(Editor's note: Alan McGuckin of Dynamic Sponsorships submitted this article.)
Cole Sands and Conner DiMauro had three consecutive days of bass fishing that 95 percent of those who will ever pick up a baitcasting rod and reel will never experience en route to victory at the 2020 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Championship on Florida’s Harris Chain of Lakes.
The two experienced young anglers from East Tennessee’s Bryan College weighed-in 28-, 27- and 29-pound limits Thursday, Friday and Saturday to not only win a college championship, but also forever notch their names in B.A.S.S. record books. The dream-like experience all took place on one 250-yard stretch of aquatic vegetation.
“We caught the majority of the fish we weighed-in on a Carolina rig in about 9 feet of water on the edge of the weedline. Old-school green pumpkin Senkos caught the majority of our weight, and redbug-colored plastics were really good too,” said Sands.
When asked what the biggest key to their success was, they cited staring at Humminbird sonar screens and very little fishing in practice.
“Conner is actually from here and he came down here and spent 3 days looking for the right kind of stuff. And then during official practice days this week, we only set the hook one time on what he found, and it was a 6-pounder. So we knew he’d found the juice,” said Sands who has now competed in four consecutive College Series National Championships.
Ironically, even though DiMauro grew up in Central Florida, Bryan College in Dayton, Tenn. was the only school to offer him a college bass fishing tuition scholarship, so he headed 9 hours north, to then return home with Sands to claim a national championship.
“God definitely had a plan for me,” said DiMauro.
Sands thinks good sandwiches played a big role, too.
“Conner’s grandpa made us the best Italian subs I’ve ever eaten in my life, and I’m not sure we could have pulled off this win without those subs,” he grinned.
