LAKEPORT, Calif. — Adam McAndrews of San Jose State University has led tournaments before. And it’s always been downhill from there.
“I never do well the second day after leading,” McAndrews said. “I kind of wish I was in fourth place today.”
McAndrews is looking to get that Day 2 monkey off his back on Clear Lake at the 2014 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Western Regional. Thursday, he and his teammate, Roberto Munoz, led the field of 30 two-angler teams with 25 pounds, 1 ounce. In second place, nearly 2 pounds back, was the New Mexico State University team of Timothy Bailey and Jesse Scarafiotti. McAndrews may not be brimming over with confidence about his Day 2 performances, but this time he and Munoz are in a solid position for the win on Friday.
“We hit about six spots today,” said McAndrews, who has plenty of experience on Clear Lake, which recently earned the No. 2 spot on the 2014 Bassmaster 100 Best Bass Lakes list.
“I went with places I know,” McAndrews said. “And we never found anything consistent. We’re just junk fishing. We try everything in one spot and then move to the next.”
Munoz noted that the pair culled two or three times. “We didn’t get that many bites, but we got good ones, including a 6-pound, 1-ounce bass,” he said.
That bass was second in line for daily Carhartt Big Bass honors. The biggest bass of the day, a 6-7, belonged to the second-place New Mexico State team of Bailey and Scarafiotti. Scarafiotti has a penchant for big bass. He currently holds the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series record for the biggest bass, an 11-11 lunker he caught on Texas’ Amistad Reservoir in 2013.
“I’m surprised a 6-7 was the biggest for today,” Scarafiotti said. “I don’t think even my 11-11 record will hold for too much longer. It might even be broken here on Clear Lake.”
It could happen, with a slight weather change tomorrow. It is expected to be a bit cooler and a little windier, a combination that could change the bite for the competitors in the Western Regional. And yet, almost every team — including the leaders — said they expected to do the same thing on Day 2 that they did on Day 1. Bass were plentiful, most of the anglers said, and the ones who didn’t bring in big sacks blamed lost fish.
“We know they’re there; we’ve just got to get them,” said Zach MacDonald of Oregon State University, who was on the winning team at the 2013 Western Regional, where he broke a record for heaviest weight in a College B.A.S.S. event.
Each team is looking to finish in the Top 10 so they’ll qualify for the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship, July 31 to Aug. 2, on Georgia’s Chatuge Reservoir. Currently, Scarafiotti and Bailey are in the lead for the Carhartt Big Bass award of $500 for their 6-7 Friday. And McAndrews and Munoz are in the lead for the Bass Pro Nitro Big Bag of the tournament, which is worth $250.
Carhartt Bassmaster College Series -Western
5/15/2014 - 5/16/2014
Clear Lake - Konocti Vista Casino - Clear Lake, CA
STANDINGS BOATER DAY 1
Today's Activity Accumulative
Name # Fish # Live Lbs - Oz # Fish # Live Lbs - Oz
1 Adam McAndrews - Roberto Munoz San Jose State 5 5 25- 1 5 5 25- 1
2 Timothy Bailey - Jesse Scarafiotti New Mexico State University 5 5 23- 7 5 5 23- 7
3 Nick Nikchevich - Elliott Beckstrom U. of So. California 5 5 23- 3 5 5 23- 3
4 Tanner Cooper - Memo Nunez New Mexico State University 5 5 22- 2 5 5 22- 2
5 Patrick Friedman - Travis Bounds San Jose State 5 5 21-14 5 5 21-14
6 Matt Diaz - Andrew Sjostrom CSU Monterey Bay 5 5 21-13 5 5 21-13
7 Kyle Schneider - Jacob Wall U. of Oregon 5 4 21- 3 5 4 21- 3
8 Daniel Vine - Alex Stewart Northern Arizona University 5 5 19- 8 5 5 19- 8
9 Erik Strickler - Brandon Hua Oregon State University 5 5 18-12 5 5 18-12
10 Stephen Johnson - Clif Gallagher Utah Valley University 5 5 18-11 5 5 18-11
11 Alex Klein - Jeff Karnthong Chico State 5 5 18- 5 5 5 18- 5
12 Maegan Birdsey - Tyler Dabling Utah Valley University 5 5 18- 0 5 5 18- 0
13 Kyle Price - Savanah Wride New Mexico State University 5 5 16-15 5 5 16-15
14 Andrew Loberg - Michael Braswell Chico State 5 5 16-14 5 5 16-14
15 Cy Floyd - Tyler Wasilewski Eastern Washington University 5 5 16-11 5 5 16-11
16 Zach MacDonald - Zachary Martinez Oregon State University 5 5 16- 8 5 5 16- 8
17 Alex Cox - Justin Gangel Cal State Long Beach 5 5 16- 1 5 5 16- 1
18 Chase Cochran - Ryan Sparks Oregon State University 5 5 15- 2 5 5 15- 2
19 Travis Opel - Taylor Throop Eastern Washington University 4 4 14-11 4 4 14-11
20 Kory Tams - Schafer Summers Weber State University 5 5 14- 6 5 5 14- 6
21 Nicholas DiCamillo - Jesse Wilkinson New Mexico State University 3 3 11-13 3 3 11-13
22 Jarid Gabbert - Kyle Sittman Eastern Washington University 3 3 11- 8 3 3 11- 8
23 Michael Woods - Chas Brannon Chico State 5 5 11- 2 5 5 11- 2
24 John Zeolla - Kyle Greenlaw Cal Poly 3 3 10- 5 3 3 10- 5
25 Alex Robbins - Jeffery Russell Humboldt State 3 3 8-14 3 3 8-14
26 Justin Hettinga - Andrew Armijo New Mexico State University 4 4 8- 8 4 4 8- 8
26 Cody Wilson - Andrew Sumi San Jose State 4 4 8- 8 4 4 8- 8
28 Nick Barr - Jarred Walker Eastern Washington University 3 3 8- 3 3 3 8- 3
29 Kevin Chen - Koulton Westbrook Chico State 3 3 6-10 3 3 6-10
30 Jordan Porritt - David Tonks Weber State University 1 1 1-12 1 1 1-12
BIG BASS TOTALS
Day Name City,State Lbs-Oz
Day # Fish # Live Lbs-Oz # Limits
1 Timothy Bailey Famington, NM 6- 7
1 131 130 466- 6 20