Hayden Scott and Griffin Fernandes of Michigan’s Adrian College are leading after Day 2 of the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops at the St. Lawrence River with a two-day total of 43 pounds, 4 ounces.
Photo by Dalton Tumblin/B.A.S.S.
August 13, 2021

WADDINGTON, N.Y. — In their previous two Bassmaster College Series National Championship appearances, Hayden Scott and Griffin Fernandes of Adrian College had not been able to push themselves into the final-day cut.

They finally achieved that goal by catching 20 pounds, 6 ounces during Friday’s second round of the 2021 Carhartt Bassmaster College National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops on the St. Lawrence River. They now lead the 125-boat field with a two-day total of 43-4.

The Murray State University duo of Adam Puckett and Brendan Bingham is only 7 ounces behind in second, heading into Championship Saturday.

“I’m really excited,” Fernandes said. “This is my first championship cut and the third one I’ve fished. I’m ready to get back out there and see what we can do. We are around big fish and I think we have a lot of good stuff to rotate tomorrow. We just have to hope that the right ones pull up when we are there.”

Scott and Fernandes have come close to winning a College Series event in the past, finishing second as recently as this year at Smith Lake.

“We’ve come so close at so many events,” Scott said. “Going into this event, we knew this was going to be our best shot to pull one off. We are pretty excited to get after it tomorrow. We know we are around them.”

The team from Adrian, Mich., entered the second day in third with 22-14 and started on the same rotation that produced the majority of their weight the previous day. The bite didn’t materialize until later in the morning, starting with a 3-pounder.

After finding a local boat already on a spot they wanted to fish, they pulled up on a new stretch and immediately found success.

“We pull up and we catch a 6-pounder,” Fernandes said. “That was a good start and then we started rotating everything in the area and we caught another really big one. We made small upgrades here and there throughout the day.”

That smallmouth officially weighed 5-9 and was the Big Bass of the day. The spot that produced their biggest bite of the day set up similarly to the other areas in the rotation, and Scott said landing those big fish has given them the confidence to stick with their program.

“After practice, we really weren’t sure what we were going to catch. We could either come in with 13 pounds or 20 pounds,” Scott said. “So, to start off the morning with a 3-pounder and then catch that kicker right off the bat, it rejuvenates us to keep grinding and keep working through it. Once you catch a fish like that, you know you need to catch a solid limit to have a shot.”

After starting the day in seventh, Puckett and Bingham landed 22-0 to move into second with a two-day total of 42-13. Puckett will be attempting to win his second national championship of his college career after winning the FLW National Championship in 2019.

During the first two hours of the day, Puckett said he and Bingham landed only one of their first five bites, but kept moving through their rotation and found success later in the day.

“We just stuck with it. Where we got bites, we knew we would get bites. They just showed up,” Puckett said. “We went back into an area that we caught a 5-pounder in and Bingham caught one that was 3 pounds and culled one of our smallest fish. It was a big cull for us.”

Throughout the week, Puckett and Bingham’s bigger bites have been spread out. Their main focus has been on underwater current breaks. They have only seen one other boat fish one of their spots and they believe a lot of other teams are overlooking what they have found.

“It turned out you would catch a 4-pounder and then maybe a little one and that would be it,” Bingham said. “Today, we got to hit a few spots more (than Thursday). We went back to a couple of spots where we caught some earlier in the day and they were there again. It seems like it reloads slowly. They are up there to feed and it is a specific spot.”

Jacob Woods and Samuel Vandagriff from Tennessee Tech caught 19-14 on Day 2 to lift them from sixth place to third with 40-14.

“It is definitely a learning curve up here. He’s from middle Tennessee and I’m from East Tennessee,” Woods said. “This is all new to us and we are having a blast.”

In practice, the duo struggled to find productive smallmouth water, but at one particular spot they caught one fish. That one fish was enough for them to gravitate to that area during competition, and they caught the majority of their weight in that location.

