Diving into the Unknown: GU Fishermen at Smith Lake

Ricky Huge with a big largemouth bass during practice! Media by Chris Brooks

The Greenville University Bass Fishing team recently stopped at a spotted bass paradise. That paradise was Smith Lake in Cullman, Alabama. Smith Lake is known as one of the ultimate lakes for spotted bass in the country. It is also where the Carhartt B.A.S.S College Tour stop number two took place. Greenville was only able to send one boat to the event as they were on the waitlist and were not sure if they would even be able to fish in the tournament. The boat that Greenville sent was the boat of Ricky Huge and Cordell Beckmann. The two traveled down to Alabama to practice, hoping they would be chosen to fish in the tournament. Their instincts to travel were accurate as they received one of the 250 spots to fish in this tournament. During day one, Huge and Beckmann were able to wrangle up 2 fish for 5 pounds and 13 ounces. On day two, they had a total weight of 4 pounds and 5 ounces. These reel-ins put them in 176th place.

Ricky Huge during the B.A.S.S. Open on Smith Lake.
Media by Chris Brooks.

Here is an interview with the boat captain for Greenville, Ricky Huge:

Q: “How did you catch your fish during the tournament?”

A: “We caught all of our fish on chunk rock points that had immediate access to deep water. The boat was sitting in about 20-30 feet of water and we were casting up to about 6 feet of water. All of our fish came off of an Owner shaky head paired with a Zoom trick worm. I would start the morning throwing a watermelon candy color with a chartreuse dyed tip. As the sun got up and the water started warming up, I would switch to a green pumpkin purple trick worm with an orange dyed tip. I feel as if that change helped me get a few more bites throughout the day. We caught a lot of fish all day, we just struggled weeding through the smaller fish.”

Q: “What was it like to go to a tournament knowing that you might not have been able to fish?”

Cordell Beckmann with a big largemouth bass during practice.
Media by Ricky Huge.

A: “It was very stressful. We knew going into the tournament that there was the chance that we might not be able to fish. We had formulated a plan that if we got in the tournament, then we would be set. If we didn’t get in the tournament, we basically looked at it as a fishing trip to go catch spotted bass. We were fortunate enough to get put in the tournament the night before it started. It all worked out for us and I think I speak for myself and Cordell in saying that we are very grateful.”

Be sure to keep up with the Greenville University Fishing Team as they take on Lake Cumberland in Burnside, Kentucky on April 12th. Then they will head to Bull Shoals in Mountain Home, Arkansas on April 25th-27th. Go GU Bass Fishing!

Media by Chris Brooks.

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