Bass Fishing 8/15/2018 4:50:00 PM Campbellsville Athletics

Ratliff's late 2lb. 13oz. smallmouth propels him into finals of College Series Classic Bracket

Nick Ratliff will compete in the finals of the Classic Bracket and it will air on Bassmaster Live

JUNCTION CITY, Kansas — With competitor Garrett Enders making a strong push in the final two hours of fishing, Campbellsville's Nick Ratliff reeled in his biggest fish of the tournament with a two-pound 13-ounce Milford Lake bass to propel him to the 2018 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Classic Bracket finals.

Ratliff once again led the four-angler field in the semifinal round with a limit weighing in at 11 pounds even. Overall, Ratliff caught six fish totaling 12 pounds 4 ounces but his bracket challenger, Garrett Enders from Bethel University, reeled in four fish for eight pounds one ounce.

Ratliff's day got started around 6:40 a.m. CT as he caught his first fish just after takeoff. At around 8 a.m., Ratliff reeled in two more in a span of five minutes to push his total to 5-3. Once the Bassmaster Live cameras started rolling, that's when Ratliff turned it on. With two minutes remaining in the first session this morning, Ratliff caught a 2-pound 11-ounce smallmouth to push his semifinal total to 7-10.

The second half of the semifinal started exactly like the first. Twenty minutes into the after session, Ratliff hauled in another smallmouth weighing in just under two pounds to lead by five pounds and 13 ounces over Enders.

But the Bethel University angler, who won the team national championship a few weeks ago in Oklahoma, wasn't going down without a fight. Enders hauled in three fish for around four pounds to cut Ratliff's lead to just under one-pound, but the Campbellsville angler hauled in the biggest catch of the day around 12:30 p.m. to seal the berth in the finals tomorrow.

On the opposite side of the bracket, Bethel's Cody Huff and Nolan Minor were dueling It out on Milford Lake and it was another tight finish. Minor hauled in 10 pounds 8 ounces to outlast Huff's 8 pounds 10 ounces.

Ratliff and Minor will now compete in the finals of the 2018 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Classic Bracket – which will be the biggest day on the water in their careers.

Takeoff is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. ET with Bass LIVE starting at 9:30 a.m. ET on Bassmaster.com.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Nick Ratliff: Junior

Players Mentioned

Nick Ratliff
: Junior