By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor
No offense to Cody Huff’s professors at Bethel University. He just felt he would be more productive at Toledo Bend Reservoir than planted at a desk in their classrooms over the past few weeks.
Huff, a senior who’s one semester away from earning a business degree from the rural Tennessee college, made a triumphant return to campus this past weekend after a memorable three-week stint in southwest Louisiana.
Two weeks ago, Huff and Bethel teammate Dakota Pierce topped a field of 25 college teams to win the Toledo Bend Bassmaster College Series season opener. For an encore, Huff returned to the massive reservoir that straddles the Texas-Louisiana border for the first Southwestern FLW Series and won that, too.
Both times, he employed a jigging spoon technique to catch pre-spawn bass stalking wads of baitfish over deep water.
“This is the third week of school and today was my first day,” Huff said Monday. “That’s not a great thing, but I felt like I had no choice.”
Upon returning home to Ava, Mo., after the College Series win, Huff began to wonder about his prospects if he entered the FLW Series event. He inquired about open slots on the pro side and when FLW told him he was in, he jumped back in his truck and made the nine-hour drive back to Louisiana.
“I wondered if I could still catch ‘em or not and the only way to find out was to load up and go back and find out,” Huff said. “Luckily, I loaded up and found out.”
Did he ever.
He caught 20-plus pounds each of the first two days to carry a 7 1/2-pound lead into the final day. That’s when he tacked on 17-15 to seal the win and collect the $35,395 cash payout.
“I had a lot of fun the past two weeks down there,” he said. “It doesn’t happen too often where you get on something special that even the locals don’t do. That’s hard to come by because there’s so much knowledge about that place and so many people are so good. When it comes along, it’s awesome.”
Huff is on a tear seldom seen before. Counting the three matches that he won at the Bassmaster College Series Classic Bracket last August to clinch a spot in the 2020 Classic, he’s led six straight days of competition in Bassmaster College Series events. Tack on the FLW Series victory in one of the traditionally most competitive divisions and Huff has plenty of momentum going as he counts down the days before he’ll compete in the 50th Classic at Lake Guntersville.
“It’s a great boost. It’s all really good timing with the Classic coming up,” he said. “Sometimes a guy gets some momentum and makes all the right decisions and trusts those decisions at the same time. This little string of events has been huge.”
Staying Put
During practice for the College Series, Huff said conditions were shaping up for the bass to flood the bank. Water temperatures were near 60 degrees, baitfish were flickering in the pockets and the weather was on a warming trend.
Then a significant cold front put a stop to it all. Water temps dropped to the mid-50s for the tournament, causing the bait to retreat to deeper water. The bass followed suit.
“We’d found some fish on day 1 of practice and got lucky,” Huff recalled. “It was the day after the cold front and we noticed the bait was gone. Once we found the bait, though, we noticed they’d get in big schools. It was something I’d seen plenty of times before at home.
“We threw the trolling motor down and threw spoons and caught ‘em that way. We had about 10 different areas around the lake. We were super confident we could do it in the tournament, but we didn’t realize the size we were on. We figured there’d be a few nice ones mixed in, but they were all nice ones.”
Fast forward to practice for the FLW Series and Huff had an abbreviated session, spending one day on the water just idling around those areas to confirm the bait and bass were still in the same general vicinity. He figured the spoon presentation would be effective once again.
“All the places I caught ‘em before, they were still there,” he said. “I added one new place. I felt like I was in good shape. I just had to hope the baitfish would set up.”
Spoon Feeding
Hailing from southwestern Missouri, Huff has plenty of experience fishing for bass during the winter months when they go deep and key on wads of baitfish
“I live near Bull Shoals (Lake) and Table Rock and it’s nothing crazy to catch fish 70 or 80 feet deep in the wintertime there,” he said.
He favors a jigging spoon in those conditions, too.
“Just a slab of lead and a bare hook,” he quipped.
At Toledo Bend, he focused on the 20- to 70-foot section of the water column as most of the fish were concentrated in 20 to 40, he said.
“It seemed like in the morning, the bait and bass were scattered, but as the day went on, the bait would group up and then the bass would get into groups of five up to 25 or so,” he said. “Any time you got your bait into one of those groups, it’d be down one of their throats because they’d get so excited.”
He was boat 112 out of 123 on day 1 and he was surprised to have carte blanche on the areas he’d planned to fish. He figured most in the field would’ve reviewed the footage of the College Series or read up on how he and Pierce won.
“I got on the spot I wanted to start on, which was a surprise,” he said.
