Northwestern State U Team Takes College Central Regional Title

Justin Cooper (left) and John Ledet of Northwestern State University weighed in 30 pounds, 9 ounces to take home the trophy Saturday during the 2015 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Central Regional presented by Bass Pro Shops held on the Red River out of Natchitoces, La. Photo by Shaye Baker/Bassmaster

NATCHITOCHES, La. — Hometown heroes John Ledet and Justin Cooper of Northwestern State University brought in the biggest bag of the final day weighing 17-0 to take home the title of 2015 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Central Regional presented by Bass Pro Shops champions with a three-day total of 30-9.
 
In addition to their win on the Red River, Ledet and Cooper qualify for the 2015 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship along with the remainder of the Top 14 teams from the Central Regional.
 
“The good Lord blessed us today,” Cooper said. “We went into some spots that I’ve had a lot of success in before, and we just caught them.”
 
After starting the event off a little slow with only two fish for 6-15, it was apparent that the local favorites going into the event were around the right quality of fish. However, the brutal cold front that moved in on the final day of practice was something that, local or not, made catching numbers of fish on Thursday very difficult.
 
On Friday, Ledet and Cooper brought in three fish for 6-10 and found themselves in seventh place headed into the final day. Their 17-0 Saturday weight was the second biggest bag of the entire tournament and enough to rocket Northwestern State to the top of the leaderboard and grant them a win by a margin of 4 pounds.
 
“The first two days we tried to wait out our prespawn fish that we had found, but they wouldn’t bite fast enough,” Ledet said. “Then today we decided we had to change things up if we wanted to win this thing. We started to run and gun and finally ran into a school of fish that wanted to bite.”
 
Ledet and Cooper caught most of their limit today fishing a flat filled with lily pad stems in the Little Jungle. Their kicker, a big female weighing 6-2, came off that same flat. 
 
“I caught that fish on a 3 1/2-inch V&M Baby Split Tail Beaver in about 5 feet of water next to a sunken duck blind,” Cooper said.
 
Evan Smith and Aaron Sarna of Arkansas Tech University finished the Central Regional in second place making a big move on the final day with a 12-0 bag that gave them a total of 26-9 for three days.
 
Dwight Camp and Jonathan Furlong of Southeastern Oklahoma University fell to third place on the final day after taking the lead on Day 2 with the Bass Pro Nitro Big Bag of the event weighing 17-8 and worth a $250 Bass Pro Shops gift card.  Their final round weight of four fish for 5-7 brought their three-day total to 25-3.
 
The 6-10 lunker caught by Hunter Leppert and Cole Eubanks of Arkansas Monticello on Day 2 held on to the Carhartt Big Bass honors for the Central Regional. The team will be awarded a $500 Carhartt gift card.
 
The Livingston Lures Leader Award of a $250 gift card will be awarded to Ledet and Cooper.
 
For a complete list of Saturday’s results, photos and video from on the water, visit Bassmaster.com.
 
Local hosts for the event include the City of Natchitoches, the Red River Waterway Commission and Northwestern State University.
 
2015 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Title Sponsor: Carhartt 
2015 Bass Bassmaster College Series Presenting Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops
 
2015 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Official Sponsors: Toyota, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, GoPro, Humminbird, Mercury, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha
 
2015 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Supporting Partners: A.R.E. Accessories, Dick Cepek Tires, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Power-Pole, Rigid Industries, Shimano
 
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), social media programs and events. For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
 
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series presented by Allstate, Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation events, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Costa Bassmaster High School Series, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro.
 
                                             
  Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Presented By Bass Pro Shops  
        3/5/2015 – 3/7/2015                
  Red River – Grand Ecore Recreation Area – Natchitoches, LA
                                             
   STANDINGS  BOATER DAY   3   
                     Today’s Activity    Accumulative   
                                              