Woods and Vandagriff did, however, start the tournament fishing for largemouth on Day 1 and caught a 5-pounder.

“Yesterday, we got down there and caught two 5-pound smallmouth and ended up with 21 pounds,” Woods said. “This morning we went straight to that spot, sat there and mined it for all its worth. It produced today. It was a very blessed day.”

While Scott and Fernandes claimed the biggest bass of the day, Tripp Bowman and Blakely Young from Louisiana State University-Shreveport remained in control of the Carhartt Big Bass of the tournament with a 6-10 smallmouth they caught on Day 1.

The Top 12 punched their tickets to Championship Saturday and will take off at 6:30 a.m. ET from Whittaker Park. The weigh-in will be held back at the park at 2:30 p.m., with the Top 3 teams after the final day qualifying for the College Classic Bracket.

This week’s tournament is being hosted by the Village of Waddington, St. Lawrence County Chamber and Clarkson University. The tournament is also supported by a Market New York grant from I LOVE NY/New York State’s Division of Tourism awarded as part of the Regional Economic Development Council initiative. The tournament and all associated festivities are being planned to ensure the safety of athletes, staff and guests.

2021 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops 8/12-8/14
St. Lawrence River, Waddington NY.
(BOATER) Standings Day 2

Angler Club/School Pts

1. Hayden Scott – Griffin Fernandes Adrian College 250
Day 1: 5 22-14 Day 2: 5 20-06 Total: 10 43-04
2. Adam Puckett – Brendan Bingham Murray State University 249
Day 1: 5 20-13 Day 2: 5 22-00 Total: 10 42-13
3. Jacob Woods – Samuel Vandagriff Tennessee Tech University 248
Day 1: 5 21-00 Day 2: 5 19-14 Total: 10 40-14
4. Tristan McCormick – Stevie Mills Bethel University 247
Day 1: 5 24-09 Day 2: 5 16-01 Total: 10 40-10
5. James Gillis – Craig Beucler Clarkson University 246
Day 1: 5 21-09 Day 2: 5 18-14 Total: 10 40-07
6. Hunter Bond – GL Compton Clemson University 245
Day 1: 5 23-12 Day 2: 5 15-10 Total: 10 39-06
7. Jack Tindell – Brett Fregia Lamar State College Orange 244
Day 1: 5 21-07 Day 2: 5 17-07 Total: 10 38-14
8. Sam Hanggi – Sam Hoesley Auburn University 243
Day 1: 5 17-15 Day 2: 5 20-15 Total: 10 38-14
9. Conner Crosby – James Cobbs Auburn University 242
Day 1: 5 17-11 Day 2: 5 20-09 Total: 10 38-04
10. Tyler Christy – Trey Schroeder McKendree University 241
Day 1: 5 18-05 Day 2: 5 19-12 Total: 10 38-01
11. Joe McClosky – Ryan Winchester Bethel University 240
Day 1: 5 20-01 Day 2: 5 17-09 Total: 10 37-10
12. Logan Anderson – Tyler Little North Carolina State University 239
Day 1: 5 13-09 Day 2: 5 23-00 Total: 10 36-09
13. Dante Piraino – Hunter Stone Clarkson University 238
Day 1: 5 17-11 Day 2: 5 18-14 Total: 10 36-09
14. Rob Lindsey – Mason Cizek Bryan College 237
Day 1: 5 16-13 Day 2: 5 19-08 Total: 10 36-05
15. Tyler Vanbrandt – Jarrod Layton Adrian College 236