He endured a slow morning under dark skies and had just two fish when the clock hit 1 p.m. He made a move to another spot around 2:30 and a big school happened to be there. He finished his limit and culled up to 20-06, which was good for fourth place.
“I felt like I salvaged the day there,” he said.
More cloudy skies followed on day 2, but after a warmer night the baitfish were already grouped up when Huff got to his first spot. More bass were congregated there as well.
“I started catching them right when I got there and caught a small limit for 14 pounds,” he said. “I never started the big motor all day. So many fish had pulled into that area.”
He added big fish after big fish to his ledger throughout the day until a 4-pounder in the afternoon gave him 23-plus pounds.
“I laid off after that,” he said.
Surprisingly, he saw nobody else on the same pattern that he was.
“I think I just got super lucky or I guess it’s something not many people down there do,” he said.
The final day offered up perfect conditions for spoon fishing with sunny skies, but the fish Huff had worked on for the first two days had vanished. At noon, he had a couple keepers so he shifted to search mode.
About an hour later, he came upon a massive school and caught an 8 1/2-pounder and a 3-pounder in quick succession. He tacked on another keeper and wound up with 17-15, more than enough to salt away the win with 61-11 overall.
Pattern Notes
> Electronics played a key role in Huff’s success. That allowed him to pinpoint where to cast the spoon.
“A lot of time I was just vertical dropping on them,” he said. “Most of the time, if you dropped it in their face they’d bite every time. If three or more were down there, they’d bite. If it was just one or two, it’d be tougher.”
Winning Gear Notes
> Spoon gear: 6’8” medium-heavy Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris Signature Series casting rod, Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris Signature Series casting reel (7.5:1 ratio), 12-pound Sufix Advanced fluorocarbon line, 7/8-oz. War Eagle jigging spoon (hammered silver).
> Huff swapped the stock hook on the spoon for a #2 VMC treble hook.
Much of the tackle referenced above is available at the BassFan Store. To browse the selection, click here.
Final Results
1. Cody Huff -- Ava, Mo -- 20-6 (5) -- 23-6 (5) -- 43-12 (10) -- 17-15 (5) -- 61-11 (15) -- $35,395
2. David Curtis -- Trinity, Tx -- 15-4 (5) -- 16-12 (5) -- 32-0 (10) -- 22-0 (5) -- 54-0 (15) -- $14,134
3. Matthew Boyt -- Converse, La -- 20-13 (5) -- 13-3 (5) -- 34-0 (10) -- 16-13 (5) -- 50-13 (15) -- $10,168
4. Stephen Johnston -- Hemphill, Tx -- 23-8 (5) -- 12-2 (5) -- 35-10 (10) -- 13-13 (5) -- 49-7 (15) -- $8,589
5. Justin O`Brian Cooper -- Zwolle, La -- 18-10 (5) -- 17-10 (5) -- 36-4 (10) -- 12-15 (5) -- 49-3 (15) -- $7,626
6. Chris Lewis -- Longview, Tx -- 14-7 (5) -- 17-5 (5) -- 31-12 (10) -- 17-2 (5) -- 48-14 (15) -- $6,779
7. Darold Gleason -- Many, La -- 20-10 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 33-7 (10) -- 15-4 (5) -- 48-11 (15) -- $5,932
8. Benjamin Gulett -- Converse, La -- 17-6 (5) -- 15-14 (5) -- 33-4 (10) -- 13-7 (5) -- 46-11 (15) -- $5,084
9. Cody Pitt -- Many, La -- 14-3 (5) -- 19-1 (5) -- 33-4 (10) -- 8-0 (3) -- 41-4 (13) -- $4,237
10. Phil Marks -- Dallas, Tx -- 13-11 (5) -- 20-13 (5) -- 34-8 (10) -- 4-2 (2) -- 38-10 (12) -- $3,389
The following anglers missed the cut and did not compete on day 3.
