Two Wabash Valley College Bass Fishing teams made a strong showing at the 2nd Annual JUCO National Championship, held October 14–15 on Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma. The event, hosted by Murray State College, featured 30 teams representing schools including Murray State, Catawba Valley Community College, Northeastern State University, and Oklahoma State.

The team of Sam Ausbrooks and Rhett Miller led the charge for WVC, securing a third-place finish with a two-day total weight of 25.09 pounds. Teammates Hunter Russell and Zac Correll followed closely behind, finishing eighth overall with a combined weight of 23.01 pounds.

The championship came immediately after competition at Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, Arkansas, giving the WVC anglers just one day to practice on Grand Lake before the tournament began. Despite challenging conditions and limited preparation time, both teams adapted quickly to the lake's changing patterns.

"Right after weigh-in concluded at Lake Dardanelle, we drove straight to Grand Lake for the championship," said Sam Ausbrooks. "We had one day of practice in cold, rainy, overcast conditions that completely flipped by tournament day. The day before, there were around a hundred bass grouped up in that spot, but when we returned that morning, they were gone. That spun me for a loop early, so we ran to a few more places that didn't produce. Later in the afternoon, we went back to the original spot, and to our surprise, all the fish were back on it. We caught a 4-pound, 15-ounce fish there before weigh-in, which really boosted us up the standings."

Ausbrooks said the experience underscored how quickly patterns can change in tournament fishing and how vital timing can be when targeting schooling fish.

"Going into day two, I had high hopes of dialing in our timing better," Ausbrooks continued. "We wasted too much time early looking for new fish and found another group we couldn't get to fire. By the time we made it back to our main area, we ran out of time. Poor timing decisions cost us the big bite we needed to win. Still, we learned a ton about changing conditions and how crucial it is to understand when those schools of fish show up and when the best opportunity is to catch them." 

Over the two-day event, Ausbrooks and Miller relied on several key baits, including a Spro KGB Chad Shad in Bone color, a 5-inch Strike King Z-Too in Arkansas Shiner on a Keitech jighead, and a Strike King Bitsy Dawg spook.

Fellow teamates Hunter Russell and Zac Correll also faced shifting conditions during the short practice window but managed to adjust and find key areas holding bigger fish.

"After one day of practice, we decided to cover as much water as possible to locate bigger fish," said Russell. "The conditions kept changing, but a few key areas played well for us. We relied on glidebaits and soft plastics to get our bites."

Both WVC teams represented the program well among a competitive field, continuing the program's strong national presence in collegiate bass fishing.

Written by: Emmarie Bires, WVC Radio/TV and Digital Media Student

Zac Corell and Hunter Russell