RUSSELLVILLE, AR (October 15, 2023) –Tournament competition has concluded at Lake Dardanelle for the AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open. The second stop of the 2023-24 season for the Collegiate Bass Fishing Series saw 240 plus boats travel to Russellville, AR to compete in the nationally televised, no-entry-fee, double points event that awarded over $20,000 in prizes and contingencies.
Wyatt Pearman and Ridge Rutledge from 20th ranked Campbellsville University won the major event with a two-day total of 28.13 pounds. The duo entered today just 0.02 pounds behind the first place team from Murray State University.
ACA camera crews followed the eventual tournament winners throughout the entire final day of tournament competition. The Campbellsville anglers got off to a hot start, filling out a limit by mid-morning. Later in the afternoon, they secured several key culls that helped them to edge out the second place team from Murray State by just less than 1.50 pounds.
By finishing in first place, Pearman and Rutledge earned close to $6,000 in prizes and contingencies. First place paid out a $1,000 Bass Pro Shops gift card, $500 AFTCO gift card, two Power-Pole certificates, a Rapala/Crush City prize package, two Bajio sunglasses, and two Turtlebox speakers. The Campbellsville pairing also claimed two tournament contingency bonuses. The team earned the $500 ACA Logo Contingency, and Rutledge received the $500 Garmin Tournament Rewards. For the first place victory, Campbellsville also receives 1,750 points to count towards its season points total for the School of the Year.
Finishing in second place were Caden Crutchfield and Micah Sowders from third ranked Murray State University. The anglers from Kentucky weighed in 14.71 pounds of Lake Dardanelle bass to move up 11 spots from 13th on Day 1. After not having much success throughout practice, they found one key area that ended up yielding a majority of their fish.
Crutchfield and Sowders claimed the $1,000 Yamaha/ACA Contingency Bonus for having the Yamaha logo on their jersey and running a Yamaha Outboard. The second place finish earned them a $700 Bass Pro Shops gift card, $200 AFTCO gift card, Bob’s Machine Shop jack plate, a Rapala/Crush City prize package, two Bajio sunglasses, and two Trailer Valet hitches.
Rounding out the Top 3 are Peyton Harris and Dalton Head from second ranked University of Montevallo. With a two-day total of 25.99 pounds, the Montevallo anglers earned a $550 Bass Pro Shops gift card, $200 AFTCO gift card, $1,000 Garmin credit, a Rapala/Crush City prize package, two Bajio sunglasses, and two Trailer Valet jacks.
The field of more than 450 anglers found great success out on Lake Dardanelle for Day 2 of tournament competition at the AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open. Anglers again reported catching fish all throughout the day, on a wide array of baits, in a variety of different sections throughout the lake. Day 2 featured similar weather conditions to Day 1, with the addition of some light rain showers around 11:00 AM. These conditions proved to be productive for anglers, as numerous teams improved on their Day 1 weight to make major moves in the final standings.
The AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open was the second ACA double points event of the season to count towards the School of the Year. As referenced earlier, the winning team received 1,750 points, and schools were eligible to receive points for the their two highest-finishing teams inside of the Top 150 of the final tournament standings. Third ranked Murray State University had the most successful weekend of any school competing. The team looking to win its first-ever title this season had two teams in the Top 5 (2nd, and 5th). Carson-Newman was the only other school to earn points for two teams inside of the Top 10 (6th, and 7th). Later this week, the ACA will release the latest points update for the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year.