Friday, October 11 – 6:40 PM
Over 250 teams came through registration tonight and are set to compete in the AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open on Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, AR. This will conclude live blog coverage of the final official practice day.
Tournament coverage will continue bright and early tomorrow, beginning with the live blog on the website. Also, be sure to follow along on ACA social media channels for more content and coverage!
Friday, October 11 – 3:45 PM
In less than 20 minutes, anglers will begin to arrive at the Hughes Center for official registration and the tournament meeting. At tonight’s tournament meeting, representatives from AFTCO will be on-site to support anglers. Stop by to see them, say “hello,” and get some free swag.
Friday, October 11 – 2:45 PM
As anglers proceed through registration, they will be provided with a yellow AFTCO Bank Bag. The AFTCO Bank Bag program encourages anglers to clean up local parks, rivers, lakes, and streams. Anglers will be able to fill up the yellow bag with trash throughout the weekend and return it full to an ACA staff member in return for a $25 AFTCO gift card.
AFTCO prioritizes conservation through a variety of programs including the Bank Bags, Bass Bus, and 10% Pledge to Protect & Conserve. Various AFTCO clothing items are made with recycled products.
Friday, October 11 – 1:45 PM
The AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open is a no-entry-fee tournament that will pay out more than $20,000 in prizes and contingencies. This payout includes prizes to the Top 20 teams, several exact places, and a Power-Pole for the Overall Big Bass. The prize list includes product and gift cards from Bass Pro Shops, AFTCO, Power-Pole, Garmin, Bajío Sunglasses, Rapala/Crush City, Turtlebox, and Trailer Valet. View the complete prize list here.
Friday, October 11 – 12:25 PM
Tournament contingency bonuses offer anglers a great way to earn additional payouts when they place well in sanctioned events. This weekend’s tournament is eligible for the Ranger Cup, Nitro Rewards, and Triton Gold programs offered by Bass Pro Shops and the White River Marine Group. Qualified anglers could earn up to an additional $8,000. Read more about these programs and sign up at this link.
Friday, October 11 – 12:00 PM
Today is the final day of Official Practice for the AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open. Anglers are finding quality and quantity of bites out on Lake Dardanelle. During the latest episode of the Rapala #WeAreCollegiateBass Podcast, Arkansas Tech angler Mat Higby said that he thought it would take a two-day total of roughly 30-34 pounds to win the tournament. Judging by the pictures and updates we’ve seen from anglers, those are definitely realistic projections.
Friday, October 11 – 11:05 AM
The 2024-25 campaign marks the historic 20th season for the Association of Collegiate Anglers. For close to 10 years now, the ACA has been contesting a major regular-season event at Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, AR. This year’s tournament makes for more than five years in which this event has been contested during the fall.
The city of Russellville, the State Park, and Lake Dardanelle have been great hosts throughout the years. The Association of Collegiate Anglers would like to give a special thanks to the Russellville Tourism & Visitors Center, as well as the staff at Lake Dardanelle State Park for their help and support!
Friday, October 11 – 11:00 AM
Each team competing this weekend will receive a snack bag at tonight’s tournament meeting. Special thanks to AFTCO for their support and help in providing these to the anglers!
Friday, October 11 – 10:15 AM
The AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open is the second ACA major event of the season on the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series. Schools will be eligible to earn points for their two highest-finishing teams inside of the Top 150 for the final tournament standings, and first place will receive 1,750 points to count towards the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.
Entering this event, Carson-Newman University is in first place. A total of 21 of the Top 25 teams are set to compete at Lake Dardanelle this weekend. View the complete current rankings at this link.
Friday, October 11 – 9:30 AM
Topwater baits will be a popular choice for anglers to throw at these Lake Dardanelle bass to get bites this weekend. Denali, the presenting sponsor of today’s live blog coverage, makes an extensive lineup of fishing rods, with each one serving specific applications. In this YouTube video, professional angler Jeremy Lawyer breaks down which Denali rods he uses to target bass with topwater presentations.
Denali offers college anglers a discount program with 40% off rods and 30% off reels. Find out more and apply for a discount code here.
Friday, October 11 – 8:30 AM
Weather patterns during the fall, in central Arkansas, can vary drastically from year to year. The timing of cold fronts and other variables impact temperatures and conditions. Going into this year’s event, warm temperatures and stable conditions are in the forecast. High temperatures are projected to be in the low 90’s, with nightly lows dropping just below 60 degrees. This will create a warm, fall time setting for anglers to go out and catch fish on Lake Dardanelle.
Friday, October 11 – 8:10 AM
AFTCO is the presenting sponsor of this weekend’s AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open. The ACA series partner recently introduced its new Breakwater Gloves. Follow this link to learn more.
Friday, October 11 – 7:10 AM
Good Friday morning from Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, AR! The Association of Collegiate Anglers is set to host its second event of the season on the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, the ACA’s historic 20th season. The AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open will be contested on October 12th – 13th. Today marks the final day of official practice for this no-entry-fee, nationally televised, double points event. Live blog coverage for the last day of practice is presented by Denali Fishing.
Stay tuned here throughout the day for product features, updates from on-the-water, and more!
