The Academy Sports + Outdoors B.A.S.S. Nation Central Regional presented by Magellan Outdoors got started Wednesday on Toledo Bend Reservoir in northwest Louisiana. Anglers from 19 states are competing – 190 boater and another 190 non-boaters. They’re competing for bragging rights and a boat/motor package for their states, but also individually for cash prizes and a chance to represent their state in the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship later this year. But before any of that happens, the bass have to be weighed. And so, the anglers make their way from the water to the stage where they’ll see exactly how they fared against the competition.
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It was a postcard-perfect day on Toledo Bend, with temperatures in the upper 50s, sunshine and consistent breezes.
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Each angler takes his haul from live well to staging area where fish will be counted and measured. When that’s done, the real show begins. Shall we?
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Among the first to weigh in Wednesday was Ohio’s Stanley Dodson who caught five bass that weighed 14-12, which was good enough for a tie for 30th place among boaters.
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There’s Arkansas’ Troy Morrison, who’s in 12th place with five bass that weighed 16-12.
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Kentucky’s Drew Sadler is 23rd in the boater division with five bass weighing 15-7.
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Fellow Kentucky resident Hunter Young is 14th among non-boaters with three bass for 10-7.
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Illinois’ Bob Blumenstein is 11th among boaters with a 16-14 limit.
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PSSSTTT….Tournament official Hank Weldon, left, has a secret to tell Team Alabama’s Bruce Sargent. “Hey Bruce, you’re in the lead, man!” Sargent, who lives in the Birmingham suburb of Gardendale, Alabama had a beautiful limit that totaled 23 pounds even.
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There they both are showing some of the bucketmouth bass Sargent pulled from Toledo Bend on Wednesday.
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As nice as Sargent’s bass were, this man had one bigger bite. Lee Sanders of Team Oklahoma proudly displays the 7-14 beast that was the Big Bass among boaters on Wednesday. Keep that up, Lee, and you might win the $250 prize that will be awarded to the non-boater with the heaviest single bass.
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Charles Barnes of Team Texas is in seventh place of the 190 non-boaters here, thanks to bass like these. He had three bass for 12-6 on Wednesday.
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Jimmy Miller of Team Alabama is tied for sixth in the boater division with 19-4.
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Boater Kevin Herlitzke of Team Wisconsin is tie for 18th with 15-15.
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David Cavell of Team Louisiana is tied for 15th in the boater division with 16-5.
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There’s John Fritz of Team Indiana. He’s fifth among non-boaters with three bass weighing 13-8.
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Tucker Peschl of Team South Dakota is 17th in the non-boater division with 10-1.
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Look what I caught, ma! Matt McCoy is all smiles as he displays some of his five-bass limit that weighed 16-9 and put him in 14th place among boaters.
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Greg Phillips of Tennessee is in 21st place in the boater division with five bass totaling 15-10.
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Team Iowa’s Greg Vance is ninth with five bass totaling 17-8.
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Non-boater Zachary Gunter is ninth among non-boaters with 11-2. He fishes for Team Arkansas.
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Terrell Foster of Team Mississippi did his state proud with five bass weighing 16-10. He’s in 13th place among boaters after Day 1.
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“The bass was this big!” South Dakota’s Tom Logue opens his arms wide to show two of his toads. He’s tied for 15th in the boater division with 16-5.
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Jordan Bellendier of Iowa boated five bass that weighed 18 pounds even, including the 7-2 monster he’s holding here. Bellendier is in great position heading into Day 2 with a hold on eighth place among boaters.
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Tony Puelz of Team Iowa is ninth among boaters with a 17-3 limit.
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Nick Coleman of Team Kentucky is in second place among non-boaters with three bass weighing a very heavy 16-1.
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Jamie Laiche of Team Louisiana is tied for sixth in the boating division with 19-4.
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John Roth of Team Indiana is third among boaters with 20 pounds even. Here, he holds a 6-plus pounder that vaulted him near the top of the leaderboard.
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Ron Kingsbury of Team Iowa is just ahead of Roth in second place with a 22-pound, five-bass limit.
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Albert Collins of Team Texas likes ‘em big. He’s in fifth place among boaters with a 19-12 limit.
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Josh Crededio of Team Wisconsin is in third place among non-boaters with three bass going for 14-15.
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Deric Fife needs an extra hand, folks. Here, the Team Arkansas boater displays three beautiful bass that were part of a limit that has him in fourth place with 19-14.
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Charlie Hewitt of Team Louisiana was among the last to weigh bass Wednesday, but he definitely is not among those with the least. He caught three big bass that put him in front of the non-boater field with 18-1. Like Sargent who leads the boaters, Hewitt enlisted Hank Weldon to help him hoist his catch.
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Michael Nobile of Team Louisiana caught the biggest bass of the day – this 8-15 monster that put him in fourth place among non-boaters with a 13-10 total.
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Matthew Duvall of Team Arkansas is in sixth place among non-boaters with three bass weighing 12-7.
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