October 11, 2009 (Mount Clemens, MI) – College bass fishing crowned yet another champion this weekend as Michigan State Spartan anglers claimed victory in a decisive  manner at the Big Ten Classic on historic Lake Saint Clair.  Previous championships contested on Saint Clair occurred in 2004 (Michigan State) and 1998 (Indiana). 

The Lake Saint Clair event marked its return as a fall event, co-hosted by the University of Michigan and their cross state brethren Michigan State University.  Championship day greeted 72 student anglers from eight traditional Big Ten institutions with moderate 15 – 20 mph winds and below-freezing temperatures.  Mother Nature proved to be challenging but not invincible as 14 limits were brought to the scales.   

Student anglers weighed in a Big Ten record: 93 bass weighing nearly 250 pounds, all of which were returned alive to the waters of Lake St. Clair.  Big Bass of the tournament was a smallmouth, tipping the scales at 5.75 pounds (MSU). The heaviest largemouth of the tournament weighed 4.10 pounds (PSU).  Big sack honors went to MSU with 17.80 pounds. Championship Results: 

1. Michigan State, 49.08 lbs
2. Indiana, 32.04 lbs
3. Michigan, 26.57 lbs
4. Penn State, 25.97 lbs
5. Illinois, 25.79 lbs
6. Iowa, 19.07 lbs
7. Purdue, 16.63 lbs
8. Wisconsin, 12.10 lbs    

Additional in-depth CBAA Big 10 Championship coverage will follow.  For more information on the Big10 Championship or the Collegiate Bass Anglers Association, contact the CBAA via email at info@collegiatebass.org or by phone at 574.780.4390.

The Collegiate Bass Anglers Association Inc. (CBAA) is the sanctioning body of collegiate bass fishing, functioning uniquely as a national not-for-profit  amateur athletic organization, and is dedicated to the recruitment and retention our next generation of anglers, vigilantly pursuing the promotion and enhancement of intercollegiate angling as a unified recognized collegiate sport.  CBAA 2009 < ’ ) ) ) ><