GEORGETOWN, S.C. — Patrick Walters and Tyler All of the University of South Carolina stayed consistent and caught 13 pounds, 12 ounces to take the lead at the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Southern Regional presented by Bass Pro Shops at Winyah Bay, bringing a total weight of 27-3 on Friday.

Some adverse conditions were presented to the full field of anglers as the temperature dropped 30 degrees overnight. The strong north wind that was present on Thursday blew in a cold front, and teams had to adjust on the fly Friday.

The Summerville, S.C., anglers used their local knowledge to the fullest as they capitalized on their area and brought another 13 pounds to the weigh-in scales. Even with the change in weather, they stuck to their plan and executed.

“Everything went as planned today,” Walters said. “Consistency pays the bills. If you’re fluctuating weights day-to-day, then you probably aren’t in contention to win.”

With water temperatures in the 60s, and bass thinking about spawning, the last thing anglers want is a cold front that may stall the bite and reposition the bass. The 35-degree air temperature seemed to impact the anglers more than the bass, but another night of cold temperatures could tell the fish to move from their staging areas.

“The fish weren’t as active as they were Thursday,” Walters said. “We had a chance at a bigger bag yesterday and didn’t make it happen. We are interested to see how the weather changes things, but if I had to fish an area for a 5-pounder on Winyah Bay it would be the area we are in for sure.”

The former college champion is cautiously optimistic, but nothing is a given on Winyah Bay where consistency isn’t the easiest thing to duplicate. They take a 1-4 lead into the final day over the Coastal Carolina teammates Jonathan Kelley and Max McQuaide.

Kelley and McQuaide jumped from sixth into second place because they brought the biggest bag to the scales on Friday. Their 14-12 weight vaulted them up the leaderboard and put them in contention to not only qualify for the Carhartt Bassmastr National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops, but to also contend for a title on Saturday.

The Coastal Carolina duo desperately needed sunshine on Thursday and the windy, cloudy conditions didn’t do them any favors, but with a full day of sunshine they put together the second-biggest limit of the week.

“It didn’t come easy at first,” Kelley said. “We had to change up and fish slower with a worm until we solidified our limit.”

“We’ve been getting plenty of bites,” McQuaide said. “Today we got the right bites, and we have to hope to hook into a giant tomorrow.”

Slowing down paid off for Kelley and McQuaide, but they also found a “magic tree” that they relied on for a lot of their success on Friday.

“We found this tree, and we caught four fish off it,” Kelley said. “Three of those fish were our biggest today.”

They passed their teammates John Duarte and Chesley Alford who were the Day 1 leaders. They now go from the hunted to the hunters as they dropped to third. The duo caught 10-2 on Friday, but feel like they are dwindling their population of fish and they aren’t reloading, so they plan to make a big change in areas for Saturday’s final day.

The gap between the Top 3 and the rest of the field is significant as Armando Ortiz and Dylan McKee of Auburn University are in fourth place with 22-14, almost a full 3 pounds behind third place. Cody Stahl and Daniel Kennedy of the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia sit in fifth with 21-7.

The full field is now cut to the Top 20 and the surviving teams will fish one more day on Winyah Bay in hopes of jumping into the Top 13 to qualify for the National Championship, which will be held this summer and announced at a later date.

Jarrett Brown and Porter James of the University of Montevallo in Alabama are on the Top 13 bubble, and the bottom seven teams are within a pound and a half of the final qualifying spot so the final day should be interesting.

Takeoff will happen at 6:30 a.m. ET at the Carroll Ashmore Campbell Marine Complex, which is located at 101 River Walk Drive, Georgetown, S.C. 29440. Weigh-in will now shift to Downtown Georgetown and will be held at 729 Front St. Georgetown, S.C. at 3:30 p.m.

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: Humminbird, Huk, Skeeter Boats, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Yamaha, Berkley, Power-Pole, Shell Rotella, Triton Boats

2017 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Supporting Sponsors: ABU Garcia, St. Croix Rods, Shimano, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Costa, 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, 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.

