Bassmaster College Series Takes Over Lake Tenkiller

Hundreds of college anglers from across the country are competing in the Bassmaster College Series at Lake Tenkiller.

There are 136 teams in the field from colleges all over the country. Thousands of people showed up Thursday to support the competitors.
 This is the first time the College National Championship has been in the state of Oklahoma.

"It's a once in a lifetime deal. I mean we say it all the time but this is truly a once in a lifetime event. I don't think in four years it'll ever be back here," Northeastern State competitor Caleb Gibson.

There are four Oklahoma teams in the field; two from Northeastern State, one from Oklahoma State, and one from UCO. The way it works is the 136 teams will fish Thursday and Friday for their best 5-fish limit each day. After Friday, the field will be cut down to just 12 teams and they will fish Saturday for the championship.

"It's really special to have all the support from everybody and being right here so they can see it. A lot of times they don't get to come to our tournaments because we're 10 or 11 hours away so it's cool to have one they can all be at," said OSU competitor Jake Biram

Some anglers said they are excited to see how much the sport is growing.

"When I fished the Oklahoma Trail I think it was my freshman or sophomore year we had like 10 boats by the time I graduated there was like 100. Just to see it in my few short years take off is cool,” said one competitor. 

Round two will start Friday morning after which the field will be cut down to 12 teams for the final round on Saturday. For a full schedule click here.