College Kids Win $1 Million in Amateur Bass U.S. Open

The biggest amateur bass fishing tournament in history took place last weekend at Missouri’s legendary Table Rock Lake. The Johnny Morris Bass Pro Shops U.S. Open National Bass Fishing Amateur Team Championships rewarded amateur anglers with a total purse of $4.3 million, with $1 million of that split between this year’s champions, Tucker Smith and Logan Parks of Shoal Creek, Alabama.

The three-day championship tournament was hosted at Big Cedar Lodge, and it represented the culmination of a nine-month-long series of qualifying tournaments that were hosted around the country. The event was billed as a kickstart to Bass Pro Shops’ 50^th Anniversary, but it was really a celebration of the amateurs who make the sport what it is today.

Bringing a Million Bucks Back to Bama

The top 350 teams—700 anglers in total—representing 34 states and six countries competed in the U.S. Open Amateur Team Championships that kicked off Nov. 19. The field was whittled down to…