BROOKELAND, Texas (Sept. 30, 2024) – The Stephen F. Austin State University duo of Ben Burns of Lucas, Texas, and Grant Pursifull of Princeton, Texas, won the MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI event on Sam Rayburn Reservoir Presented by Suzuki Marine Friday with a five-bass limit weighing 26 pounds, 5 ounces. The victory earned the Lumberjacks’ bass club $2,000 and a qualification into the 2025 MLF College Fishing National Championship.

“I’ve been fishing out here a lot the last two months,” Burns said. “I had a lot of good schools located. We rolled up to our first one, and it didn’t really work out. We ended up catching one good one there. Then we ran around to smaller schools and ended up filling our limit pretty quick.”

The Lumberjacks started off the day throwing a 6th Sense Crush 500DD crankbait on isolated hard spots offshore. They rotated through about 30 schools.

“That was by about 11,” Burns added. “We had a decent little limit, about 15 or 16 pounds. From 11 to 1, it gave us the opportunity to go throw a big 6th Sense Draw and Juggle Minnow and catch some good ones around timber and brush just kind of ‘LiveScoping’ around.”

By switching up tactics, Burns, a junior business major, and Pursifull, a freshman construction management major, only got four more bites, but it was a crucial move to target bigger bass and cull up to their winning weight.

“I think just moving fast and covering water really (was the key),” Burns said. “Hitting as much stuff as we could.”

The top 10 teams finished:

1st:        Stephen F. Austin University – Ben Burns, Lucas, Texas, and Grant Pursifull, Princeton, Texas, five bass, 26-5, $2,000
2nd:       Wabash Valley College – Sam Ausbrooks, Loogootee, Ind., and Elijah Jaime, Auburn, Mich., five bass, 23-12, $1,000
3rd:       Bethel University – Coleman Bingham, Greenville, Ky., and Brayden Wilson, Piedmont, Mo., five bass, 20-7, $700
4th:        Tarleton State – Stephenville – Karson Denton, Splendora, Texas, and Hayden Hurst, Stephenville, Texas, five bass, 19-7, $600
5th:        LSU Shreveport – Barrett Bennefield, San Augustine, Texas, and Mason McCormick, Shreveport, La., five bass, 19-7, $500
6th:        Texas A&M – Clay Jenkins, Lumberton, Texas, and Sid Wallace, San Angelo, Texas, five bass, 18-14
7th:        LSU Shreveport – Grayson Bonfils, Baton Rouge, La., and Nevan Osburn, Lipan, Texas, five bass, 18-11
8th:        Texas A&M – Hunter Hernandez, Spring, Texas, and Riley Meinke, Austin, Texas, five bass, 18-7
9th:        Bethel University – Colby Carrier, Skowhegan, Maine, and Justin Frey, Landisburg, Pa., five bass, 17-1
10th:     Southeastern Louisiana University – Rylan Meyers, Loranger, Louisiana, and Chance Shelby, Denim Springs, Louisiana, five bass, 17-9

A total of 22 teams – the top 12% – at Sam Rayburn qualified to compete at the 2025 College Fishing National Championship. The full list of National Championship Qualifiers and results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI event on Sam Rayburn Reservoir was hosted by the Jasper County Development District. The next tournament for MLF College Fishing anglers will be the Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI event on Lake Chickamauga, Oct. 18 in Dayton, Tennessee.

The 2024 MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI season features college teams from across the country competing in nine regular-season tournaments. The top 12 percent of teams from each regular-season tournament advance to the 2025 Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI National Championship. The 2025 Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI National Championship will be held on Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Alabama from April 9–11, 2025. The tournament is presented by Decatur Morgan County Tourism

Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular College Fishing updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.