CHAMPIONSHIP Team Zona Crowned College Bass Tour Classic Champions Tournament anglers of any age are expected to be able to call upon a skillset employable on any body of water that makes them versatile, efficient, and successful. On August 11 and 12, Collegiate anglers who qualified for the College Bass Tour Classic converged on northern Michigan to test their mettle against the bass that reside in two of its premier lakes. Based on the winning patterns this season, the new age of angler showcased by the College Bass Tour, is rapidly shortening the learning curve as a variety of techniques were employed on often challenging fisheries. The format saw teams compete on Day 1 at Long Lake and carried their weights with them into Day 2 on Hubbard Lake. While many teams reported an aggressive bite on Long Lake that lasted throughout the day, few teams found similar success on the final day of the Classic on Hubbard Lake. Once the scales settled, Hunter and Jakob Zona were crowned the first ever College Bass Tour Classic Champions while Kyle and Collin Jump took the Team of the Year Title. 1 st Place: Team Zona Emerges CBT Champs Prize: Bass Tracker Heritage Boat w/mercury Outboard, 2 Yeti Rambler Trophies, 2 Quantum Smoke Reels, 2 Oakley Sunglasses, Mossy Oak Hats, Huk Clothing, $750 (They donated it back to CBT and in turn redistributed to participants) After realizing that a poor finish at an earlier tournament had cost them their goal of winning the Team of the Year title, Jakob and Hunter Zona set their sights on winning the CBT Classic. Bringing 14.59-pounds of smallmouth to the scales on Day 1, the team targeted rock humps with crankbaits in 1- to 6-feet of water. The majority of his fish hit early in the cast biting on the shallower section of the rockpile. They burned Strike King KVD 1.5 square bill crankbaits in shad patterns back to the boat as quickly as their Daiwa SV casting reels (7:2:1 gearing) allowed. We figured that the more casts we could get in, the better we d do, Jakob Zona said. Never having cranked rocks before, Hunter was quick to pay attention where the bites were coming from. You would want to grind the 1.5 against the rocks, he said. Despite using Seaguar Abrazx fluorocarbon, it was imperative that they retied often. Towards the end of the day, they switched to a green pumpkin 4-inch Strike King Ocho rigged on an 1/8- ounce Trokar jig head to sight fish for visible smallmouth holding on top of the rock piles. In essence, they fished their version of a Ned Rig.
The team shared some of their best water with fellow competitors McLane May and Ben Cole, both teams showing respect for the others territory. Day 2 showed the team a lake that completely contrasted the day before- these smallmouth were stubborn. Little did they know that Hubbard Lake smallmouth did not appreciate the clear sunny conditions presented. In total, they caught 6 keepers on the day, their limit anchored by a 6-pound beast, the biggest bass of the Tour. Their practice told them they d need to rotate between key shallow and deep-water areas. They sight fished two of the smallmouth that they weighed from 2- to 8 feet of water. The other 3 fish were caught relating to deep weeds and wood in 25- to 30-feet of water. Despite only having one fish in the live-well by 11a.m., the team stuck to their game plan. Drop shotting the newly released Strike King Z-Too, Jakob uncovered a key piece of information that helped them trigger the winning fish to bite. Using a Daiwa Tatula Elite Brent Ehrler drop shot rod, he recognized that after twitching the lure once, the bass would only bite if the bait was held completely still. Upon telling Hunter to dead stick his bait after pitching it out, they caught their last fish of the day which sealed the win. Looking back, the team dropped one fish that could have increased their bag over the course of the tournament, but the rest stayed buttoned which they attributed to the #1 sized Lazer Trokar drop shot hook that they fished. It was a big day- and stressful, Jakob started. Long Lake was fun to fish but today we had to keep piecing things together and putting fish in the well. Heading into Day 2, Hunter was confident and ready to get at it. I thought we had a good shot to win because we had such a good practice, Hunter said. When I caught that 6-pounder, I was shaking the whole time as I tried to get it in the boat. Team dynamics can prove interesting at the best of times, but these two brothers have a chemistry that works on the water. We re good friends- until one of us loses a fish! Hunter said. All kidding aside, anyone that follows their social media knows these two are joined at the hip and a force to be reckoned with on any body of water. 2 nd Place: Dorosh and Smalldon Almost Seal the Deal Prize: 2 Pairs of Oakley Sunglasses, 2 Yeti Rambler Trophies, $400 John Dorosh and Zack Smalldon almost executed their game plan to perfection. Day 1 on Long Lake, they d decided to focus on 3 areas. The first contained weed patches with wood and baitfish mixed in, the other a shallow sand and rock flat, and lastly a rocky point. They finished the day with 12.61-pounds which was close to the weight they d targeted for the day. They hoped to amass a much bigger bag from Hubbard Lake on Day 2 for a shot at the win. They relied on two spots, both drop-offs in 5- to 8-feet of water, one a sand/sand grass transition, the other a sand/rock transition.
