Robertson has his way at Harwoods Mill

Kenny and Winslow grind out 2^nd

Yorktown, VA-The event at Harwoods Mill Reservoir was perhaps the toughest CNU club tournament ever. With a total of four keeper fish caught between 8 participating teams, tough did not even begin to describe the conditions. Sophomore Sean Robertson had the best day on the reservoir catching two bass weighing in at just over 8 pounds. “We started off heading straight for the dam and began fishing the main lake on the way, and then fished the large creek to the left of the dam for a while using cranks. I caught the first fish by the dam, that was the big one on a swimbait. We started going down the bank with the swimbait and Cody was fishing a chatterbait. Cody lost one fish that was about 2 1/2 lb on a chatterbait and caught a pickerel on a dropshot off a point before the bass. We kept fishing the main lake for most of the day, then started back into a creek close to the ramp. I put on a small jerkbait and caught our second bass of the day (1 lb) along with a 22 inch pickerel within a few casts of each other.”

The Second place team of Freshmen Pete Kenny and Seth Winslow weighed in just over 2 lbs of fish caught on spinnerbaits. “We were just fishing today and luckily we got a few bites,” remarked Kenny. “That was brutal man, I’m ready to go home and watch the Redskins.”

Brutal it was first and second place were the only two teams to bring in keeper fish. “We hope the next tournament will be better. Once again I decided to take the day off to sleep,” said team spokesman, the esteemed Captain Chaz Hill. “Maybe one day I will make it to a club event. All I know is next spring we are going to some prime locations at prime times so get ready to see some much bigger weights!”

  Wilkerson and Griffey Grind it out at Waller Mill

Sipe and Thorne go wacky for 2^nd, Turner and Bryant snag 3rd

WILLIAMSBURG, VA-The slugfest that was the Colonial Clash at Waller Mill Reservoir left anglers begging for more, much more. Senior Adam Crockett put it best, “If we don’t have every tournament at Waller Mill from now on, I’m quitting the team. I can't catch them.” With a total of 7 keeper bass caught between the six participating teams, it was a trying day for club members. “Not one of our best tournaments,” Captain Chaz Hill remarked, “I decided to sleep in and miss the event because I knew everyone would catch more fish than me. Turns out, it was tough on everybody.”

Cody Griffey (left) and Joe Wilkerson (right) show off their winning string

Cody Griffey and Joe Wilkerson lead the charge of whopping weights brought to the scales Sunday. The duo landed 3 keeper bass for a winning weight of 4.18 pounds. “It obviously wasn’t the day we were hoping for,” lamented Wilkerson. “We came out here last weekend and caught over 20 keepers all over the lake on pretty much anything we wanted to throw. We thought it was going to be a great event for everyone. Obviously, things changed but that’s part of fishing. You have to adapt to the situations you’re faced with and try to put fish in the boat no matter what.”

Griffey elaborated a little more on the team’s pattern for the day, “We were just going down the bank throwing a crankbait in every creek on the upper side of the reservoir. We also had some fish located down by the dam but on tournament day, they were all short. We had to make some key adjustments throughout the day to catch our fish. We ended up getting 4 keeper bites and about 15 short fish throughout the day. Unfortunately one of the keepers came off mid-reeling in.”

Josh Sipe shows off his second place catch

The team of Josh Sipe and Jimmy Thorne proved that perseverance can pay off. Sipe said the team got several big bites throughout the day, “We had some substantial luck catching some right good size limbs in the lake, including one about 5 feet tall.” Once the catfishing was complete, Sipe and Thorne returned to the launch area in hopes of finding greener pastures. Sipe continued, “I caught a fish on a purple senko rigged wacky style. Once we got it to the boat and saw that it was a keeper we knew we were in the running for 2nd or 3rd as everybody was having a rough day on the water. Jimmy decided to name the fish ‘hotdog’ for luck.” Sure enough, the wacky rig came through again as ‘hotdog’ weighed in at 1.56 pounds, good enough for second place by 0.04 pounds.

