2018 Bass Cat College National Championship Qualifier on Sam Rayburn
Produced By: Outlaw Outdoors
Sponsored By: Ross Motorsports in Lufkin, TX

College teams drove from as far as 13 hours away to try to chase down a berth to The Bassmaster College National Championship and when the scales closed on Sunday, two  Texas teams punched their ticket to the super bowl of college fishing coming up in 2019.  Derek Pietsch & Trey Dawson took home to Galveston $1,500, two Daiwa Tatula SV reels, a national championship qualification and two trophy belt buckles by bringing 10 fish to the scales over the weekend totaling 34.13 pounds. 

Not far behind was the team of Shane Stafford and Grant Adams representing Texas A&M University in College Station.  Their total of 32.97 not only qualified them for the college national championship, they also earned $1,100 for their two day effort.  Fortunately for Stafford and Adams, the first place team opted to not enter the side pot, which allowed them to pocket an additional $880 bringing their total haul to $1,980.  The team of Josepth Bruener and Bailey Bleser made their 11 hour drive from McKendree University (Lebanon, IL) count by winning third place and $900 plus second in the optional side pot for a total of $1,560. 

Sixty teams entered in The Bass Cat College National Championship Qualifier presented by Ross Motorsports and could not have asked for better weather to fish the number one lake in the country.  Day one saw twenty-nine limits brought to the scales with Pietsch and Dawson leading the way with their impressive 20.40 stringer.  Daiwa Big Bass honors on day one went to the team of Brett Clark and Chad Poulsen from East Texas Baptist University with a solid 6.72 winning them $100 plus a Daiwa Tatula SV reel.  Teams seemed to figure out a pattern on Sunday with thirty-five teams weighing in a five fish limit.  Chandler Hayes and Will Hughes from Stephen F Austin State University turned their weekend around with a 20.04 pound stringer – the largest stringer to come across the scales Sunday.  Pietsch and Dawson backed up their Saturday’s lead with Sunday total of 13.73 pounds ultimately leading to their victory.

We would like to extend a sincere thank you to each and every college team for supporting the first ever college tournament produced by Outlaw Outdoors.  A big shout out goes to Bass Cat Boats, Ross Motorsports, Daiwa, V&M Baits, Kick’n Bass and BassCashBash for their support and presence at the tournament.  The attendance at the weigh in each day was in excess of 200 people plus the viewers who tuned into Facebook Live to watch the weigh in.  This event exceeded our expectations, and we look forward to our scheduled college events in 2019.

For more information and full results, visit www.FishOutlawOutdoors.com.