NATCHITOCHES, La. – The Texas A&M; team of Paul Manley of Orange, and Andrew Shafer of Chatfield, stunned the crowd on Monday bringing in a bag of six bass totaling 17 pounds, 2 ounces to win the National Guard FLW College Fishing Texas Regional Championship on Sibley Lake with a three-day total of 16 bass weighing 30-7. For their efforts, the team won a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard wrapped in school colors and $25,000 for the school they represent.
The Texas Regional was originally scheduled to take place on the Red River, however, due to unsafe water conditions the tournament was moved to Sibley Lake. The lake was under a lot of pressure all weekend and the bite was tough throughout the tournament, but despite what some swore wasn't there, a 5-pounder, Shafer and Manley were able to come up big today. They fished around dead lily pads; Manley was flipping a green pumpkin speed craw and Shafer's success came with ChatterBait. They only caught seven keepers today, but that was more than enough to give them a solid win.
Rounding out the top five teams are Texas State University - Jay McCollum of Athens and David Cosner of Austin, (13 bass, 27-9, $25,000); Tarleton State Texas - Tanner Morgan of Stephenville, Texas, and John Anderson of Tom Bean, (15 bass, 25-1, $11,000); Northwestern State University - Aaron Sistrunk of Converse, La., and Jeffrey Rich of Alexandria, La. (15 bass, 21-11, $8,000); and Baylor University - Jay Holland of Waco and Andrew McAdams of Lorena (16 bass, 20-10, $6000).
“I'm going home to ice my elbows and shoulders,” said McCollum from the second place Texas State University team. “I am exhausted; we fished hard all weekend and had a blast. I'm ready to go home and get ready for Tennessee!”
“We knew it was going to be a grind,” said teammate Cosner. “We stuck to our game plan and hoped it would work out. We didn't get first, but we are still going to Tennessee and we are so excited.
“The difference between a good angler and a great angler is the ability to make adjustments," added Cosner. “We were able to make some key adjustments each day that allowed us to increase our bag every day, but unfortunately we fell a little short today.”
In addition to the prize awards, the top five teams from the Texas Regional Championship have all earned a spot in the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship in Knoxville, Tenn.