   Name              # Fish   # Live Lbs – Oz   # Fish  # Live  Lbs – Oz
1  John Ledet – Justin Cooper Northwestern State University   5   5  17- 0  10  10  30- 9
2  Evan Smith – Aaron Sarna Arkansas Tech University   5   5  12- 0  10  10  26- 9
3 Dwight Camp – Jonathan Furlong Southeastern Oklahoma University   4   4  5- 7  10  10  25- 3
4  Brock Enmeier – Colten Hutson University of Central Oklahoma   3   3  7- 1  8  8  22-11
5  Aaron Belgard – Logan Laprarie Northwestern State University   5   5  13-11  9  9  21-11
6  Tyler Craig – Blake Alford La Monroe   2   2  4- 7  9  9  20- 8
7  Sawyer Grace – Mike Webster Arkansas Tech University   1   1  3- 7  7  7  19-11
8  Tyler Stewart – Nick Joiner La Monroe   4   4  7- 6  8  8  19- 5
9  Josh Bensema – Matthew Mcardle Texas A&M University   3   3  4-15  9  9  17- 6
10  Hunter Leppert – Cole Eubanks Arkansas Monticello   1   1  2- 7  4  4  15-10
11  Colby Ogden – Brandon Simoneaux Lamar University   1   1  2- 2  6  6  15- 6
12 Garret Lindsey – Clayton Godfrey Stephen F Austin State University  0  0  0- 0  5  5  14-10
13  Easton Ramsey – Chris Zins University of Central Oklahoma   1   1  2- 2  6  6  14- 5
14  Justin Gaskin – James Avant LSU Shreveport   1   1  1- 9  7  7  14- 1
15  Brandon Koon – Kyle Winstead UT Martin   0   0  0- 0  5  5  13- 5
16  Austyn Fowler – Zach Hurst Tarleton State University   1   1  4- 1  4  4  12- 4
17  Thomas Soileau – John Hurd La Monroe   2   2  2- 8  6  6  12- 2
18  Christopher Hampton – Hutton Leppert Northwestern State University 1  1  2- 7  4  4  11- 2
19  JP Kimbrough – Jared Rascoe LSU Shreveport   0   0  0- 0  5  5  10- 0
20  Tyler Moses – Brennan Soileau LA Tech   0   0  0- 0  5  5  8-14
21  Jacob Sepeda – Trent Newman Dallas Baptist University               3  3  7-14
22  Jonathan Poore – Colby Jones UT Martin               4  4  7- 1
23  Michael Wicks – Caleb Young Texas A&M University Texarkana               3  3  6-13
24  Colby Sydow – Blake Crabb Texas A&M – Corpus Christi               3  3  6-11
25  Dakota Jones –  Dallas Baptist University               4  4  6- 6
26  Phillip Borel – Dustin Nash Northwestern State University               2  2  6- 5
27  Kenneth Parks – Brian Cox UT Martin               3  3  5- 8
28  Tanner Crim – Marshall Hughes Tarleton State University               1  1  5- 6
29  Shelby Hutchens – Brian Blades Stephen F Austin State University               2  2  5- 4
30  Jay Robertson – Oaklin Spier Southeastern Louisiana University               2  2  5- 2
31  Chuck Morgan – Austin Kemper Northwestern State               2  2  4-15
32  Jesse Scarafiotti – Chonito Caswell New Mexico State University               2  2  4- 8
33  Allen Anders – Zach Johnston UAM-CTC               2  2  4- 8
34  Blake Kubiak – Travis Harriman U. of Arkansas               3  3  4- 6
35  Kyle Price – Memo Nunez New Mexico State University               2  2  4- 4
36  Zack Remedies – Adam Gotangco LSU               1  1  3- 8
37  Brady Lobue – Bradley Sullivan Oklahoma State University               2  2  3- 6
38  Chaz Miller –  Arkansas Tech University               1  1  3- 5
39  Darrell Henson Jr. – Jarod Hughes LSU               2  2  3- 4
40  Tyler Woods – Taylor Barton Stephen F Austin State University               2  2  3- 1
41  Nick Farrell – Randy Joe Branch LA Tech               2  2  3- 0
42  Adam Forester – Christopher Vallillo LA Tech               2  2  2-14
43  Zach Montalvo – Jordan Wallace Tarleton State University               2  2  2-12
44  Layne Bynum – Travis McGuire Texas Tech University               1  1  2-10
45  Brandon Johnson – Brandon Riley La Monroe               1  1  2- 9
46  Chance Pharr – Andrew Wooley U. of Arkansas               1  1  2- 6
46  Tyler Wilk – Austin Watkins LA Tech               1  1  2- 6
