July 27, 2024
DAYTON, Tenn. — Despite falling one bass short of their limit on the final day, the Soddy Daisy Junior High duo of William Collins and Kyler Jenkins claimed the 2024 Bassmaster Junior National Championship title with a two-day total of 20 pounds, 9 ounces.
Collins and Jenkins, both rising freshmen, led the tournament after the first day with a three-bass limit weighing 14-4 and anchored that bag with a 6-14 largemouth. On Day 2, they landed just two bass weighing 6-5, but it was just enough to edge out the second-place Cumberland Elite Junior Anglers team of Damian Gumm and Brock Stevens.
“This means the world to me. I couldn’t have done it without having Kyler as my partner,” Collins said.
Gumm and Stevens finished with a two-day total of 20-4 followed by the Southwest Louisiana Junior Anglers team of Joseph Childers and Bray Youngblood in third with 19-8.
While Collins has been tournament fishing for a while now, Jenkins joined the team for the first time this year.
“It feels pretty good, especially since it is my first year fishing with Will and with Bassmaster,” he said. “I’m happy about it, but I know it means a whole lot to Will. He’s been doing it for a while.”
To catch their Day 1 bag, the Soddy Daisy team focused most of their efforts on stretches of hydrilla and stargrass in 7 to 10 feet of water. A ChatterBait paired with a Hog Farmer Spunk Shad trailer produced the 6-14, but they also mixed in a big worm and a dropshot.
Although Day 1 was cloudy and windy, Day 2 brought sunny and calm conditions that Collins felt hurt their grass bite. Along with the change in conditions, there was more fishing pressure and boat traffic around some of their better areas.
“It was a really slow day today,” Collins said. “It was bright and sunny today. Yesterday was a really good overcast day with a lot of wind. That made a good current and let us have the grass bite longer. At the point I had the 6-14 yesterday, it was already bright and sunny today.”
Jenkins landed a 3-pounder out of one of their best grass stretches to open the morning, but the duo struggled to generate bites the rest of the day other than non-keeper spotted bass. But with only a couple of minutes left to fish, Collins and Jenkins landed their second keeper of the day by dragging a big worm on a shellbed.
“We only had one fish in the boat at that point,” Jenkins said. “We caught that last one in the last 15 minutes. It was pretty close.”
That bass weighed just enough to keep them in the top spot.
“I’m just really proud of them,” boat captain Willie Collins said. “They fished so clean both days. I kept telling them, ‘You left it all out there. If it comes up short, I’m still really proud of you.’ They never quit. They fished down to the last minute and never gave up.”
Kerry Johnson and Mavrick Grove from the Creekwood Redhawks fishing team caught the Big Bass of the Tournament, an 8-14 largemouth.
