DAYTON, Tenn. — Dalton DeFelice and Evan Ludlow felt confident with their Day 1 game plan, but after nearly doubling their projection with a five-bass limit of 29 pounds, 7 ounces, the University of Montevallo teammates lead the Strike King Bassmaster College Series at Chickamauga Lake presented by Bass Pro Shops.
Heading into the second of two competition days, DeFelice and Ludlow hold a lead of 2-7 over Gage King and Banks Shaw of University of North Alabama.
“It certainly exceeded our expectations; we never saw anything like that in practice,” DeFelice said of their first-round catch. “We started on a school, and we thought we could catch 15 pounds out of it. We caught a 7 and a 9 pretty quick, and we just kinda beat ‘em for a little bit.
“Evan got another 7 and then we stopped fishing at 10:30 and just looked around our area. There are a lot of 6- to 10-pound fish rolling around in the area. We wanted to find the most high percentage (spots) for those fish.”
Fishing the midlake area, the duo targeted offshore hard bottom in 10 to 20 feet of water. Using forward facing sonar, they spotted their targets and mostly cast reaction baits.
As DeFelice noted, the fish wanted a very slow presentation.
“Also, you had to make your bait hit the water as quietly as possible,” Ludlow added.
The tournament field endured a rainy morning, but DeFelice said he and his partner caught most of their better fish once the precipitation stopped. Their largest fish created an unforgettable memory.
“I threw my bait in the water, and the second it splashed I saw two big fish scream up to the surface and a 9-pounder had my bait choked,” DeFelice said. “That has never happened for me before, so it was a really cool thing that will stick with me forever.”
Ludlow said he and DeFelice capitalized on what the day offered, but he ultimately credits divine intervention.
“God has a timing for you, and when it’s your time, nothing will stop that,” he said. “That was very evident today. I caught my (personal best bass) under the trolling motor.
“Several fish chased Dalton’s bait back to the boat, and Dalton was like, ‘Dude, get on ‘em! Get on ‘em!’ I just made a little 20-foot underhand cast and there were three big ones that chased it back. I caught a 7-pounder out of that group.”
DeFelice said the morning hours offered the most opportunity. After securing their weight, the leaders fished only one more time around noon, but the fish seemed to shut down and actually move away from their baits.
“Before 10:30, almost every fish we cast at bit,” DeFelice said.
Coming in 9 ounces shy of the elusive “dirty 30” may have been the only drawback to their day, but DeFelice said that detail motivates him and Ludlow to try and top their Day 1 performance during Saturday’s finale.
“I really believe we have the chance to have the same (weight) or better tomorrow,” DeFelice said. “It all depends on boat traffic. They get conditioned really quick.
“Hopefully we can get (the area) to ourselves and hold it.”
King and Shaw placed second with 27-0.
Storm Clark and Elisha Colley of University of Montevallo are in third place with 23-6.
King and Shaw lead the Big Bass standings with their 9-6.
Saturday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6 a.m. ET at Dayton Boat Dock. The weigh-in will be held at the same location at 2 p.m. The Top 10% of the field will punch their tickets to the 2025 Strike King Bassmaster College National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops at Cherokee Lake scheduled for July 10-12. Teams will also earn points towards the Lunkers Trail Team of the Year race.
Fish Dayton is hosting the tournament.