ACA College Season Ready to Cast Off

In just a few short days, the Association of Collegiate Anglers will contest another event during its historic 20^th season. The second stop of the 2024-25 Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series is the AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open. The no-entry-fee, nationally televised, double points tournament will be contested at Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, AR on October 12-13, 2024. More than 250 teams comprised of the top collegiate anglers in the nation are set to be on-hand. The full field will compete for two days in hopes of claiming their share of the over $20,000 in prizes and contingencies on the line, as well as double points to count towards the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.

Official practice begins on Thursday, with the final day of official practice and mandatory tournament meeting happening on Friday. Saturday and Sunday will be official competition days, with weigh-in and takeoff happening at Lake Dardanelle State Park. Live weigh-in will be streamed each afternoon on the ACA website. Official weigh-in will begin at 3:00 PM on Day 1 and 1:00 PM on Day 2. The ACA website and social media pages will also provide detailed coverage, including a live blog, event insight, important links, and more.

Lake and weather conditions have been stable leading up to the event, which should allow anglers to easily pattern these Lake Dardanelle bass. Like any typical fall morning pattern, topwaters will be a great option early. As the day progresses, shad pattern moving baits and soft plastics will be good options. Each of these styles and presentations will work well around any of the cover that can be found out on Lake Dardanelle. Read a complete lake preview at this link.

The latest episode of the Rapala #WeAreCollegiate Bass Podcast featured Arkansas Tech University angler Mat Higby. Mat, along with his fellow teammate, won this event in 2022. Tune in to this episode as we preview the event and talk about current lake conditions.

The total payout for the AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open exceeds $20,000 in prizes and contingencies. The no-entry-fee AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open will pay out the Top 20 places in the final standings, several exact places, and a Power-Pole to the Overall Big Bass. This prestigious prize payout is comprised of product and gift cards from companies including Bass Pro Shops, AFTCO, Garmin, Power-Pole, Rapala, Turtlebox, Trailer Valet, and Bajío Sunglasses. Click here to view the complete prize list.

The Top 10 finishing angler pairings at the 2024 AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open automatically qualify to compete in the 2025 Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops. These qualified angler pairing entries must compete at Lake Hartwell next May as the same angler pairing that competed at the 2024 AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open.

The AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open will be the second ACA double points event to count towards the 2024-25 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. First place will receive 1,750 points, and schools will be eligible to earn points for their two highest-finishing teams inside of the Top 150 of the final tournament standings.

21 of the Top 25 teams are registered to compete at Lake Dardanelle this upcoming weekend. For teams that have two high finishes, there is potential for them to earn well over 3,000 points. 1^st place Carson-Newman University leads 2^nd ranked Bethel University by just less than 500 points, and 3^rd through 8^th are separated by less than 1,000 points, and sixth through 25^th are only 3,000 points apart. Given that the standings are stacked so tightly now, there will be an opportunity for teams to make major moves in the rankings.

View the complete rankings for the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.

Live coverage for the event will begin with the Live Blog on the final day of official practice on Friday. The live blog will also be active during both days of tournament competition. As mentioned above, live weigh-in will be streamed on the ACA website both afternoons. Also, follow along with ACA social media channels for additional coverage and content.