Day 1: 5 17-12 Day 2: 5 18-02 Total: 10 35-14
16. James Willoughby – Chance Schwartz University of Montevallo 235
Day 1: 5 18-01 Day 2: 5 17-13 Total: 10 35-14
17. Cole Holloway – Taylor Mcmullen Emmanuel College 234
Day 1: 5 20-02 Day 2: 5 15-07 Total: 10 35-09
18. Tyler Campbell – Caleb Hudson Emmanuel College 233
Day 1: 5 17-01 Day 2: 5 18-05 Total: 10 35-06
19. Tyler Lubbat – Hayden O’barr 232
Day 1: 5 17-04 Day 2: 5 17-07 Total: 10 34-11
20. Daelyn Whaley – Cy Casey Emmanuel College 231
Day 1: 5 19-06 Day 2: 5 15-02 Total: 10 34-08
21. Tommy Sendek – Andrew Howell University of Montevallo 230
Day 1: 5 15-09 Day 2: 5 18-13 Total: 10 34-06
22. Grayson Morris – University of Montevalllo 229
Day 1: 5 19-09 Day 2: 5 14-12 Total: 10 34-05
23. Weston Hollar – Wesley Gore University of Montevallo 228
Day 1: 5 14-03 Day 2: 5 20-00 Total: 10 34-03
24. Ben Cully – Hayden Gaddis Carson-Newman University 227
Day 1: 5 18-04 Day 2: 5 15-12 Total: 10 34-00
25. Jack York – Jacob Miller Stephen F Austin State Universit 226
Day 1: 5 17-02 Day 2: 5 16-14 Total: 10 34-00
26. Hunter Baird – Beau Browning Drury University 225
Day 1: 5 18-10 Day 2: 5 15-04 Total: 10 33-14
27. Connor Nimrod – Jacob Andrews University of Louisiana Monroe 224
Day 1: 5 16-11 Day 2: 5 17-03 Total: 10 33-14
28. Reagan Nelson – Caden Cowan Tarleton State University 223
Day 1: 5 17-08 Day 2: 5 16-01 Total: 10 33-09
29. Pierce Knarr – Ryan Lowe University of Iowa 222
Day 1: 5 17-09 Day 2: 5 15-11 Total: 10 33-04
30. Colin Slentz – Evan Slentz Lander University 221
Day 1: 5 18-14 Day 2: 5 14-05 Total: 10 33-03
31. Lafe Messer – Matt Messer Kentucky Christian University 220
Day 1: 5 13-08 Day 2: 5 19-04 Total: 10 32-12
32. Peyton McCord – Caleb Whitehurst Auburn University 219
Day 1: 5 19-02 Day 2: 5 13-10 Total: 10 32-12
33. Solomon Glenn – Ryan Thomas University of Montervallo 218
Day 1: 5 15-08 Day 2: 5 17-00 Total: 10 32-08
34. Kyle Simmons – Brett Halstead Kansas State University 217
Day 1: 5 17-13 Day 2: 5 14-10 Total: 10 32-07
35. Jackson Swisher – Seth Slanker Florida Gateway College 216
Day 1: 5 17-09 Day 2: 5 14-13 Total: 10 32-06
36. Chase Clarke – Mitchell Peterson Auburn University 215
Day 1: 5 12-08 Day 2: 5 19-10 Total: 10 32-02
37. Joshua DeKoning – Dalton Mollenkopf Adrian College 214
Day 1: 5 14-04 Day 2: 5 17-12 Total: 10 32-00
38. Gus Mclarry – Dawson Cassidy 213
Day 1: 5 16-00 Day 2: 5 15-12 Total: 10 31-12
39. Kayden Tanner – Trevor Easter Tarleton State University 212
Day 1: 5 15-10 Day 2: 5 15-11 Total: 10 31-05
40. Drew Gill – Zebulon Frasure Wabash Valley College 211
Day 1: 5 16-10 Day 2: 5 14-06 Total: 10 31-00
41. Mason Phillpotts – Drake Shipman 210
Day 1: 5 17-09 Day 2: 5 13-06 Total: 10 30-15
42. Jacob Lambert – Austin Smith Carson-Newman University 209
Day 1: 5 17-03 Day 2: 5 13-08 Total: 10 30-11
43. Michael Postlewait – Andrew Rickman Dallas Baptist University 208
