West Alabama, Murray State University, and Tarleton State all claim session victories on Day 2

PARIS, TN (September 20, 2026) – Tournament competition has concluded for the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley. A total of close to 670 anglers competed in the Association of Collegiate Anglers’ first event of the 2026-27 season on the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series. On the line this weekend, in this no-entry-fee event, anglers were competing for over $20,000 in prizes and contingencies, as well as double points to count towards the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.

When the scales closed today and results were tallied, Barrett Choquette took home 1st place Overall Big Bass honors to win the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley. Barrett weighed in a largemouth bass tipping the scales at 6.97 pounds during Day 1 Session 3 presented by Bass Pro Shops. For winning the event, Barrett received a $1,000 Bass Pro Shops gift card, Power-Pole certificate, Turtlebox Gen 3, Abu Garcia reel, 2 Abu Garcia rods, one pair of Bajio sunglasses, and Berkley fishing line. He also received the ACA Yamaha logo contingency. All total this weekend, Barrett earned over $6,000 in prizes and contingencies.

Here on the final day of tournament competition, anglers took to Kentucky Lake armed with only Berkley baits. As they came across the stage for each of the three weigh-in sessions, anglers mentioned catching bass on a wide variety of Berkley hard baits and soft plastics. One of the most mentioned Berkley baits was the ‘Moeba. Baits from the Lab Series were also discussed consistently by anglers as they weighed in, showing the diversity of the Berkley lineup and what the bass were eating on Kentucky Lake this weekend.

The first session on Day 1 was presented by Abu Garcia. Paying prizes to the Top 10, each of those 10 places received a Abu Garcia Revo reel, models including the Revo 5XHSLP, Revo 3SX30, and Revo 5X LP. 1st-5th received one or two Veritas rods in addition to those reels. Christopher Fallon from the University of West Alabama took the session victory with 5.70 pounds. West Alabama placed two anglers in the Top 10 for the first session on the final day. Murray State University also had two inside the Top 10, and top ranked Carson-Newman placed three.

Spencer Shemwell, with Top 25 ranked Murray State University won Day 2 Session 2 presented by Bob’s Machine Shop. The angler attending school in nearby Murray, KY caught a largemouth bass weighing 5.42 pounds. The top prize for winning Session 2 earned him a Bob’s Machine Shop jack plate and $200 Bass Pro Shops gift card.

To round out Day 2 of the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley, Session 3 presented by Berkley awarded prizes to the Top 20 overall biggest fish weighed in during the final session. The session proved to be extremely competitive, as 1st through 10th were separated by just over one pound and 11th through 20th were half a pound apart, again showing just how good Kentucky Lake is fishing right now! Coleman Henke from 14th ranked Tarleton State won the session with a bass weighing 5.41 pounds. 1st place for Session 3 awarded a $500 Bass Pro Shops gift card, Abu Garcia reel, Berkley baits, and a bulk spool of Trilene fishing line.

View the complete results here.

During this upcoming week, the ACA will be releasing the first points update of the new season for the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. Numerous other social media posts and website articles will highlight programs including the ACA collegiate Academic All-America nominees from this tournament, the Top 10 automatic qualifiers for the Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops, and more.

The ACA would again like to extend a special thanks to the Henry County Tourism Authority for their assistance and hospitality this week. Henry County, the town of Paris, and Paris Landing State Park were phenomenal hosts for this record-breaking event.

The ACA will host its second major event of season, the AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open, October 10-11 on Lake Dardanlle, in Russellville, AR.