Buford graduate Dylan Akins won the prestigious Bassmaster College Classic Bracket held at Tims Ford Lake in Winchester, Tenn.
The four-day event held Sept. 27-30 had a new format this year. All anglers would fish for two days to bring their heaviest five fish to the scales to be weighed. The four heaviest combined weights advanced to the semifinals, where weights were zeroed out. On Semifinal Sunday, the brackets began where No. 1 would face No. 4 and No. 2 would fish against No. 3. The top two anglers from Sunday advanced to the finals on Monday, Sept. 30.
Anglers had to deal with a shortened day on Day One due to Hurricane Helene coming through but Akins, an Emmanuel University graduate landed a total catch weighing in at 14 lbs—4 oz. That was enough to land him in second place going into Day Two. He had a more successful day on the second day of the tournament with his catch weighing 16 lbs, enough to earn him the No. 1 seed going into Semifinal Sunday.
In the semifinals, Akins fished against Andrew Blanton who put up a good fight, but ultimately, Akins finished ahead. Akins brought in a bag totaling 16 lbs—7 oz, enough to send him to the finals.
On the final day of the tournament, Akins faced Aaron Jagdfeld. It was a slow, but steady day of fishing that ultimately paid off for Akins, who brought in a total catch of 14 lbs—12 oz. This was enough to defeat Jagdfeld, who had his bag weigh in at 12 lbs—12 oz.
Winning the 2024 Bassmaster College Classic Bracket earns Akins a spot in the 2025 Bassmaster Classic at Lake Ray Roberts in Fort Worth, Texas. Additionally, his victory comes with a paid entry into the 2025 St. Croix Bassmaster Opens with the use of a fully rigged Nitro Boat and Toyota Tundra, according to bassmaster.com.
Earlier this season, Akins and his partner Chase Carey, a fellow Buford grad, were named the 2024 Bassmaster College Series overall Team of the Year.
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