Tough Day 1 on the Atchafalaya

Day 1 of the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Central Regional on the vast Atchafalaya Basin was stingy for most anglers as the weather front that passed through the last few days left stained water and a lot of it.

The duo of Alex Schieman and Garrett Reynolds of Georgia College drove from Georgia overnight just so they could compete. With no practice time they stayed close to the ramp to utilize as much of their fishing day as they could. They arenât in this region so I believe their participation in this event only allows them the opportunity to fish the Wildcard event.

Nearby was a Texas team of Dakota Cline and Lawson Priess. They had an early keeper in the boat to start their morning.

They were working a one-two combo of moving baits like a spinnerbait and flipping a soft plastic at the shoreline cover.

After leaving them we passed multiple barges that were transporting some big machinery.

We then found one of the many LSU teams competing this weekâ¦

And they hooked up immediately. This fish bit right at the boat.

Matt Glad gets ready to swing the fish aboard.

And that fish gives them three keepers early on Thursday morning.

They, too, had a one-two combo of a spinnerbait and a slower presentation.

Not to be outdone, Zack Remedies sets the hook into a bass of hi sown.

Remedies swings aboard what looks to be another keeper for this LSU team.

That fish goes in the livewell and it gives them four fish at about 8:30 a.m. on Day 1.

Remedies continues to flip the shallow shoreline cover in hopes of coaxing another bite.

Then they decide to move over to the other side of their canal as they probe the cypress trees and grass mats.

Giant cypress trees like this one grace the entire Atchafalaya Basin and each provide cover for a hungry bass to hide around.

We peek in the back of a canal and we see a team attempting to idle from the back of the canal to the mouth.

It was pretty shallow all the way in the back so they had to force their way out of the area.

This was the Tarleton State team of Austyn Fowler and Zach Hurst.

Fowler fished subsurface baits as Hurst tried to coax a topwater strike around the abundant cover.

They had some small fish in the livewell, but had caught plenty of non-keepers to start their morning.

They make a short move from this canal to one across the main channel.

Cliff Crochet was my camera boat driver and he watched intently and was curious to how college kids can afford to fish and travel as much as they do. As an Elite Series angler, he certainly knows how expensive this sport can be.

There were occasional wellâs in the backs of these canals. This is more of the urban cover compared to the trees and grass that anglers were primarily targeting.

A five to six foot alligator wanted to get a taste of his frog, but Hurst and Fowler were looking for the green variety of fish. They pull the bait away and continue down the bank as we head out.

After traveling 86 miles around the Atchafalaya Basin we found our final team for the day as Cody Finkbeiner and Taylor Barton of Stephen F. Austin were fishing in a backwater canal.

They werenât having much luck so far and were retying their baits just in case they start catching them. With the bad weather that hit this area, it has certainly confused anglers as well as some bass.

Day 1 wasnât as fruitful as we would have liked, but Day 2 is another day and there are sure to be some good weights that come across the stage today. No matter how tough the conditions are some team always finds a way to catch a good bag.