Day 1: 4 09-15 Day 2: 5 20-11 Total: 9 30-10
44. Austin Carr – Justin Carr 207
Day 1: 5 17-08 Day 2: 5 12-15 Total: 10 30-07
45. Andrew Harp – John Higginbotham Louisiana Tech University 206
Day 1: 5 18-09 Day 2: 5 11-13 Total: 10 30-06
46. Dalton Smith – Cade Hayford Campbellsville University 205
Day 1: 5 13-09 Day 2: 5 16-13 Total: 10 30-06
47. Grayson Perkins – Luke Barrett 204
Day 1: 5 13-05 Day 2: 5 17-00 Total: 10 30-05
48. Blake Brashears – Tyler Stacy University of Kentucky 203
Day 1: 5 13-04 Day 2: 5 16-10 Total: 10 29-14
49. Carter Ball – Austin Tapley Adrian College 202
Day 1: 5 15-15 Day 2: 5 13-15 Total: 10 29-14
50. Nathan Doty – Bailey Bleser McKendree University 201
Day 1: 5 13-05 Day 2: 5 16-07 Total: 10 29-12
51. Trevor McKinney – Blake Jackson McKendree University 200
Day 1: 5 14-02 Day 2: 5 15-08 Total: 10 29-10
52. Robert Cruvellier – Sam Harvey Auburn University 199
Day 1: 5 17-10 Day 2: 5 11-14 Total: 10 29-08
53. Cole Rankin – Ewing Minor Carson-Newman University 198
Day 1: 5 14-14 Day 2: 5 14-10 Total: 10 29-08
54. Mitchell Gunn – Kyle Kunst 197
Day 1: 5 11-15 Day 2: 5 17-06 Total: 10 29-05
55. Robert Gee – Chase Dawson University of Tennessee 196
Day 1: 5 15-05 Day 2: 5 14-00 Total: 10 29-05
56. Tyler Cory – Scott Sledge University of Montevallo 195
Day 1: 5 15-13 Day 2: 5 12-10 Total: 10 28-07
57. Kollin Smith – Lilly Smith Emmanuel College 194
Day 1: 5 14-07 Day 2: 5 14-00 Total: 10 28-07
58. Chris Payne – Chad Sentell Tennessee 193
Day 1: 5 13-08 Day 2: 5 14-09 Total: 10 28-01
59. Carson Maddux – Jake Maddux Auburn University 192
Day 1: 5 15-09 Day 2: 5 12-04 Total: 10 27-13
60. Louis Monetti – 191
Day 1: 3 08-08 Day 2: 5 19-03 Total: 8 27-11
61. Brian Linder – Nathan Thompson Minnesota State – Mankato 190
Day 1: 5 13-12 Day 2: 5 13-15 Total: 10 27-11
62. Jackson Ebbers – Charlie DeShazer University of Nebraska-Lincoln 189
Day 1: 5 16-02 Day 2: 5 11-04 Total: 10 27-06
63. Taylor Mazur – Keegan Witt St Cloud State University 188
Day 1: 5 14-13 Day 2: 5 12-09 Total: 10 27-06
64. Calvin Landsberg – Jack Palaia 187
Day 1: 5 13-01 Day 2: 5 14-05 Total: 10 27-06
65. Bennett Kudder – Andrew Fisher Bryan College 186
Day 1: 5 13-02 Day 2: 5 14-04 Total: 10 27-06
66. Rudy Worley – John Nowlin Blue Mountain College 185
Day 1: 5 13-04 Day 2: 5 14-02 Total: 10 27-06
67. Cordell Beckman – Greenville University 184
Day 1: 4 11-06 Day 2: 5 15-15 Total: 9 27-05
68. Logan Parks – Tucker Smith Auburn University 183
Day 1: 5 13-08 Day 2: 5 13-12 Total: 10 27-04
69. Blair Cox – Keegan Barber Missouri State University 0
Day 1: 5 15-02 Day 2: 5 12-01 Total: 10 27-03
70. Jamesen Simion – Alex Strunk Bowling Green State 181
Day 1: 5 13-13 Day 2: 5 12-13 Total: 10 26-10
71. Caden Sweeten – Samuel Heichel Bemidji State 180
Day 1: 4 07-10 Day 2: 5 18-15 Total: 9 26-09
72. Cole Breeden – Cameron Smith Drury University 179
Day 1: 5 14-15 Day 2: 5 11-08 Total: 10 26-07
