2018 AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open - Day 1

Coverage of the first stop of the 2018-19 season of the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, the AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open at Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, AR.
The AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open marks the first event of the 2018-19 season for the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series. This two day event is set to take place on Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, AR. Occuring during early October, the AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open is the first event of the ACA to occur in the fall. Weather patterns are changing, anglers are excited to start the new season, and the fish are willing to bite!
During the fall months, weather patterns begin to change frequently. This weekend is no exception. Temperatures have dropped roughly twenty degrees, and there’s a strong chance of rain over both tournament days. Drastic changes like this tend to have a great impact on the fishing. Anglers are reporting tough conditions due to the weather patterns. On a lake that is capable of producing 20+ pound bags, competitors are anticipating a two day winning weight near the 30 pound mark.
The Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia is the main focus of many teams making the trip to Arkansas. Winners of this event will earn 500 points for their respective school. On top of that, the AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open is also a double points events. Each of a given school’s highest two finishing teams inside the top 100 will earn School of the Year points. Though it may be early in the season, this two day tournament will prove to be crucial to the year long race.
AFTCO is the presenting sponsor of the event. One of the company’s main initiatives is conservation. That impact is being acknowledged, and witnessed here at Lake Dardanelle. Two programs present this week are the AFTCO Bank Bag Program and the Bass Bus Live Release Boat. These initiatives both promote conservation and preservation of an invaluable resource. Pushing such programs towards the youth ensures that they will practice conservation, and protect resources for many future generations to come.
Day one coverage of the AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open is guaranteed to provide a lot of excitement, and on the water tournament coverage. Tune in to see who sits atop the l
The Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series is the largest collegiate bass fishing series in the nation. The series is operated by the Association of Collegiate Anglers, which is an organization designed to provide long-term sustained growth within collegiate angling through assistance with forming institutionally recognized clubs, serving as a sanctioning body and resource for clubs, and providing a unified voice for collegiate anglers. The Association of Collegiate Anglers also provides benefits for school clubs including liability insurance, discount purchase programs, no entry fee tournament opportunities, media exposure, and much more!
In addition to holding the largest events in college fishing the staff of the series works with college anglers to start their own events, learn more about the fishing industry, receive discounts from numerous companies and more.
The Collegiate Bass Fishing series helps college students nationwide create fishing clubs, host fishing events, compete on a nationally televised stage as well as work with numerous companies nationwide. Starting with the very first collegiate bass fishing national championship ever held on Lake Lewisville a decade ago to events now held nationwide, this series has been key in growing college fishing at numerous levels.

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Ya should come down to Sam Rayburn this weekend because we are having a high school fishing tournament