-30-

Media Contact: JamieDay Matthews, 205-313-0945, [email protected] or Dave Precht, 205-313-0931, [email protected]

Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Southern Regional presented by Bass Pro Shops
3/2/2017 - 3/4/2017
Winyah Bay - Carroll Ashmore Campbell Marine Complex - Georgetown, SC
STANDINGS BOATER DAY 2
 
Name # Fish # Live Lbs – Oz # Fish # Live Lbs – Oz
 
1 Patrick Walters - Tyler All University of South Carolina 5 5 13-12 10 10 27- 3
2 Jonathan Kelley - Max McQuiade Coastal Carolina University 5 5 14-12 10 10 25-15
3 John Duarte - Chesley Alford Coastal Carolina University 5 5 10- 2 10 10 25-12
4 Armando Ortiz - Dylan McKee Auburn University 5 5 13- 2 10 10 22-14
5 Cody Stahl - Daniel Kennedy SCAD 5 5 10-13 10 10 21- 7
6 Sean Hall - Noah Pescitelli SCAD 5 5 10- 8 10 10 21- 6
7 Collin Smith - Ben Stone Lander University 5 5 13- 9 10 10 21- 5
8 Rick Couch Jr - John Kaufman U. of Central Florida 5 5 10-11 10 10 21- 2
9 Spencer DeFoor - Brandon Bland U. of South Alabama 5 5 11-13 10 10 20- 8
10 Max Gresham - Zack Blake Valdosta State University 5 5 7- 3 10 10 20- 4
11 Chris Hiott - Kendall Pierce UAB 5 5 10- 3 10 10 19-10
12 Zachary Ramsey - Joshua Rockefeller Augusta University 5 5 13- 2 10 10 19- 9
13 Jarrett Brown - Porter James University of Montevallo 5 5 8-12 10 10 19- 0
14 J T Russell - Chase Grubbs University of Montevallo 5 5 7- 5 10 10 18-12
15 Austin Mize - Ethan Goodwin U. of North Alabama 5 5 8- 3 10 10 18- 7
16 Caleb Bundy - Alex Moore U. of Central Florida 5 5 11- 4 9 9 18- 6
17 Baylor Ronemus - Cole Tinsley Clemson University 3 3 5- 2 8 7 18- 1
18 Daniel Murkerson - Case Key UAB 5 5 11- 7 8 8 17- 7
19 Andrew Warbington - Brant Lewis University of West Alabama 5 5 10- 5 10 10 17- 7
20 Wesley Griner - Nathan Ragsdale University of Georgia 5 5 9- 6 10 10 17- 7
21 Hunter Franklin - Jesse Morrison U. of South Alabama 5 5 8- 1 10 10 17- 5
22 Brett Blackwood - Justin Grigg Winthrop University 5 5 8- 5 10 10 16-14
23 Chris Carnes - Tyler Lawwill UNC Charlotte 5 5 7- 9 10 10 16-13
24 Hunter McCarty - Sloan Pennington U. of North Alabama 5 5 10- 3 9 9 16-12
25 Austin Handley - Caleb Wozniak Auburn University 5 5 12- 1 8 8 16- 9
26 Joshua Butts - Reid Connor Wallace State Hanceville 5 4 8- 1 10 9 16- 3
27 Zachary Bodford - Hunter Whitman NC State University 5 5 7- 9 10 10 15-14
28 Brady Vernon - John Turner University of Montevallo 5 5 7-14 10 10 15-10
29 Alec Lower - Ryan Glennon NC State University 5 5 8- 2 10 10 15- 0
30 Justin Barnes - Cole Blackmon Alabama Southern 5 5 10- 4 8 8 14- 7
31 Jordan Heath - Taylor Tew Auburn University 3 3 4- 5 7 7 14- 6
32 Tyler Woolcott - Daytona State College 3 3 5- 6 8 8 14- 6
33 Brian Travers - Hunter Moore Liberty University 5 5 7- 5 10 10 14- 5
34 Nathan Martin - Bridger Thomas U. of North Alabama 4 4 6- 9 7 7 14- 3
35 Austin Stanley - Knox Daniels Georgia College 5 5 5-11 9 9 13-14
36 Cole Burdeshaw - Cameron Mercer Auburn University 2 2 3-13 7 7 13-13
37 Daulton Smith - Cody Billings University of Georgia 5 5 10- 0 7 7 13-11
