LSUS Fishing places three boats in top 11 on Arkansas' Lake Dardanelle

LSUS Fishing places three boats in top 11 on Arkansas' Lake Dardanelle

RUSSELLVILLE, ARK. - LSUS Fishing placed three boats in the top 11 in the 2025 AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open on Lake Dardanelle this past weekend.

The LSUS pair of Miles Smith and William Tew hauled in 33.32 pounds of bass in the two-day event, missing the top spot by less than five ounces.

The sixth-place pair of Carsen Adcock and Will Powell ended day one as the highest Pilots boat (16.31 pounds), but a slight dip on Day 2 (13.84) put this boat about 3.5 pounds off the weight to beat.

Mason McCormick and Colton Caskey fished pretty evenly over the two days to finish No. 11 with 28.5 pounds.

LSUS was one of two schools to place three boats that high in the 284-boat field.

"These guys are good," said LSUS coach Charles Thompson. "This lake sets up right for us as its part of a river system that muddies up and is closer to Louisiana and Texas fishing than previous fall events on Kentucky Lake and Pickwick Lake."

While Smith and Tew are senior and college fishing and LSUS veterans, the other two boats featured one local freshman each (Haughton's Adcock and Riverdale Academy's Caskey)

"These guys have all the skills, it's just a matter of time," Thompson said. "Take Mason and Colton - they fished everything differently because they weren't catching fish at the beginning.

"All of our guys worked really well together."

The tournament, which counts as double points in the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year standings as an Association of Collegiate Anglers event, helps boost the Pilots in what had been a slower than expected fall season.

LSUS was picked preseason No. 5 after its second straight top-10 finish this past season, but the Pilots entered the Lake Dardanelle event at No. 14.

Thompson projects this finish should have LSUS sniffing the top 10 again when the new rankings are published.

"This performance means we're not behind the eight-ball heading into the spring season, which plays a little more to our guys' strengths," Thompson said. "One of grandparents talked about a runner who has a strong kick to end the race, but if you let the other guys get too far ahead, it doesn't matter how strong your kick is.

"The top teams did build a lead on us through the first two or three tournaments of the fall, but this performance betters our position."

Two other LSUS boats finished in the top half of the field in Hunter Hamilton/Tyler Morris (No. 121) and Ian Carter/Hayden Davis (No. 139).