Kari Bryant shows off the fish that earned her and Kelsey Turner third place with 1.52 lbs

Kelsey Turner, part of the 3^rd place team (along with Kari Bryant), who recently joined the team offered her first impressions; “Sunday was a lot of fun! I was fishing with white bass assassins at first and switched then to watermelon lizards which got some hits. Unfortunately there wasn't much action in the lake on Sunday but luckily we got one good one.” It seems the club may have found a knowledgeable new member, “I’m glad I met people who love fishing as much as I do. It’s always cool to be able to share tips and tidbits with each other.”

The rest of the Colonial Challenge top 5:

4^th: Hunter Janney/Adam Crockett 1.19 lbs

5^th: Nick Li/Pete Kenny 1.12 lbs

In other news, a new rivalry may be brewing among club members. Freshman member Pete Kenny was caught saying, “I hope we don’t get beat by a couple girls.” As Kenny’s worst nightmare came to fruition, the remarks did not sit well with the lady anglers in the club. Those comments are sure to be used as bulletin board material for Kari Bryant, Katie Jones, Sarah Faison, Harley Hicks, and Kelsey Turner. Turner kept her comments on the situation classy, “Being a girl that fishes you’re always underestimated, but that’s what makes it fun!” The rivalry between Kenny, Turner and the rest of the lady Captain anglers should make for an exciting fall finale in a couple weeks at Harwoods Mill Reservoir.

Ingalls and Wilkerson Repeat at Maury

Secret bait carries Crockett and Winslow to 2^nd, Winslow Tops AOY Standings

NEWPORT NEWS, VA-Conditions got tougher for CNU competitors when they arrived at Lake Maury for the second tournament of the year. The water was dirty following a day of heavy rain, and post-frontal bluebird skies were out in full force. Bites were definitely hard to come by but this was expected given the circumstances. Junior Jimmy Thorne believes the tough conditions were amplified due to the strict rules regarding prepared bait in place for club tournaments (as is common in most bass derbies), “If we could use hot dogs we would have caught a lot more fish. I have caught some five and a half pound bass on wacky rigged dogs and was disappointed to find out the only live or prepared baits we can use are pork rinds.” Despite the difficult situation, four limits were brought to the scales Sunday.

The team of Ryan Ingalls and Joe Wilkerson hit the water with a game plan based on last year’s experience, “We started out with a pretty good idea of where we were planning on fishing. We started on the same spot that we won the event on last year and we had other places we thought would produce as well,” offered Ingalls. “We caught our fish on a variety of different baits, including a (football) jig, deep crank, and drop shot. It was a grind for us, we only caught six fish all day, we just knew we had to keep our heads down and keep fishing.” The six keepers turned into a nice five fish limit that weighed in at 14.74 pounds, giving Ingalls and Wilkerson their second straight Lake Maury victory.

Joe Wilkerson (left) and Ryan Ingalls (right) show off their winning bag that included a 5.26 pound kicker

Keying on rock piles and submerged trees in 8-12 feet of water, Wilkerson described how the team broke down the lake, “I have always had more success on Maury fishing rock and other hard cover away from the bank. There is so much shallow wood right on the bank that it can be overwhelming at times. I tried to look for something different.” Wilkerson continued, “There are deep spots that hold fish in all parts of the lake but we chose to fish the lower section because it gave us the chance to fish about five spots that were all in close proximity. Three of the areas are community holes that get a lot of fishing pressure so it was important to maximize fishing time and keep a line in the water.”

Seth Winslow and Adam Crockett took the shallow approach on their way to a second place finish with 8.75 pounds of bass. Crockett explained how the duo beat the bank, “We caught our fish like we have been all year, fishing the bank with, you know, the secret bait. We fished ‘plastics’ along the tree line all day, mostly on a texas rig. All of our fish came from right off the dam area. Most of the fish were small, but we did manage to find a few decent fish using the same method.” When asked for his thoughts on finishing second in consecutive events Crockett cited some bad luck, “I think (Ingalls and Wilkerson) bought fish from a fish market, so that’s why we lost. I also caught 13 species, including a tilapia that I thought I could weigh. One of our fish also regurgitated a very large bream (at least 6 pounds) that would have won us the tournament.”

