Collins’ victory at the 2015 B.A.S.S. Nation Championship was a year in the making. The Texas angler lost his bid for the Bassmaster Classic by 1 1/2 pounds on the Ouachita River in November 2014 and he’d been planning for his next chance ever since.
Collins ended this year's championship with a 3-day total of 44-15, and he earned a berth in the 2016 Classic. He also won the Bryan V. Kerchal Memorial Trophy and a Skeeter ZX200 with a Yamaha motor, a Minn Kota trolling motor and Lowrance electronics.
Collins, who caught a 16-06 stringer on the final day that equaled the best of the event, has qualified for the Classic before – back in 2013 when he won the Bassmaster Weekend Series Championship. But he really wanted to make it through the B.A.S.S. Nation.
“It means something special to qualify through the Nation,” said Collins, who has tried several times to qualify through the Nation Championship and, like last year, fell just short.
“What I learned last year was that I needed an aluminum boat,” said Collins. “Last year I used my fiberglass boat, and it’s just not made to go through those stumps and all that shallow water. So I bought an aluminum one for this tournament.”
His key offering was a spinnerbait, but he also flipped and threw a crankbait.
By winning the tournament, Collins also won his division, edging out 2-day leader Jamie Laiche of Louisiana by 1-13. The winner of each of the six divisions earns a Classic berth. Joining Collins at the Classic will be Charles Sim of Ontario in the Eastern Division; Fabian Rodriguez, Delaware, Mid-Atlantic; Greg Vance, Iowa, Northern; John Proctor, South Carolina, Southern; and Levi McNeill, Wyoming, Western.
Details of Collins' winning pattern will be published soon.
For complete individual, team and division standings, click here.
