Mercury College B.A.S.S. West Super Regional Day One

The Frenette brothers load up their back compartment with ice on what was predicted to be a sweltering day.

Boats gather at the Lake Dardanelle State Park for the 2011 Mercury College Bass West Super Regional.

Trevor Parks and Chase Edmiston wait as the first boat to leave the dock on Day One.

Anglers stand along the line-up for boat check early on Thursday.

In preparation for a hot and sunny day, anglers applied liberal amounts of sunscreen.

The mayfly hatch was going strong at the take-off for Day One.

The first boat takes off onto Lake Dardanelle to get the West Super Regional started.

Boats idle past inspection before blasting off to start their day.

On a college budget, push poles are a luxury, leading this team to fashion a stick for the same purpose.

The last few boats idle past the dock at the Lake Dardanelle State Park on Day One.

Former National Champions at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Trent Gephardt and Brian Duckett make a cast early on Thursday.

A few small spotted bass made their way into the boat, but the morning was slow for Gephardt and Duckett.

The team from Southern Illinois University works under a bridge on Thursday.

Bryan Partak reacts as a fish jumps free from his bait.

Partak pulls up the trolling motor to make a move across the lake with two keepers in the well.

Teams came from surrounding states to compete for a chance to qualify for the National Championship in July.

A team fishes along one of the many bridges on Lake Dardanelle.

Mook Miller and Kyle Billingsley from Arkansas had one keeper in the boat early on Thursday.

Miller sets the hook, but nothing was there.

Billingsley makes a cast during the early morning hours of Day One. 

A team from Henderson State pulled up near the Arkansas boys and started fishing a bridge.

Miller swings a nice largemouth into the boat that he caught Thursday morning.

Miller grabs the bass and attempts to retrieve his bait.

All largemouth must measure at least 15 inches in length to be considered a keeper.

Unfortunately for the team from Arkansas, this fish was just a hair short of the line and had to be thrown back.

Cody Fuller works a bridge piling early on Day One of the West Super Regional.

Fuller and Bechtel, from Oklahoma State University, work off the front deck in tandem to best cover water.