First thing in the morning, they tried to get their smallmouth going on a topwater bite which proved unsuccessful. Instead, they relied on drop shotting a 4 ¾-inch Roboworm in Aarons Magic rigged on a #2 hook. They found that alternating between a 1/16 th and ¼-ounce drop shot weight was key for getting their fish to commit. They figured they caught 25 fish on the day. Long casts were key as was shaking the bait all the way back to the boat with pauses mixed in. Interestingly, Dorosh noted some odd behavior being the first week of August. There seemed to be a couple of fish that acted like they were bedding, he said. Typically, the spawn is long finished by late May/early June. In hindsight, the team had no regrets. Today was awesome- everything went to plan, Dorosh started. Both days we caught fish differently and to place 2 nd was the icing on the cake! The College Bass Tour Circuit surpassed all expectations. 3 rd Place: Vernia and Klein Finessed Smallmouth Prize: 2 KVD Tackle Bags, 2 Yeti Rambler Trophies, $300 As they launched Day 1, Mason Vernia figured that their smallmouth would be holding deeper so they targeted main lake points in 8- to 12-feet of water. Once they found a school, they d hit them hard until they shut off and return later once the spot reloaded or reignited. All of their fish came on a Ned-rigged Z-Man TRD worm rigged on a 1/20 th -ounce head. Fished on a medium-light action spinning rod, they d pop, drag, and lift the bait until they could coax a smallmouth into biting. In second place heading into the final day of the Classic almost twopounds behind the leaders, Vernia and Klein knew they had some work to do. After only catching 3 fish during practice, they knew the bite would be tough. A long run in the morning didn t pan out forc ing them to rely on Plan B. They targeted a main lake flat that started in 6-feet of water that eventually sloped to 9-feet where it fell off into deeper water. The team found their smallmouth holding tight to mixed vegetation growing on top of a hump. Klein and Vernia caught their fish on a Neko-rigged Yamamoto 5-inch Senko rigged with a tungsten nail weight that they d cut in half that weighed anywhere from 1/32 to 1/64-once. Vernia didn t mind having to fish such a light weight as it forced him to slow down and the fish bait painfully slow which triggered more bites. Using wrist flicks to pop the bait off the bottom, the team stalked smallmouth as they moved throughout the day. Their 17-pound bag wasn t enough for the win, but the team was happy to walk away with a 3 rd place finish.
4 th Place: Brothers Jump into 4 th Place finish and TOY Title Prize: $50 Bass Pro Shops gift card and $200 Collin and Kyle Jump were incredibly consistent throughout the season. Though the team fell short of the Classic Title, they did solidify their place in history as the first College Bass Tour Team of the Year. While all siblings might have their fair share of disagreements, these two seem to be on the same page all the time. When you have a partner that you can have fun with and laugh with after your mistakes, that creates a good chemistry- and results, they said. The first day of the Classic saw them scrap their game plan not long after hitting their first spot. They d planned on fishing shallow water with moving baits but their fish had disappeared. They remembered some mid-depth areas that produced for them the year before and once the mid-morning rain subsided and the sun emerged, they tapped into offshore targets in 12- to 24-feet of water. Their hunch proved correct producing a 3 ½-pound smallmouth. Day 1 saw them bring 13.46-pounds to the scales and within striking distance of the leaders. On Hubbard Lake, they fished transitions from the bank through 5-feet of water and another in the 10-foot range focussing on fish relating to eel and sand grass patches. They used their Humminbird Solix units to drop to the fish. The grass that they were fishing only came up a few inches off the bottom. By afternoon, their fish moved out to the 15-foot mark. Fishing a 7-foot medium-light action RaZr spinning rod, they fished a 3-inch Roboworm Alive Shad in Aaron s Magic rotating between 3/16 and ¼-ounce weights after discovering that heavier weights weren t attracting bites. Fished on 16-pound Sunline braided line, they started with an 8-pound fluorocarbon leader but dropped down to 6-pound test in clear water. Despite not winning the tournament, they were still very upbeat. Whenever you can catch an 18-pound plus bag, it s a good day! We gave it our all, Kyle said. 5 th Place: May and Cole Find Success Shallow Prize: Huk Clothing and $100 After their pre-fish on Thursday and Friday, McLane May and Ben Cole knew they d be targeting shallow fish on Long Lake on Day 1. Fishing water that ranged from 6-inches deep to 4-feet of water, they knew that their fish would be easily spooked.
Being as stealthy as possible was key because these fish were really skittish. Making a good long accurate cast and not staying on top of them and spooking them was key, May said. Relying on 8-pound fluorocarbon line, they targeted fish sunning up shallow with a Magic Goby colored Strike King coffee tube rigged with an 1/8-ounce head inserted into the cavity. The lighter head allowed the tube to slowly spiral to the bottom where they team dead-sticked the bait. May noted that patience was key as smallmouth circle the tube only striking if it laid motionless for a period of time. They d caught 25 bass by the end of the day knowing they d need a big bag the following day to have a chance to win the event. The team decided to finesse their fish from ditches and humps with weed clumps on them running through flats in 8-feet of water. The team caught their smallmouth on a Z-Man Finesse TRD worm in Big Deal and Peanut Butter and Jelly colors rigged on a 3/16-ounce head. A Honey Candy colored Strike King Dream Shot worm fished on a #2 hook and a ¼-ounce weight produced the majority of their fish. May did report the team lost two 4 ½-pound smallmouth that would have given them the win. May was more upset that he would no longer be eligible to fish the College Bass Tour next year as it was his last college tournament. It really stinks- I want to go back to college just so I can fish this series! he said. College Bass Tour Classic Final Standings 1st Place, Jakob and Hunter Zona (34.49-pounds) 2nd Place, John Dorosh and Zach Smalldon (32.50) 3rd Place, Mason Vernia and Riley Klein (32.23-pounds) 4th Place, Collin Jump and Kyle Jump (31.93-pounds) 5th Place, McLane May and Ben Cole (31.43-pounds) For more information on the College Bass Tour, visit CollegeBassTour.com or KevinVanDam.com. The College Bass Tour would like to thank D&R Sports Center, Kevin VanDam and the following sponsors: Strike King, YETI, TH Marine, Huk Fishing, MidWay Chevrolet, Stopper Lures, Body Armor, Mossy Oak Fishing, Quantum, Humminbird, Bass Pro Shops, Plano, Mustad, Gemini Jerseys and The Kevin VanDam Foundation.