SHREVEPORT -- Following two strong performances this fall, the LSUS Fishing team has climbed to its highest-ever ranking in both the Association of Collegiate Anglers and the Major League Fishing polls.
LSUS sits No. 2 in the nation in the ACA and MLF polls, the former of which released its latest ranking Thursday.
In the ACA poll, the Pilots ascended one spot following the AFTCO Open on Lake Dardanelle (Ark.) this past weekend in which three LSUS boats finished in the Top 25 of a 262-boat event.
“This has been a four-year turnaround, and you can just imagine how I feel,” said LSUS Fishing coach Charles Thompson. “To be ranked this high out of more than 300 schools that now have fishing teams is an absolute honor.
“And we’re doing it at an institution that’s seeing success in all aspects – our enrollment is through the roof, we’re having a lot of success in other sports like baseball, men’s and women’s basketball and men’s and women’s soccer. I’m elated to be matching the success of the university.”
Unlike most sports, there are no divisions in college bass fishing. LSUS butts heads with SEC programs like No. 19 Auburn and No. 21 Missouri as schools of all sizes and budgets compete together.
In the AFTCO Open, Miles Smith and Levi Thibodaux teamed up to finish third in the event with a two-day total 28.66 pounds. The pair was consistent each day, bagging 14.37 and 14.29 pounds each day, finishing just a couple of pounds off the winning weight (30.96).
“Those guys displayed maturity and patience out on the water,” Thompson said. “Levi said he stayed patient and gave it all he had.
“The thing I tell them the most is to stay true to who you are, stay true to your situation, your pattern, and your process. If it’s in God’s plan, it’ll happen.”
Bryant Martin and Tripp Bowman sat in third after their explosive first day (16.47), but the duo managed just four fish weighing 9.63 on Day Two to place 11th (26.10).
Brayden Nichols and William Tew placed 25th with a total of 24.03.
Thompson said the unseasonably warm October improved the forage in the lake.
“The nights get really cool up there, but with temperatures getting up to 85 and 90 degrees in the afternoons, it didn’t really push that fall change yet,” Thompson said. “The lake fished a whole lot better than in recent years, where 28 pounds has been winning, it was nearly 31 pounds this year.
“They attribute the better fishing to the grass that’s growing in the lake. That grass allows fish to hide and get bigger, and the vegetation allows the bugs to be eaten by the bait fish, who in turn are eaten by the bass. The bass were bigger this year.”
Bass wasn’t the only thing that the LSUS Fishing team reeled in at Lake Dardanelle. Local business in Thibodaux donated food for a Cajun dinner that LSUS Fishing hosted at the Russellville Christian Center, raising $1,000 for western North Carolina residents suffering from the effects of Hurricane Helene.
Back in late September, LSUS put two boats in the top seven on Sam Rayburn Reservoir in late September.
Barrett Bennefield and Mason McCormick totaled 19-7 pounds in the one-day event to place fifth out of 186 boats.
Graston Bonfils and Nevan Osburn weren’t far behind at No. 7 with 18-11.
Two other LSUS boats were in the top 21 places as Smith/Thibodaux finished 20th with 15-6 and Ian Carter/Khristian Rousseve placed 21st with 15-3.
The sanctioned Major League Fishing event pushed the Pilots to No. 2 in the MLF poll with one more fall tournament remaining, although LSUS won’t be participating.
The Pilots have finished their fall competitive season and will start the spring portion of their season in late January.