38 Cole Hewett - Jacob Romani U. of Central Florida 4 4 6-14 9 9 13-11
39 Ryan Kent - Tyler Wilson Georgia Southern University 4 4 7-13 7 7 13- 5
40 Zac Bennett - Tucker Sweat Georgia College 5 5 8- 4 9 9 12- 9
41 Thomas Oltorik III - John Byrd Stetson University 2 2 3-11 7 7 12- 4
42 Jake Smith - Larry Partain Wallace State Hanceville 5 5 8- 3 7 7 12- 4
43 Daniel Adrien - Mason Bond Georgia College 5 5 8- 7 7 7 12- 2
44 Tyler Brown - Clemson University 3 3 3- 0 8 8 12- 1
45 Derek Freeman - Robert White Clemson University 5 5 7- 5 8 8 11-10
46 Jared Baker - Darius Williams Georgia Southern University 5 5 8- 2 7 7 11- 8
47 Brodie Cox - Jacob Robbins Clemson University 3 3 4-15 7 7 11- 7
48 Hunter McKamey - Kyle Oliver U. of Central Florida 0 0 0- 0 5 5 10- 8
49 Matthew Cantrell - Grant Bergeron University of Florida 5 5 8-11 6 6 10- 7
50 Nick Gresens - Chase Williams Georgia College 5 5 6- 1 8 8 10- 4
51 Caiden Sinclair - Hunter Gibson University of Alabama 2 2 2- 4 7 7 10- 2
52 Cole Nunnery - Jack Stegall Mississippi State 2 2 2- 8 7 7 10- 1
53 Justin Roberts - Alexis Joyce SCAD 2 2 4- 7 4 4 8-14
54 Tyler Smith - Cody Whisenhunt U. of South Alabama 5 5 8-13 5 5 8-13
55 Laura Ann Foshee - Katie Connolly SCAD 4 4 4-14 7 7 8-11
56 Justin Jones - Zach Lineberry Troy University 2 2 3- 6 5 5 8- 8
57 Dylan Burton - Andrew Shaddix U. of South Alabama 0 0 0- 0 4 4 8- 6
58 Hunter Bland - Connor Young University of Florida 4 4 4-15 6 6 7-12
59 Jesse James - AJ Etheredge Troy University 3 3 3- 4 6 6 7- 5
60 Wesley Fox - Nick Schultz UNC Charlotte 0 0 0- 0 4 4 5-13
61 Jake Lee - Jacob Foutz Bryan College 0 0 0- 0 3 3 5-13
62 Hayden Carnell - Joshua McQueen UAB 0 0 0- 0 4 4 5- 3
63 Allan Stack - Ross Dove Clemson University 2 2 2-13 4 4 4-10
64 Morgan Locke - Florida State University 0 0 0- 0 2 2 4- 6
65 Chase Christie - Brandon Black University of West Georgia 0 0 0- 0 3 3 3-11
66 Dylan Bucci - Collin Reedy University of Florida 1 1 1- 8 2 2 3- 8
67 Tucker Adams - Bryce White Mississippi State 0 0 0- 0 2 2 2-15
68 Nathan Bell - Cole Sands Bryan College 0 0 0- 0 2 2 2-11
69 Andrew Kiser - Dean Legg Clemson University 0 0 0- 0 1 1 2- 3
70 Michael Blake - Jayme Dewberry Auburn University 2 2 1-15 2 2 1-15
71 John Defore - Colton Granger Troy University 0 0 0- 0 1 1 1-12
72 Zachary Phillips - Noah Coleman Liberty University 1 1 1- 7 1 1 1- 7
73 Jaci Skipper - Ryleigh Tyson SCAD 0 0 0- 0 1 1 1- 1
74 AJ Faught - Austin Scott Wallace State Hanceville 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
74 Tucker Hill - Austin Birch Georgia Southern University 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
74 Caleb Roberson - Brinson Laliberte The Citadel 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
74 Miller Spivey - Logan Ledbetter Wallace State Hanceville 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0
 
BIG BASS
Day Name City,State Lbs-Oz
1 John Duarte - Chesley Alford Middle River, MD 5-13
2 Zachary Ramsey - Joshua Rockefeller Augusta, GA 5- 8