position for the national championship next summer. There are a minimum of 10 qualifying spots for the 2015 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship, which leads to a berth in the 2016 GEICO Bassmaster Classic.

“St. John’s is a beast,” he said. “Reading currents and understanding tidal changes is going to be a big factor in the tournament.”

The tidal influence on Crescent Lake of nearly a foot will be in full swing because the tournament falls on a full moon, for instance. If the weather sets up right prior to the event, there is also the possibility of a full-blown spawn.

“It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. I think that because the tide changes the bite completely, it will be necessary to find as many fish in practice as we can. Then during the tournament we will be running and gunning,” Brannon said.

The goal, he said, will be to make the top 20 and qualify for the national championship, adding: “It’s going to be fun.”

 

B.A.S.S. Carhartt College Series – Southern Conference Regional

Jan 3-5, 2015

St Johns River

Bull Creek Fish Camp

www.bassmaster.com/college