11. Ryan Pinkston -- Center, Tx -- 16-4 (5) -- 15-1 (5) -- 31-5 (10) -- $3,178
12. Jeff Reynolds -- Calera, Ok -- 12-13 (5) -- 18-6 (5) -- 31-3 (10) -- $2,966
13. Jacopo Gallelli -- Florence, Fi -- 16-6 (5) -- 13-13 (4) -- 30-3 (9) -- $2,542
14. Travis Kelehan -- Lafayette, La -- 14-13 (5) -- 15-0 (5) -- 29-13 (10) -- $2,542
15. Terry Luedtke -- Burton, Tx -- 10-12 (5) -- 18-5 (5) -- 29-1 (10) -- $2,542
16. Jim Dillard -- West Monroe, La -- 19-5 (5) -- 9-11 (4) -- 29-0 (9) -- $2,542
17. Eric Wright -- Balch Springs, Tx -- 14-15 (5) -- 13-12 (5) -- 28-11 (10) -- $2,542
18. Jack Covas -- Waco, Tx -- 12-7 (5) -- 15-8 (5) -- 27-15 (10) -- $2,542
19. Glen Freeman -- Zwolle, La -- 15-14 (5) -- 11-5 (5) -- 27-3 (10) -- $2,542
20. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, Ok -- 13-4 (5) -- 13-11 (5) -- 26-15 (10) -- $2,542
21. Tommy Durham -- Whitney, Tx -- 15-10 (5) -- 11-4 (5) -- 26-14 (10) -- $2,330
22. Harold Allen -- Shelbyville, Tx -- 11-7 (5) -- 15-6 (5) -- 26-13 (10) -- $2,330
23. Michael Herron -- Paris, Tx -- 13-5 (5) -- 12-15 (5) -- 26-4 (10) -- $2,330
24. Dicky Newberry -- Houston, Tx -- 14-3 (5) -- 11-13 (5) -- 26-0 (10) -- $2,330
25. Dakota Ebare -- Denham Springs, La -- 12-6 (5) -- 13-7 (5) -- 25-13 (10) -- $2,330
26. Weston Brown -- Houston, Tx -- 8-6 (3) -- 16-14 (5) -- 25-4 (8) -- $2,118
27. Michael Scalise -- Port Allen, La -- 13-0 (5) -- 12-4 (5) -- 25-4 (10) -- $2,118
28. Neal Gilmore -- Magnolia, Tx -- 12-8 (4) -- 12-1 (5) -- 24-9 (9) -- $2,618
29. Scott Bonvillain -- Dequincy, La -- 12-1 (5) -- 11-5 (5) -- 23-6 (10) -- $2,118
30. Jacob Keenom -- Wellston, Ok -- 9-15 (4) -- 13-6 (5) -- 23-5 (9) -- $2,118
31. Samuel Byrd -- Tahlequah, Ok -- 10-12 (4) -- 12-6 (4) -- 23-2 (8) -- $1,695
32. Jordan Osborne -- Longview, Tx -- 14-7 (5) -- 8-8 (4) -- 22-15 (9)
33. Tommy Martin -- Hemphill, Tx -- 12-1 (5) -- 10-11 (5) -- 22-12 (10)
34. Kevin Lasyone -- Dry Prong, La -- 10-2 (5) -- 12-8 (5) -- 22-10 (10)
35. Stacey King -- Reeds Spring, Mo -- 12-14 (5) -- 9-11 (5) -- 22-9 (10)
36. Colby Miller -- Elmer, La -- 11-0 (4) -- 11-8 (5) -- 22-8 (9)
37. Randy Despino -- Colfax, La -- 7-15 (4) -- 13-7 (5) -- 21-6 (9)
38. Terry Hawkins -- Corsicana, Tx -- 7-2 (3) -- 14-3 (5) -- 21-5 (8)
39. Tim Reneau -- Richland Springs, Tx -- 7-15 (4) -- 13-6 (5) -- 21-5 (9)
40. Kennith George -- Edmond, Ok -- 9-2 (4) -- 12-2 (5) -- 21-4 (9)
41. Skeeter Fowler -- Grand Saline, Tx -- 4-0 (1) -- 16-10 (5) -- 20-10 (6)
42. Joseph Norris -- Bossier City, La -- 15-4 (5) -- 4-8 (2) -- 19-12 (7)
43. Matt Cooper -- Smithville, Tx -- 10-4 (5) -- 9-7 (4) -- 19-11 (9)
44. Andre Martin -- Lena, La -- 9-6 (5) -- 9-11 (3) -- 19-1 (8) -- $365
45. Jaden Parrish -- Liberty, Tx -- 10-0 (4) -- 8-14 (4) -- 18-14 (8)
46. Zack Birge -- Blanchard, Ok -- 10-7 (4) -- 7-14 (4) -- 18-5 (8)
47. Billy Hurt -- Spring Creek, Tn -- 18-0 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 18-0 (5)
