Miles Smith is right where he wants to be as a college senior, a bass angler in his or someone else’s bass boat and a proud member of one of the top collegiate bass teams in the country at LSU-Shreveport.
The 21-year-old all-around outdoorsman fished his freshman year and half his sophomore year with Nicholls State University, which has a good program, he said. His heart and competitive drive took him north to LSU-S.
“I wanted to be part of that. I really wanted to be there. It was a pretty exciting deal,” said the business administration major who graduated from Central Lafourche High School, where he was an active fishing team member as a senior with Richard Lirete in LHSBN tournaments and Carson Rogers in high school Bassmaster Opens. “I don’t know how, but it seems like any time they get new anglers, they’re all really, really good. I don’t know what it is about (LSU-) Shreveport but it’s producing good fishermen.”
More than fishing
Smith’s move to LSU-S paired him with two passionate bass anglers, Coach Charles Thompson II of Bossier City and one of the most accomplished young bass tournament anglers in Louisiana, Levi Thibodeaux. He has enjoyed the experience.
“I love Coach Charles,” he said. “If we can count on anybody to have our back day in and day out, it’s Coach Charles. He sacrifices a lot of what he has to give more to us. He’s a good dude. Fishing’s about fishing. But at the end of the day we all think of it as more than fishing. We’re all a family and we love fishing with one another. I think what we have is really special.”
Smith and Thibodeaux notched several lofty finishes, including a win at an MLF college event on Lake Seminole, a third place at Lake Dardanelle and Top 15 result in a Bassmaster college tournament at Douglas Lake.
“I learned a good bit,” he said. “We ended up being a pretty good team. We bounced ideas off each other a lot. He’s really good at fishing slow. I was never taught that growing up. I learned how to slow down and be more confident in a spot.”
Thibodeaux showed him the effectiveness of Neko Rigs.
“They eat it!” he said. “It’s not a bait you want to throw unless you start catching on it. Then you don’t want to put it down.”
His go-to bait is a Megabass 110+1 Jr. jerkbait in spawn cherry or MB Gizzard.
“I like the way it works in the water,” he said. “It works the way I want it to. It doesn’t tangle up a lot. It just doesn’t mess up.”
A lot to look forward to
For this college bass fishing season, Smith has teamed with fifth-year senior William Tew. Smith and Tew finished second in October at Lake Dardanelle. They have a full schedule to fish the second half of the season at Lake Toho, Lake Sam Rayburn, Kerr Lake and Lake Seminole, for starters. He hopes to go back-to-back at Lake Seminole, albeit with a different partner.
Smith is enjoying the ride in the collegiate ranks.
“Ah, man, it means a lot to me, I’ve met some really great guys across the country,” he said. “I can call any time and they’ll take their shirt off their back to help me.”
After his grandfather, Larry Theriot of Raceland, and cousin, Grant Naquin of Thibodaux, got him started, Smith was hooked. He saw the bass tournament side and, he said, “thought to myself one day I’d love to be on that stage, holding a blue trophy.” He plans to make a run to get into the Bassmaster Elite Series.
Smith stays busy by managing two companies, Crazy Town Inflatables and Crazy Town Fireworks, and working as a guide on offshore tuna fishing trips out of Coco Marina.
His favorite lake to fish in December is Toledo Bend. He’ll target 25- to 35-foot depths along drains and river channels where bass suspend and chase shad. He’ll use a Damiki Rig, or the Megabass 110+1 Jr., or a bone- or shad-colored Hinkle Shad in 8- to 13-foot depths.
