PARIS, Ten. - Taking on the 10-day endeavor and a round trip of over 4,900 Miles, four Simpson University Bass Team members made the trek to Kentucky Lake in Paris, Tennessee. Joining nearly 600 other collegiate anglers, our West Coast anglers took part in one of the Association of Collegiate Anglers' largest events, the Kentucky Lake Big Bass Bash.

Brennan Osborn, Quinn Hawkinson, and brothers Aidan and Dylan Grad put themselves to the test. On an unknown body of water, they had one day of practice before the competition began.

Utilizing public resources, a lot of time on the road went to breaking down the expansive waterway. Kentucky Lake being an astonishing 184 miles long from top to bottom, gave the teams a lot of water to cover.

Before the Big Bass Bash, our anglers were able to enter into another collegiate event, the Wabash Valley College Invitational. Approximately 50 miles from Paris, TN, on the same body of water, this gave them a good opportunity to explore the upper section of the lake.

In doing so, the Grad brothers stumbled onto a pattern to catch the lake's finicky fish. After an intense eight hours, Aiden and Dylan weighed in an impressive 12.13 lbs which was good enough for a 4th place finish.

The brothers stated, "Coming from the Pacific Northwest, we have a strong understanding of how smallmouths react. While the bites were hard to come by, this was a strong start before the Big Bass Bash."

Running the Bridgford Foods wrapped boat were partners Brennan Osborn and Quinn Hawkinson. Also running into a few fish during the start of the event, the spirits were high going into the Pre-Tournament Meeting.

"Seeing the scale of collegiate bass fishing and connecting with hundreds of other anglers from across the US made the drive worth it, catching a few fish was a bonus." stated the Simpson Team Captains.

The Big Bass Bash is a two-day competition, where you are going for quality over quantity. Chasing School of the Year Points that define how a college program is ranked, was key for the team to capitalize on this Double Points Event. After an intense two days, with multiple fish weighed in, the results were finalized.

On Day Two, Session Three of the event, Aiden Grad brought a 4.19 lb big fish to the scales. This feat along with other fish weighed in by Simpson University, put the Simpson Bass Team in 26th place for School of the Year Points. Keeping the program as one of the highest-ranked colleges on the West Coast and across the Nation, we couldn't be prouder of these anglers.

It takes grit, dedication, and focus to compete in a national event, and to do well in such a large field highlights the talent within the team.

Assistant Coach, Michael Bray finished with "Our program is dedicated to developing all attributes of our anglers. An event of this magnitude develops an individual's character and pushes for growth. This experience should leave a lasting impression on these four students, and the year has just begun."