Adam Crockett (left) and Seth Winslow (right) show off their 2^nd Place limit

The rest of the Mariner’s Museum Mash top 5:

3^rd: Charlie Hill/Cody Griffey 7.27 lbs

4^th: Sean Roberston/Jimmy Thorne 6.74 lbs

5^th: Robert Seise/Andrew Dalton 1.82 lbs

With first and second place finishes to start the year, Seth Winslow remains the leader in the race for Angler of the Year. Apparently, Winslow’s magic box hasn’t been the only reason he’s in first place. “I am one with nature,” Winslow meditated. Seen drinking from the muddy waters of Lake Maury towards the end of the day and carrying a portion of his second place string in his mouth, few doubt the validity of that statement.

The next stop on the CNU tournament trail is slated for Waller Mill Reservoir in Williamsburg, VA on 10/14/12. Waller Mill is another tough fishery and should make for an interesting event. Club President Charlie Hill sounded optimistic and excited about the team’s chances of catching fish there, “I heard it’s not that good. We’ll see, we want our anglers to catch something. Depending on how pre-practice goes, the event may be moved to Chickahominy Lake.”

Doll-Hennis and Winslow Paddle to Research Pond Crown, Lead AOY Race

Berhalter/Crockett take 2^nd Place

CHARLES CITY, VA- It’s safe to say CNU Fishing Club members got spoiled last Sunday at Research Pond. While Research pond waters were dirtier than normal, the water clarity had no ill effects on the fishing with an estimated total of over 300 fish caught between the 11 teams. CNU’s Jack Long summed up the day best, “Dude, I love this place!”

Research Rumble Champions Seth Winslow (left) Austin Doll-Hennis (right) show off their winning limit.

At the end of the day, it was a pair of freshmen anglers, Austin Doll-Hennis and Seth Winslow, who came out on top with a winning weight of 17.41 pounds. The duo tasted victory by paddling their two kayaks strategically to cover as much water as possible. “I was never sure we were going to win but knew we had a good chance.” Doll-Hennis was relieved to have the victory wrapped up and in the books, “I thought we had a lot of weight but that everybody else had a lot of weight too.”

Austin Doll-Hennis used texas rigged soft plastics to catch his fish. While bait selection didn’t seem to matter, color seemed to be key for Doll-Hennis, “I just kept putting on any worms/lizards I had that were red. They pretty much hit it all. I caught somewhere between 15 and 20 fish.”

Although Seth Winslow was believed to be fishing a similar pattern to Doll-Hennis, he declined to comment on his bait choice for this story. Rumors of “secret baits” are taking the club by a storm and there may be some peepers into Winslow’s “magic box” at the next event.

Derek Berhalter (left) admires his 2^nd place finish while Adam Crockett (right) is all smiles.

Adam Crockett and Derek Berhalter took second place with a weight of 16.27 pounds. Self proclaimed team captain Adam Crockett took a simplified approach to the day, “You know I was just going out there trying to catch fish and sure enough I caught some. I caught them mostly on black culprit worms with a white tail. We actually ran out of baits during the day and were driving around the lake picking up used worms that had fallen out of the boat. Oh, one more thing, Derek threw my largest fish back! But it’s okay because he’s just jealous he can’t catch em.” While Berhalter is unable to fish the next event, Crockett will be looking to step up one place for his turn in the winner’s circle.

The rest of the Research Rumble Top 5:

3^rd Place Jack Long/Nick ___-15.71 lbs

4^th Place Sarah Faison/Joe Wilkerson-15.65 lbs

5^th Place Robert Seise/Andrew Dalton-15.47 lbs

The next club event takes place Sunday 9/30 on Lake Maury, right next to campus. Lake Maury is a 165 acre reservoir owned by the Mariners Museum. It is known to produce big bass but can also be a tough fishery due to heavy fishing pressure. Local fishing celebrity and Fishing Tidewater radio host Don Lancaster loves Lake Maury and offered his two cents about the tournament, “There are some tackle busting fish in there! Letting you guys and fishergals fish there is like giving you the keys to Fort Knox!”

The excitement and trash talk is already brewing as teams begin to prepare for Sunday’s tournament. A large turnout of close to 10 boats is expected. Research Rumble Champion Austin Doll-Hennis will be fishing with Nick Li and said that the duo is ready to go, “I’m definitely planning on fishing the next event and am just going to go out and try to do the same thing again.” Can Doll-Hennis or Winslow do it again Sunday on a different lake with different partners? Only time will tell.