48. Will Hughes -- Whitehouse, Tx -- 13-14 (5) -- 4-2 (1) -- 18-0 (6)
49. Joe Gerard -- Concordia, Ks -- 4-6 (2) -- 13-6 (5) -- 17-12 (7)
50. Brent Bonadona -- Port Allen, La -- 6-5 (3) -- 11-2 (5) -- 17-7 (8)
51. Jeff Richards -- Colorado Springs, Co -- 11-10 (5) -- 5-5 (2) -- 16-15 (7)
52. Bo Keith -- Haughton, La -- 3-15 (2) -- 12-12 (5) -- 16-11 (7)
53. Cole Brewer -- Leesville, La -- 8-4 (4) -- 8-1 (4) -- 16-5 (8)
54. Josh Champagne -- Breaux Bridge, La -- 12-11 (5) -- 3-7 (2) -- 16-2 (7)
55. Bradley Perkins -- Raymond, Ms -- 8-13 (4) -- 7-5 (4) -- 16-2 (8)
56. Larry Jones -- Calhoun, La -- 14-3 (4) -- 1-14 (1) -- 16-1 (5)
57. Rick Harris -- Del Rio, Tx -- 10-5 (5) -- 5-9 (3) -- 15-14 (8)
58. Hayden Newberry -- Jonesboro, Il -- 7-6 (3) -- 8-6 (4) -- 15-12 (7)
59. Jason Wells -- Center, Tx -- 5-5 (3) -- 10-4 (5) -- 15-9 (8)
60. Eric Faucett -- Norman, Ok -- 13-4 (4) -- 2-2 (1) -- 15-6 (5)
61. Kyle Cortiana -- Coweta, Ok -- 3-5 (2) -- 12-0 (4) -- 15-5 (6)
62. Joe Beebee -- Spring, Tx -- 15-4 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 15-4 (5)
63. Cody Bird -- Granbury, Tx -- 11-12 (5) -- 3-8 (2) -- 15-4 (7)
64. Brian Robison -- Bellville, Tx -- 0-0 (0) -- 14-5 (5) -- 14-5 (5)
65. Bob Vote -- Kingwood, Tx -- 7-1 (3) -- 6-10 (3) -- 13-11 (6)
66. Bryan Trahan -- Orange, Tx -- 7-6 (4) -- 5-11 (2) -- 13-1 (6)
67. Randy Millender -- Teague, Tx -- 7-2 (3) -- 5-11 (2) -- 12-13 (5)
68. Brandon Moss -- Blanchard, Ok -- 7-2 (2) -- 5-11 (2) -- 12-13 (4)
69. Cade Alsbury -- Gentry, Ar -- 7-11 (4) -- 5-1 (3) -- 12-12 (7)
70. Billy Billeaud -- Lafayette, La -- 4-0 (1) -- 8-11 (4) -- 12-11 (5)
71. Allan Nail -- Sand Springs, Ok -- 6-15 (3) -- 5-5 (3) -- 12-4 (6)
72. Scout Echols -- Monticello, Ar -- 9-1 (4) -- 2-15 (1) -- 12-0 (5)
73. Cole Moore -- Anacoco, La -- 7-13 (2) -- 3-10 (1) -- 11-7 (3)
74. Jame Dubroc -- Hessmer, La -- 8-11 (3) -- 2-2 (1) -- 10-13 (4)
75. Lance Crawford -- Broken Bow, Ok -- 2-8 (1) -- 8-1 (3) -- 10-9 (4)
76. Earl Ates -- Longview, Tx -- 6-5 (2) -- 3-12 (2) -- 10-1 (4)
77. Rob Burns -- Plano, Tx -- 9-15 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 9-15 (3)
78. Randy Cisler -- Mesquite, Tx -- 9-14 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 9-14 (4)
79. Chris Berry -- Houston, Tx -- 3-12 (2) -- 6-2 (2) -- 9-14 (4)
80. Mike Richardson -- Thorndale, Tx -- 1-9 (1) -- 8-3 (3) -- 9-12 (4)
81. Steven Hatala -- Harrison Township, Mi -- 3-11 (2) -- 5-11 (3) -- 9-6 (5)
82. Bryan Mistretta -- Donaldsonville, La -- 0-0 (0) -- 8-15 (4) -- 8-15 (4)
83. Robert Brown -- Round Rock, Tx -- 1-11 (1) -- 7-1 (3) -- 8-12 (4)
84. Derek Bartley -- Longview, Tx -- 5-12 (3) -- 3-0 (1) -- 8-12 (4)
85. Brad Hillebrandt -- Ragley, La -- 2-7 (1) -- 5-14 (3) -- 8-5 (4)
86. James E Davis Jr -- Ferriday, La -- 2-7 (1) -- 5-13 (3) -- 8-4 (4)