73. Hunter Fillmore – Coleman Bingham Bethel University 178
Day 1: 5 13-10 Day 2: 5 12-11 Total: 10 26-05
74. Cal Culpepper – Mason Waddell University of Montevallo 177
Day 1: 4 10-11 Day 2: 5 15-06 Total: 9 26-01
75. Britt Myers – Tyler Anderson Lander University 176
Day 1: 5 11-13 Day 2: 5 14-03 Total: 10 26-00
76. Hunter Loftin – Mac Johnston-Herzberg Missouri State University 175
Day 1: 4 12-00 Day 2: 5 13-14 Total: 9 25-14
77. Zach Salters – Jenson Kay Adrian College 174
Day 1: 5 13-04 Day 2: 5 12-08 Total: 10 25-12
78. Brooks Anderson – Parker Guy Emmanuel College 173
Day 1: 4 09-10 Day 2: 5 15-14 Total: 9 25-08
79. Brenton Godwin – Hunter Odom University of Montevallo 172
Day 1: 5 12-08 Day 2: 5 12-15 Total: 10 25-07
80. Jeremy Dellinger – Nathan Smith Catawba Valley Community College 171
Day 1: 5 13-04 Day 2: 5 12-01 Total: 10 25-05
81. Cole Hopson – Phillip Green 170
Day 1: 5 13-07 Day 2: 5 11-10 Total: 10 25-01
82. Brad Ableman – Kyle Palmer Bethel University 169
Day 1: 5 09-10 Day 2: 5 15-02 Total: 10 24-12
83. Ty Black – Avry Thomason Georgia Southern University 168
Day 1: 5 10-12 Day 2: 5 14-00 Total: 10 24-12
84. Kaleb Brown – Lander University 167
Day 1: 3 07-05 Day 2: 5 17-06 Total: 8 24-11
85. Connor Jacob – Sam Smith Auburn University 166
Day 1: 5 09-14 Day 2: 5 14-09 Total: 10 24-07
86. Ryan Park – Sam Niemeyer Murray State University 165
Day 1: 5 13-07 Day 2: 4 10-14 Total: 9 24-05
87. Connor Cartmell – Andrew Vereen Coastal Carolina University 164
Day 1: 5 09-12 Day 2: 5 14-02 Total: 10 23-14
88. Lucas Smith – Dalton Mize Jacksonville State University 163
Day 1: 4 09-12 Day 2: 5 14-01 Total: 9 23-13
89. Christian Wright – Conner Giles Bryan College 162
Day 1: 5 12-07 Day 2: 5 11-06 Total: 10 23-13
90. Jackson Staib – Baylor Howell Bethel University 161
Day 1: 5 12-06 Day 2: 5 10-11 Total: 10 23-01
91. Ethan Jones – Joseph Bruener McKendree University 160
Day 1: 5 10-13 Day 2: 5 11-04 Total: 10 22-01
92. Ty Mundhenke – Cam Busby Auburn University 159
Day 1: 5 09-00 Day 2: 5 13-00 Total: 10 22-00
93. Braden Perry – Aidan England Carson-Newman University 158
Day 1: 5 12-07 Day 2: 5 09-09 Total: 10 22-00
94. Garrett Thompson – Ethan Perry West Virginia University 157
Day 1: 5 09-07 Day 2: 5 12-07 Total: 10 21-14
95. Easton Fothergill – Nick Dumke University of Montevallo 156
Day 1: 5 10-13 Day 2: 5 10-14 Total: 10 21-11
96. Gunner Whitaker – Mitchell Johnson Kentucky Christian University 155
Day 1: 5 09-10 Day 2: 5 11-14 Total: 10 21-08
97. Caleb Dachenhaus – Elliot Wielgopolski Adrian College 154
Day 1: 5 11-00 Day 2: 5 10-04 Total: 10 21-04
98. Chase Carey – Dylan Akins Emmanuel College 153
Day 1: 5 08-14 Day 2: 5 12-04 Total: 10 21-02
99. Jack Dice – Liberty University 152
Day 1: 5 08-07 Day 2: 5 12-04 Total: 10 20-11
100. Spencer Black – Lucas Oliver Catawba Valley Community College 151
Day 1: 5 10-05 Day 2: 5 10-02 Total: 10 20-07
