Paris, TN (September 22, 2024) – Day 2 of tournament competition at the first stop of the 2024-25 Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, the Association of Collegiate Anglers’ 20th season, is now complete. The Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley saw close to 600 of college fishing’s top anglers compete on Kentucky Lake in Henry County and Paris, TN for two full days. The final day of tournament competition for the no-entry-fee, nationally televised, double points event featured a total of three weigh-in sessions. The first two sessions of the day each awarded prizes to the Top 10 biggest fish, and the final session paid out the Top 20.
For Day 2 of tournament competition today, anglers were permitted to use only Berkley baits. As the anglers crossed the stage, they mentioned catching fish on a variety of different Berkley products. Conditions early on today were overcast, setting up for a great topwater bite. Anglers reported catching fish on the Choppo, Cane Walker, and J-Walker at that time. As the day progressed and the clouds burned off, anglers opted for fishing soft plastics. The popular baits of choice for those tactics included the PowerBait MaxScent Hit Worm, PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm, and PowerBait Chigger Craw. The Stunna jerk bait, as well as a variety of other soft plastics and moving baits, were reported to have caught fish on Day 2.
Noah Daniels from Itawamba Community College won Day 2 Session 1 presented by Abu Garcia with a bass weighing 6.60 pounds. He caught the bass using a Berkley PowerBait Chigger Craw on a Carolina Rig. For winning the session, Noah earned two Abu Garcia Veritas PLX casting rods, and two Abu Garcia Revo reels.
Session 1 presented by Abu Garcia was an extremely competitive session, with it taking a bass over four pounds to place in the Top 10. 4th ranked Carson-Newman University had three anglers earn prizes in Session 1 (3rd, 4th, 8th).
Day 2 Session 2 was presented by T-H Marine. 1st place for this session paid out a $300 Bass Pro Shops gift card, T-H Marine HydroWave, and T-H Marine trailer reverse light kit.
Jonah Durden from Webber International University won the second session of the day with 6.70 pounds. He caught the session winning fish on a 10” Berkley PowerBait Power Worm.
Evan Mabrey from 6th ranked University of Montevallo won the final session of the day, Session 3 presented by Berkley. The bass tipped the scales at 7.11 pounds, and was also the Overall Big Bass for the entire event. He caught the tournament winning fish on a jig paired with a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Creature Hawg.
The session victory earned Evan a $1,000 Bass Pro Shops gift card, Berkley baits, and an Abu Garcia Veritas PLX casting rod. For the overall victory, he earned an additional close to $4,000 in prizes and contingencies. That payout included a Power-Pole Certificate, Turtlebox speaker, $1,000 Bass Pro Shops gift card, 1 Abu Garcia casting rod, a pair of Bajio sunglasses, and a Trailer Valet Drop Hitch. All total, between the session and overall victory, Evan earned over $5,000 in prizes and contingencies.
The third and final session of the day paid out a total of 20 places. The weights were very strong again as this session took over four pounds to place and earn a prize.
To view the complete standings for the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley, CLICK HERE.
The ACA would like to give a special thanks to the host site of Henry County and Paris, TN for hosting this weekend’s event. The ACA has been contesting major college fishing events at Kentucky Lake for well over 10 years, and it was awesome to start our historic 20th season here.
