Andrew Upshaw and Ryan Watkins of Stephen F. Austin watch as a camera boat is launched onto a small reservoir in southeast Arkansas thatâs being called Classic Lake.
Watkins and Upshaw teamed up to win the Mercury College B.A.S.S. National Championship the day before, and now faced each other in a six-hour fishoff to determine the first college angler to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic.
Watkins prepares to jump into one of the identical Nitro/Mercury boats provided by Bass Pro Shops for the event.
Upshaw does some final-minute work on his tackle as Wes Miller films it for College B.A.S.S. shows to run on ESPN2.
Watkins digs though a box trying to select the right lures to throw.
They launched at 6:15 and each was to spend two hours on each side of the hourglass-shaped lake, switch for two more hours then go anywhere they please in the final two.
B.A.S.S. tournament officials Steve Bowman and Hank Weldon go over the rules moments before letting the anglers go at it.
And with a push off the bank, the final is almost under way.
Upshaw heads to the east side, idling to the far shore.
Andrew Upshawâs girlfiend, Haley Hoskins, and his father, Larry Upshaw, walk down the levee armed with chairs to watch.
Watkins started in the west pool.
The lake is stocked with tiger bass strain, known for fast growth and fighting aggressively, but neither angler had a keeper bite early.
Upshaw said he was throwing a chatterbait early trying to get a reaction strike.
Upshaw moves to the middle of the east pool. The lake manager said both pools have humps toward the center.
Larry Upshaw and Haley Hoskins have front row seats to the action.
Within the first hour, Upshaw had caught several small bass but no keepers, Larry said.
Upshaw moves around to his fan baseâs position.
Dragonflies were thick over the body of water, helping keep the mosquito population down.
Upshaw tries some of the trees sunk on the far east end.
Moving quickly along the shoreline, Upshaw works on figuring out what will work on a day when temperatures were expectly to hit the century mark.
A tree running parallel to the bank looks likely.
No luck but Upshaw continues down the bank.
Upshawâs uncle, Billy Limerick, hoped his Bass Pro Shops T-shirt â Thereâs a fine line between fishing and sitting there looking stupid â wasnât prophetic.
Back in the west pool, Watkins shows intensity as he flips a jig.
After no luck at the dock, Watkins heads east along the bank.
Watkins sends out a cast, looking for the bite that would take him to the 2012 Bassmaster Classic.