William Collins and Kyler Jenkins take the lead at the 2024 Bassmaster Junior National Championship with 14 pounds, 4 ounces.
DAYTON, Tenn. — William Collins and Kyler Jenkins from Soddy Daisy Junior High bass team took advantage of their home-field advantage at the Bassmaster Junior National Championship at Chickamauga Lake by catching a three-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 4 ounces to take the Day 1 lead.
The High Country Bass Anglers duo of Hannah Sage and Tanner Ortega are second with 12-12 and Tayson Stiehl from the Winner Junior Bassmasters is third with 11-3. On the day, 50 teams achieved limits, and more than 100 teams caught at least one keeper bass.
“I feel pretty amazing right now,” Collins said. “Today was a really fun day. I’m pretty excited for tomorrow. I’ve been praying about it. We had our bite (dialed in) between two practice days. The third day we pretty much eliminated water.”
The rising freshmen live five minutes from the nearest boat ramp, which has provided them ample opportunity to get out on the water and hone their skills. Fishing close to home also allowed Jenkins to make it to football practice immediately after weigh-in.
“It is fishing pretty well for us right now,” Collins said. “I’ve been having good trip after good trip, so I can’t really complain.”
While their first spot didn’t pan out quite like they hoped, Collins and Jenkins landed their biggest bass of the day at the second stop, a 6-14 that turned out to be Collins’ personal best largemouth.
“I threw beside a clump of grass and caught that (big one),” Collins said. “I was pretty much jumping up and down when I caught it. It bit right beside the boat. I set the hook and (Jenkins) netted it really quickly.”
From there, the duo landed four bass over 3 pounds to upgrade to their final tally.
The Soddy Daisy anglers have several different patterns working in their favor, and Collins said he and Jenkins used eight or nine different baits throughout the day.
Knowing how many big bass are in Chickamauga Lake, Collins said he and Jenkins will likely have to repeat their impressive Day 1 performance in order to claim the victory.
“Tomorrow we are going to shoot for 15 pounds,” Collins said.
The full field of 129 teams will launch from the Dayton Boat Dock beginning at 6:30 a.m. ET and return for weigh-in at 2:30 p.m., and the winning team will be crowned at the conclusion of weigh-in.
The City of Dayton is hosting the tournament.
