Top lures at College Championship

The 2021 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops was held on the St. Lawrence River and was hosted by Clarkson University. More than 120 teams gathered at the famous fishery to compete for the National Championship and a shot at fishing in the Classic Bracket.

Griffin Fernandes and Hayden Scott of Adrian College took home the title with a three-day total of 63 pounds, 10 ounces.

As has been the case in previous events at the St. Lawrence River, the drop shot was king, but most teams mixed in other lures as well.

Jack Tindall – Brett Fregia, Lamar State College Orange (12th, 55-1)

Tindall and Fregia utilized a drop shot with an X Zone Finesse Slammer and a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm with a 1/2-ounce weight and a 2/0 Trokar Drop Shot Hook.

Logan Anderson – Tyler Little, North Carolina State University (11th, 55-6)

Anderson and Little utilized the combination of a 3/8-ounce Queen Tackle Peanut Jig with a Zoom Creepy Crawler trailer and a drop shot with cut in half Berkley Powerbait Max Scent Creature Hawg. The North Carolina State team resorted to the Creature Hawg once they ran out of Berkley Powerbait Maxscent Flat Worms.

Joe McClosky – Ryan Winchester, Bethel University (10th, 56-7)

Winchester and McClosky fished a shallow shoal with a Megabass Dark Sleeper Swimbait early in the day but spent the majority of their time fishing a drop shot with a Berkley Powerbait Maxscent Flat Worm with a 5/8- or 3/4-ounce weight depending on the current.

Jacob Woods – Samuel Vandagriff, Tennessee Tech University (9th, 56-7)

Woods and Vandagriff both utilized a drop shot with a Berkley Powerbait Maxscent Flat Worm and a 3/8-ounce weight. The Tennessee Tech team said that switching up colors was key to their success.

Adam Puckett – Brendan Bingham, Murray State University (8th, 57-0)

Puckett and Bingham alternated between a Berkley Powerbait Maxscent Flat Worm and a Megabass Hazedong swimbait on a drop shot, rigged with a 1/2-ounce weight.

Tyler Christy – Trey Schroeder, McKendree University (7th, 57-5)

Christy and Schroeder relied on the combination of a 1/4-ounce Omega Custom Tackle Slayer Ned Head paired with Z-Man Finesse TRD and a 1/2-ounce drop shot with a Berkley Powerbait Maxscent. When the McKendree team needed a bigger bite, they opted to rig the drop shot with a Poor Boy’s Baits Erie Darter.

Sam Hanggi – Sam Hoesley, Auburn University (6th, 57-11)

The team of Hanggi and Hoesley made drifts in 10 to 25 feet of water, rotating between a Netbait STH Finesse Series The Drifter Worm, Netbait STH Finesse Series Stumpy Crush Worm and a Berkley Powerbait Maxscent Flat Worm on a drop shot, rigged with a 1/2-ounce Mustad Tungsten TitanX Skinny Drop Shot Weight.

Hunter Bond – GL Compton, Clemson University (5th, 58-6)

Compton and Bond exclusively fished a drop shot with a 1/2-ounce weighed paired with the combination of a Z-Man Trick Shotz and a Berkley Powerbait Maxscent Flat Worm.

James Gills – Craig Beucler, Clarkson University (4th, 58-7)

The hometown favorites rotated between a 1/2-ounce drop shot rigged with a Berkley Powerbait Maxscent Flat Worm, a Megabass Vision 110+1 Jr. Jerkbait and a Freedom Tackle Marabou Jig.

Conner Crosby – James Cobbs, Auburn University (3rd, 59-8)

Cobbs and Crosby punched their ticket to the Classic Bracket using a drop shot with a 1/2-ounce weight and a 2/0 Berkley Fusion Drop Shot Hook, paired with a Berkley Powerbait Maxscent Flat Worm. The Auburn team also mixed in a 1/5-ounce Z-Man Finesse Shroomz Jig Head paired with a Z-Man TRD Craw.

Tristan McCormick – Stevie Mills, Bethel University (2nd, 60-7)

Mills and McCormick cashed in on a top three finish and a berth to the Classic Bracket using a drop shot with a 1/2-ounce weight, paired with a Berkley Powerbait Maxscent Flat Worm.

Griffin Fernandes – Hayden Scott, Adrian College (1st, 63-10)

Scott and Fernandes mixed in a few different baits, but like most the drop shot was the biggest player. Early on in practice, the Adrian team figured out that the fish were glued to the bottom, so they opted to tie an extremely short leader on their drop shot which is the opposite of what most anglers do when making drifts in strong current.

The champs relied on a drop shot with a 5/8-ounce weight, paired with a Berkley Powerbait Maxscent Flat Worm. Scott mixed in a Poor Boy’s Baits Tube rigged on a 3/4-ounce Bite Me Tackle Tube Head.