101. Hunter Waldrop – Mark Kershaw University of South Carolina Uni 150
Day 1: 5 10-03 Day 2: 5 08-05 Total: 10 18-08
102. Matt Baker – Kory England Arkansas Tech University 149
Day 1: 4 08-10 Day 2: 3 08-11 Total: 7 17-05
103. Alden Keel Jr – Lake Norsworthy Blue Mountain College 148
Day 1: 2 06-01 Day 2: 5 10-14 Total: 7 16-15
104. Tripp Bowman – Blakely Young Louisiana State University-Shrev 147
Day 1: 2 07-12 Day 2: 5 08-09 Total: 7 16-05
105. Cole Lamb – Tristan Weaver Arkansas Tech University 146
Day 1: 4 07-13 Day 2: 5 07-08 Total: 9 15-05
106. Tanner Barnes – Jordan Smallwood Campbellsville University 145
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 5 15-00 Total: 5 15-00
107. Ryan Feehan – Perry Marvin Virginia Tech University 144
Day 1: 3 09-10 Day 2: 2 05-06 Total: 5 15-00
108. Chase Sansom – Tyler Drown Marshall University 143
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 5 14-13 Total: 5 14-13
109. Harmon Marien – Devon Rathbun McKendree University 142
Day 1: 5 14-06 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 5 14-06
110. Easton Lindus – Emmanuel College 141
Day 1: 4 10-00 Day 2: 3 04-03 Total: 7 14-03
111. Lane Bailey – Justin Eggers Catawba Valley Community College 140
Day 1: 5 10-02 Day 2: 2 03-15 Total: 7 14-01
112. Bryar Chambers – Clent Blackwood Wallace State 139
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 5 13-08 Total: 5 13-08
113. Jacob Emery – Aaron Jagdfeld Adrian College 138
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 5 12-10 Total: 5 12-10
114. Evan Thomas – Alex Briggs Liberty University 137
Day 1: 5 11-15 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 5 11-15
115. Hunter Haraway – Malcolm Patton Calhoun Community College 136
Day 1: 5 08-14 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 5 08-14
116. Allex Conner – Grant Hack Ohio State University 135
Day 1: 2 08-11 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 2 08-11
117. Brock Williams – Christopher Batts Ohio State University 134
Day 1: 5 06-04 Day 2: 1 01-13 Total: 6 08-01
118. Aaron Cherry – Chandler Holt University of Montevallo 133
Day 1: 3 07-06 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 3 07-06
119. Nate Lesch – Will Schibig Tennessee Tech University 132
Day 1: 3 04-15 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 3 04-15
120. Cam Cornelius – Jordan Nicely Georgetown College 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
120. Brady Harp – Garrett Warren Auburn University 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
120. Benjamin Moore – David Gadd Eastern Kentucky University 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
120. Chad Pruner – Ethan Ange 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
120. Paul Tabisz – James Ge University of Michigan 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
120. Emil Wagner – William Perry Ole Miss 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00