On September 20–21, the Wabash Valley College (WVC) Bass Fishing team competed in the Association of Collegiate Anglers (ACA) Big Bass Bash on Kentucky Lake. This prestigious two-day tournament features over $40,000 in prizes and contingencies and is known for its unique format—awarding payouts across six individual weigh-in sessions as well as overall big bass.
The event marks the first double-points tournament of the season for ACA and plays a key role in the 2025–26 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year race, with the two highest-placing fish from each school counting toward the overall team standings.
Many WVC anglers weighed in bass throughout the tournament, with six team members earning prizes and recognition for their efforts. Kolby Baker led the team with an 18th-place overall finish out of 357 anglers, landing a 5.12-pound largemouth on Day Two.
"I spent my practice scanning for stumps and brush piles, trying to hit as many as possible on tournament days," Baker said. "I caught a 5.12lb largemouth on a black and blue football jig in twelve feet of water during the second day of the Big Bass Bash."
Brock Blazier followed with a 35th-place finish, weighing in a 4.80-pound bass. He credited persistence and strategic adjustments for his team's success.
"Both Pete and I kept our heads down while fishing new water," Blazier said. "Shallow brush played a major role in both days of the tournament and provided six keepers for us to weigh in between the both of us."
Caden Pearson landed a 4.77-pound bass, earning him 36th place overall. He described a methodical approach to targeting key cover in the Big Sandy area.
"We ran into Big Sandy and fished as many brush piles and stumps as possible with a 3/4oz jig and a Yamamoto Flappin Craw," Pearson explained. "We fished as many as we possibly could throughout the entire day. On Day One, we didn't catch our biggest fish until the last cast."
Several other WVC anglers also earned recognition for placing in their respective sessions. Peyton Rose, Jase Turnis, and Tucker Oakes all contributed to the team's strong showing.
"We were just trying to fish as many stumps as possible in a small area of the lake," Rose said. "We had two to three areas that just seemed to have more fish than others, and we really keyed into those few spots using heavy jigs and shaky heads to generate an aggressive reaction strike out of finicky fish. We weren't able to get a lot of bites in a day, but the few that we got to commit were quality fish."
Jase Turnis echoed the importance of adapting to structure and depth changes. "We spent most of our time scoping and beating the bank," he said. "We fished structure to find out that the bass were located on big chunk rock. The cove we caught the bass out of was full of big chunk rock surrounded by docks. We caught most of our fish on crankbaits but had the best luck on Day Two with a chartreuse Berkley Dime 6."
Tucker Oakes also made key adjustments between competition days that paid off. "We found fish in practice on brush and stumps in three to fourteen feet of water; however, getting them to bite in the tournament wasn't easy," Oakes said. "After a very bad Day One, we made some adjustments and were able to trick a couple decent fish into biting. That included a 5.12lb and a 3.56lb largemouth."
The tournament served as a strong start to WVC's 2025–26 campaign, and with multiple anglers placing in a highly competitive field, the team is poised for a promising season ahead.
Written by: Emmarie Bires, WVC Radio/TV and Digital Media Student
