Jacob Foutz, a 19-year-old student at Bryan College in Tennessee, secured a berth in the 2018 Bassmaster Classic today by defeating teammate Jake Lee to win the Bassmaster College Series Bracket at Serpent Lake in Minnesota. Foutz caught a 16-05 bag to easily outdistance Lee, who sacked 10-12.
Foutz, who teamed with Lee last week to win the College Series National Championship, defeated Bethel University’s Brian Pahl in the first round of of bracketed competition and downed Chico State’s Chad Sweitzer in the semifinals.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling, one that is hard to describe unless you live it,” Foutz said. “I’ve been fishing ever since I could crawl, and as long as I can remember I wanted to fish the Bassmaster Classic. I’m fortunate enough to have fulfilled a lifelong dream.
"There are a bunch of unbelievable anglers at Bryan College. They push Jake and myself to be the best we can be. I look forward to representing college fishing this next year.”
A turning point in the final day of competition happened when Foutz caught a 4-pound smallmouth, which tied for the biggest bass of the bracketed competition. He started slow, but after catching a 3-15 and then a 4-00, Foutz began to see the writing on the wall.
“When I caught that (4-pounder) I felt like I gave myself a shot to win,” Foutz said. “I kept culling up throughout the day and when I hit the 16-pound mark, I was pretty certain I won.”
Foutz concentrated on smallmouth by dropshotting a Gary Yamamoto Shad Shape worm on offshore humps that varied in depth. The shallower humps were in 12- to 15-feet of water, but his best areas were deeper than 20 feet.
With his win, Foutz will be given the use of a fully rigged and wrapped Toyota Tundra and Nitro Z20 bass boat with a 225-hp Mercury Pro XS equipped with Power-Pole shallow-water anchors, Humminbird electronics and a Minn Kota trolling motor. Carhartt awarded him with $7,500 in prize money to help with travel as he also gained entry into not only the 2018 Classic, but also all nine Bassmaster Opens in 2018.
