Americana Outdoors E-Magazine - October 2019

The second session of Day 2 was the most eventful of the day. Hunter Schneider from 1st place Adrian College weighed in 5.16 pounds to win the session and claim Over- all Big Bass honors. He couldn’t contain his emotions as he talked about the win following weigh-in. “Can’t be anymore excited you know. I was fortunate enough to get bit on a Berkley Power Swimmer. I just can’t be any more happy,” noted Schneider. We will provide a more in-depth look at Schneider’s catch next week when we put together the final overall recap of the 2019 Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley. Here is a look at the complete standings from Day 2 Ses- sion 2 presented by Solar Bat. Similar to Session 1, there were a great deal of two pounders that claimed prizes. And once again, a one pound class fish claimed the 10th and final spot. The top three of this particular session were all awarded a pair of Solar Bat Sunglasses. Also, each angler to place in this session earned an Abu Garcia Ike Series Casting Rod.

Taylor Owens with her 4.79lb bass

Armed with a Berkley topwater bait, Owens had a gut feeling that a big fish just might eat that larger profile lure. “I knew that if I could get one to blow up on a topwater bait it would be pretty big. So I just chose a J-Walker or a Cane Walker, and rotated between them all day,” added Owens. Her intu- ition paid off in the form of a four plus pound largemouth bass. Owens is grateful for that fish, and the opportunity to compete here this week. “We were so excited. That’s the first keeper fish that I’ve caught all week. I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to be here,” she added. The final session ended with a last-minute flurry of anglers rushing to the stage to weigh in their biggest fish. Once the scales closed, this proved to be the best session of the day. It took a minimum of a 3.48 pound fish to place inside the top 10. Bethel University, the 5th place team in School of the Year, freshman Thomas Millraney weighed in with 4.77 pounds to take the top spot. “This is my first college tournament ever. It’s really reward- ing,” said Millraney. With family, friends, and teammates in attendance, Millraney closed out the final session of the week with a first place finish. This was a moment that had been a long time coming for the young angler. “It’s really nice after fishing the same boat docks two days, I fished them Friday too…finally paid off,” he added. At one point today, he was ready to pull up the trolling motor. Yet with one flip of a Berkley bait to the same boat dock he’s fished for two full days, Millraney set into a prize winning fish. This week at Kentucky Lake has been an amazing experi- ence. The best anglers in college fishing conquered a dif- ficult and finicky Kentucky Lake in the fall time to bring in some really nice fish.

Day 2 Session 2 results presented by Solar Bat

At all ACA ran college events, there is always a large crowd of supporters that gather at weigh-in to cheer on these student anglers. In Session 3 presented by Bass Pro Shops and Abu Garcia, that crowd let out the loudest cheer of the event when Taylor Owens from Blue Mountain College came to the stage. She got the crowd ignited with a 4.79 pound Kentucky Lake largemouth. The freshman lady angler was very proud to catch that par- ticular fish. “I’m a freshman, this is my first college tourna- ment. I worked really hard to get here, and I’m really proud of myself,” said Owens. Both Owens, and her fellow Blue Mountain College teammate Ty Cox, struggled to catch a keeper fish all week. That Session 3 winning fish was the first keeper she boated all week.