87. Peter Cherkas -- Des Moines, Ia -- 3-3 (1) -- 5-1 (1) -- 8-4 (2)
88. Roy Whisenhunt -- Valliant, Ok -- 4-0 (1) -- 4-4 (2) -- 8-4 (3)
89. Danny Weems -- Como, Tx -- 0-0 (0) -- 7-11 (4) -- 7-11 (4)
90. Brian Martin -- Hemphill, Tx -- 7-5 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 7-5 (3)
91. Eric Leger -- Mamou, La -- 2-5 (1) -- 5-0 (2) -- 7-5 (3)
92. Josh Bensema -- Willis, Tx -- 4-11 (2) -- 2-5 (1) -- 7-0 (3)
93. Chris Russell -- New Era, La -- 6-15 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 6-15 (3)
93. Lucas McDaniel -- Indianapolis, In -- 6-15 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 6-15 (3)
95. Cameron Mattison -- Bossier City, La -- 5-1 (2) -- 1-14 (1) -- 6-15 (3)
96. River Lee -- Nacogdoches, Tx -- 2-6 (1) -- 4-9 (2) -- 6-15 (3)
97. Steve Oram -- Hallsville, Tx -- 2-2 (1) -- 4-10 (2) -- 6-12 (3)
98. James Marsh -- Thomas, Ok -- 0-0 (0) -- 6-7 (3) -- 6-7 (3)
99. Eric Hardaway -- Broken Bow, Ok -- 2-2 (1) -- 4-4 (2) -- 6-6 (3)
100. Trea Luedke -- Montgomery, Tx -- 6-5 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 6-5 (3)
101. Douglas R. Johnson -- Ponca City, Ok -- 0-0 (0) -- 6-5 (2) -- 6-5 (2)
102. Waylon Harvey -- Henderson, Tx -- 4-7 (2) -- 1-10 (1) -- 6-1 (3)
103. Cougun Ledford -- Coweta, Ok -- 5-11 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 5-11 (3)
104. Darrel Robertson -- Jay, Ok -- 5-6 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 5-6 (2)
105. Charley Slaton -- Valliant, Ok -- 3-7 (2) -- 1-15 (1) -- 5-6 (3)
106. Gary Caruso -- Baton Rouge, La -- 0-0 (0) -- 5-1 (3) -- 5-1 (3)
107. Will Curlee -- Round Rock, Tx -- 0-0 (0) -- 4-15 (2) -- 4-15 (2)
108. James Ware -- Longview, Tx -- 4-8 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 4-8 (2)
109. Duane Pittman -- Prairieville, La -- 2-4 (1) -- 2-4 (1) -- 4-8 (2)
110. Winston Michel -- Pierre Part, La -- 4-5 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 4-5 (2)
110. Bronk McDaniel -- Alexandria, La -- 4-5 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 4-5 (2)
112. Patrick Vince -- Ethel, La -- 0-0 (0) -- 4-1 (2) -- 4-1 (2)
113. James Martin -- Longview, Tx -- 3-15 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 3-15 (2)
114. Nickalas Butler -- Lawrence, Ks -- 3-7 (1) -- 0-0 (0) -- 3-7 (1)
114. Roberto Novoa -- Frisco, Tx -- 3-7 (1) -- 0-0 (0) -- 3-7 (1)
116. David Wencil -- Buda, Tx -- 3-2 (1) -- 0-0 (0) -- 3-2 (1)
116. Bill Cook -- Houston, Tx -- 0-0 (0) -- 3-2 (1) -- 3-2 (1)
118. Anthony Goodson -- Driftwood, Tx -- 2-8 (1) -- 0-0 (0) -- 2-8 (1)
119. Matt McMillan -- Fort Worth, Tx -- 2-5 (1) -- 0-0 (0) -- 2-5 (1)
120. Dustin Grice -- Valley Mills, Tx -- 1-12 (1) -- 0-0 (0) -- 1-12 (1)
121. Jason Allred -- Bluffton, Mn -- 1-11 (1) -- 0-0 (0) -- 1-11 (1)
Jerod Keith -- Haughton, La -- 0-0 (0) -- 0-0 (0) -- 0-0 (0)
Mike Sierra -- San Antonio, Tx -- 0-0 (0) -- 0-0 (0) -- 0-0 (0)