CNU Fishing Prepares to Launch Assault on Research Pond at Research Rumble

10.Sep.2012 by Joe Wilkerson

CHARLES CITY, VA-With high temperatures forecasted for the low 80s and winds light and variable, CNU Fishing members should be met with ideal conditions when they arrive Sunday morning for the first event of the year. Club members will fish as two man teams out of small watercraft operated both by paddle and electric motor.

Anglers will have plenty of strategic decisions to make as they probe the 16 to 20 acre gravel pit. Vegetation will play a key role in the search for big largemouth as much of the lake is surrounded by cattails and the lake’s bottom is covered in sand and pond weeds. The lake has a world class population of fish and limits will likely be the norm.

However, grinding out a tournament title Sunday will be far from easy. Anglers will not only have to deal with the usual rigors of tournament fishing, but they will also have to successfully navigate the crowds of competitors in a confined space. Making a decision whether to run and gun or stay put and pick apart preferred honeyholes over the course of the day will be yet another choice that could make or break a team.

Jack Long and Ryan Ingalls are two club anglers who have both competed on the collegiate level for CNU.

 Ingalls, who holds the club record in earnings for the school with over $27,000 won, said that he feels he can catch a limit easily. “I will be extremely disappointed if I don’t catch a limit. Everyone should have no problem catching a limit; the fish will bite on anything you want to catch them on.” Ingalls was vague on what baits he plans on using Sunday but gave a little insight to new members, “I’m going to start with topwater early and then move on to tried and true techniques. My game plan is to spend a lot of time in areas where I have caught bigger fish and if I need to move I will, but hopefully not.”

Jack Long is fresh off a strong performance with his brother Pierce at the Spro Cup. When asked about his plans for attacking the lake Long said that he is keeping an open mind, “You know, I’m going into this tournament blind having never been to research pond, so I’ll be covering a lot of water. I plan on running and gunning until I figure out what’s working. I might start with the cattails and grass and I really like flipping so if I can get something like that going I’ll be real happy.” When asked about how much weight it would take to win, Long did not hesitate, “I’ve seen pictures of some of these incredible days you guys have had out there man, I’d say it’d take 20 pounds to win.”

The increased pressure may have an effect on the fishing with 11 teams expected to be represented. “It’s a great lake, I know all the new members will be hooked after this event but with so many boats it may get tough,” club advisor Dr. Gary Whiting noted. Whiting, a veteran research pond angler also added, “I expect drop shotting the holes in the grass to be a key tactic. The bigger fish sit in the areas that are lacking grass, waiting for an easy meal. I think the stick pond actually has the larger numbers of big bass but this lake does have 6 and 7 pound fish in it. I only know of two 10 pounders caught there though.”

Ingalls is expecting some big weights on Sunday. “In the spring we have had days where we caught 27 pound bags but since this tournament takes place in early fall, I’ll say 20 to 22 pounds will win if the bite’s good. But if the fishing pressure gets to the fish and we don’t get as many bites, I’d say 17 pounds would be a good bag.”

As Sunday approaches, teams will spend time spooling rods and tying on baits while trying to balance their workload. High expectations and optimism dominate conversation. ‘Slugfest’ has been the term tossed around most often at meetings and gatherings. This tournament could come down to ounces and it will be the team that remains focused and gets the bigger fish in the boat that will come away champion. Are you ready to rumble?

The CNU Fishing team of Ryan Ingalls and Derek Berhalter finished 5th at Sayers Lake in PA Sept 1-3 with a total catch of 12 lbs 06 ounces! They have secured a second straight trip to the national championship! Congratulations! The team is currently ranked 13th in the nation but that number is sure to improve when the next ratings come out! CNU Fishing has officially become a national power! Way to go Captains!!!!

Ingalls and Berhalter plan on prefishing for a substantial amount of time prior to the event. I wouldn't want to bet against them or CNU Fishing in general! Bring it home boys!

Club members Joe Wilkerson and Ryan "Pringles" Ingalls competed for CNU's fishing first National Championship on Kentucky Lake. They caught a 3 day total of 10 fish weighing 25 lbs 8oz to finish in 5TH place out of 25 schools. 

Congratulations Joe and Ryan!!