Harlan Thomas from Murray State Wins the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley

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San Antonio, TX (September 24, 2023) – Day 2 of tournament competition at the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley saw close to 600 of college fishing’s top anglers compete on Kentucky Lake in Henry County and Paris, TN.  The final day of tournament competition for the Association of Collegiate Anglers’ first no-entry-fee, nationally televised, double points event of the 2023-24 season featured a total of three weigh-in sessions.  The first two sessions of the day each awarded prizes to the Top 10 biggest fish, and the final session paid out the Top 20.

For Day 2 of tournament competition today, anglers were permitted to use only Berkley baits.  As the anglers crossed the stage, they mentioned catching fish on a variety of different Berkley products.  The bait that was mentioned the most was the Berkley Choppo.  The Choppo is a topwater bait that is ideal for fishing along the bank or out over the shallow bars that populate Kentucky Lake.  A variety of soft plastics were also mentioned, with some being used as soft plastic trailers on jigs.

Carter Nutt from Top 25 ranked University of North Alabama won Day 2 Session 1 presented by Abu Garcia with a bass weighing 4.94 pounds.  For winning the session, Carter earned a $300 Bass Pro Shops gift card and two Abu Garcia Veritas PLX casting rods.

Session 1 presented by Abu Garcia was the most closely contested weigh-in period on Day 2.  The Top 10 biggest fish were separated by just over one pound.  Bethel University placed the most anglers of any school in the Top 10 for this given session.  Bethel University had three anglers earn prizes in Session 1 (4th, 5th, 6th).  Auburn University was the only other school to have multiple Top 10 finishes for this session (3rd and 9th).

Day 2 Session 2 was presented by Bob’s Machine Shop.  1st place for this session paid out a 10” Bob’s Machine Shop Jack Plate, Bob’s Machine Shop gear package, and a $300 Bass Pro Shops gift card.

Tristan Freisner from SIU-Edwardsville won the second session of the day with 5.19 pounds.  The session victory earned Tristan over $2,000 in prizes.

Hunter Odom from Top 10 ranked University of Montevallo won the final session of the day.

Session 3 was presented by Bass Pro Shops and Abu Garcia.  The session victory earned Hunter a $1,000 Bass Pro Shops gift card and an Abu Garcia Veritas PLX casting rod.

The third and final session of the day paid out a total of 20 places.  The University of Montevallo placed a total of eight anglers in the Top 20 for Session 3 presented by Bass Pro Shops and Abu Garcia.  Montevallo anglers finished 1st, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 18th.

Following the conclusion of Day 2 weigh-in, the ACA awarded the Overall Big Bass for the tournament.  Harlan Thomas from Top 10 ranked Murray State University won the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley with a bass weighing 6.31 pounds.  The bass was caught on Day 1 of tournament competition.  By winning top honors, Harlan earned a Power-Pole gift certificate, 6” Bob’s Machine Shop jack plate, $1,000 Bass Pro Shops gift card, two Abu Garcia Veritas PLX casting rods, and a pair of Bajio Sunglasses.  The Overall Big Bass paid out a total of just over $5,140 in prizes.

The Murray State angler also claimed the ACA logo contingency, Garmin Tournament Rewards, and a Yamaha Contingency Bonus.  All total for the weekend, including the victory during Day 1 Session 4 presented by Garmin and a 2nd place finish for Day 1 Session 3 presented by Bass Pro Shops, Harlan won a combined total of over $9,000 in prizes and contingencies.

To view the complete standings for Day 1, Day 2, & Overall, CLICK HERE.

The ACA would like to give a special thanks to the host site of Henry County and Paris, TN for hosting this weekend’s event.  The ACA has been contesting major college fishing events at Kentucky Lake for well over 10 years.