48  Stetson Overton – Justin Seeton Tarleton State University               1  1  2- 4
49  Brennan Fertig – Evan Cook Texas A&M University               1  1  2- 2
50  Dustin Browning – Chris Gaudin LA Tech               1  1  1-11
51  John-Michael Brattlof – Zac Thames Stephen F Austin State University       1  1  1- 3
52  Hogan Beckley – Hunter Jolley La Monroe               1  1  1- 1
53  Kenneth Anderson – Drew Porto U. of Arkansas               0  0  0- 0
53  Jackson Blackett – Austin Joiner La Monroe               0  0  0- 0
53  Evan Blott – Hunter Wilson Texas A&M – Kingsville               0  0  0- 0
53  Matthew Bowden – Adam Estlack Texas Tech University               0  0  0- 0
53  Bailey Britt – Jordan Ogle Arkansas Tech               0  0  0- 0
53  Josh Cole – Logan Byrd Texas A&M Texarkana               0  0  0- 0
53  Nicholas DiCamillo – Justin Hettinga New Mexico State University               0  0  0- 0
53  Nicholas Ezernack – Tyler Roberts Northwestern State University               0  0  0- 0
53  Dustin Fremin – Nathan Fulmer LSU               0  0  0- 0
53  Lawson Fuller – Garrett Tschirhart Texas A&M – Corpus Christi               0  0  0- 0
53  Garrett Goettee – Hugh Keller Texas A&M University at Galveston               0  0  0- 0
53  Gregory Green – Cain Hamous Northwestern State University               0  0  0- 0
53  Jed Hebert – Austin Hebert UL Lafayette               0  0  0- 0
53  Luke Hess – Zach Sparish LA Tech               0  0  0- 0
53  Zachary Higginbotham – Taylor Culbreath Arkansas Monticello               0  0  0- 0
53  Garrett Hilton – Quinton Evans Lamar University               0  0  0- 0
53  Zackery Hines – Reed Foster Dallas Baptist University               0  0  0- 0
53  Levi Kling – Jake Funderburg UAM/CTC               0  0  0- 0
53  Tyler Lafitte – Thomas Marchant Northwestern State University               0  0  0- 0
53  Dane LeCoq – Brennan Vosburg LSU               0  0  0- 0
53  Scott McClellan – Sam Higgins LA Tech               0  0  0- 0
53  Cody Metzger – Micheal King Northeastern State University               0  0  0- 0
53  Alexander Murray – Alex Felder Southeastern Louisiana University               0  0  0- 0
53  Zachary Pickle – Dalton Stephens U. of Arkansas               0  0  0- 0
53  Clinton Rasberry – Owen Richard LSU               0  0  0- 0
53  Luke Rasberry – Steven Session Northwestern State University               0  0  0- 0
53  Tyler Rivet – Jess Robertson Nicholls State University               0  0  0- 0
53  Greg Roberts –  Texas Tech University               0  0  0- 0
53  Ry Savoy – Dustin Robicheaux UL Lafayette               0  0  0- 0
53  Blake Schroeder – Easton Heigley Stephen F Austin State University               0  0  0- 0
53  Austin Sepulvado – Cullen Toups LA Tech               0  0  0- 0
53  Matthew Sharp – Bryton Kurtz Texas Tech University               0  0  0- 0
53  Louis Smith – Donald Peters Texas Tech University               0  0  0- 0
53  Justin Snow – Anthony Sciara Texas A&M – Texarkana               0  0  0- 0
53  T J Tucker – Ronnie Gray Arkansas Tech University               0  0  0- 0
53  Parker White – Austin O’Dell LSU               0  0  0- 0
53  Garret Whitley – Alec Castonguay Stephen F Austin State University               0  0  0- 0
                                             
      BIG BASS          TOTALS              
  Day  Name  City,State Lbs-Oz  Day  # Fish   # Live   Lbs-Oz    # Limits    
  1  Evan Smith – Aaron Sarna  Mansfield, AR 6- 3  1   70    70    165- 2     1     
                                             
  2  Hunter Leppert – Cole Eubanks  Monticello, AR 6-10  2   88    88    215-13     3     
  3  John Ledet – Justin Cooper  Robeline, LA 6- 2  3   40    40    92-10     3