What YOU Need to Bring to the Collegiate Bass Fishing Open Presented by Cabela’s
By Cody Levy
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Collegiate Bass Fishing Open Presented by Cabela’s will time just right on Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, Arkansas; a brand new location for the 2016 Cabela’s Collegiate Bass Fishing Series. As part of the Arkansas River, Lake Dardanelle offers anglers a variety of methods for productive fishing.
Lake Dardanelle totals 350 miles of shoreline and is full of hydrilla, timber, lily pads, and rock. Tournament Director of the Cabela’s Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, Anthony Wright, is a Benton, Arkansas native who frequently fishes the 40,000 acre stretch of the Arkansas River all year round and created his own tackle box of baits that you can’t leave home with for the Collegiate Bass Fishing Open competitors.
“They’re going to catch ‘em on every bait known to man, but there are a few things in particular that I wouldn’t leave out of my boat for this time of year,” said Wright. “They’re going to catch ‘em on lily pad stems, not the new stems, but the old ones and it’s gonna’ be on like Donkey Kong and I’m not kidding,” stated Wright. “The males are heavy and are going to be moving up probably just before that time and the big females will be right behind them so timing should be perfect.”
While it is still cool in the Russellville area, with air temps reaching the low forties, Wright believes that the March 25-26th tournament dates will be spot on when it comes time to catch giant Lake Dardanelle bass, but finding the areas that hold theses spawning fish will be key.
“Places like Horsehead and Mud Lake up the river or any of the bays off the main lake will be great spots to start and fish baits like a Carolina rig with a Big Bite Battle Bug trailer around spawning flats, a jig with a Berkley PowerBait Chigger Craw around any wood cover, and a Cabela’s Mean Eye Square Bill up shallow,” stated Wright. “If a big rain happens to come and the water starts to flow, then a lot of the backwaters will be a good place to spend some time with swim jig with a Big Bite Baits Cane Thumper.”
To find any of the items that are Anthony Wright’s tackle box during this time of year, visit www.cabelas.com.
Official practice days for the Collegiate Bass Fishing Open Presented by Cabela’s will start on Monday March 21- Thursday March 24 and anglers are encouraged to register for the event HERE.
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About the ACA
The Association of Collegiate Anglers, a division of Careco TV, is a sanctioning body developed to facilitate growth, development, and structure within competitive collegiate bass fishing. The ACA provides support to dozens of school operated regional events nationwide and owns the Cabela’s Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, the largest participatory collegiate tournament circuit in the country. With dedicated collegiate fishing programming on several television networks, three nationally televised collegiate bass fishing events, and thousands of members, the ACA is the leader in competitive collegiate bass fishing. For more information on the ACA, or the Cabela’s Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, visit www.CollegiateBassChampionship.com. For more information on Cabela’s visit Cabelas.com, for more information on CarecoTV, visit www.carecotv.com.
