COLLEGIATE BASS FISHING OPEN

The Association of Collegiate Anglers (ACA) announced that Paris/ Henry County Tennessee will host the newly created Collegiate Bass Fishing Open in 2010 and 2011. The event represents a major addition to the BoatU.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Series.

Carl Holder of the Henry County Alliance Tourism Initiative stated "Our greatest natural resource and chief tourism draw in Henry County Tennessee is Kentucky Lake, generally consideredone of the premier lakes for bass and crappie fishing in the entire country. We are excited to be the host of the inaugural Collegiate Bass Fishing Open on Kentucky Lake. It is our hope to establish Paris Landing State Park as thepermanent venue for this tournament, making it an annual event. We feel this is a great partnership that combines ACA's extensive experience organizing collegiate bass tournaments with our expertise serving as the host of major, highly successful events."

The 2010 event will be held June 21 - 26 and will feature a 2-day team format. Each school will send as many teams as they like consisting of up to 6 anglers (3 boats) per team. Teammates will work together to amass the heaviest team weight possible. The Open champions will be determined based on the combined weight of each team's top 2 boats each day. The rules make it possible for schools that are only able to send 1 boat to be competitive by doubling their weight each day. "This is a unique format that provides the opportunity for an unlimited number of schools and collegiate anglers to participate in a major, nationally televised event contested on a legendary lake," stated Wade Middleton, Tournament Director.

In order to encourage the anglers to share information, communication will be allowed among teammates by means of cell phones and radios. It promises to be a highly contested event featuring the big catches that Kentucky Lake is known for during the late spring time period. Weigh-in will take place at Paris Landing State Park on June 25 & 26 beginning at 3:00 p.m. each day.

Camera teams from Careco Multimedia will capture all the action and the event will be featured on the BoatU.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing television series airing on the Versus network during the fall of 2010.

Under the leadership of the ACA, collegiate bass fishing continues to grow at an astounding pace as new fishing clubs are forming rapidly at Universities throughout the country. There are currently more than 200 institutionally recognized fishing clubs nationwide. Visit www.CollegiateBassChampionship.com for current news and more information about collegiate bass fishing events.