AFTCO To Support Conservation with Bank Bag Program at Lake Dardanelle

Friday, October 3, 2025

AFTCO To Support Conservation with Bank Bag Program at Lake Dardanelle

SAN ANTONIO, TX – Next week, the Association of Collegiate Anglers will contest its second event of the 2025-26 season on the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series. The AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open will take place at Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, AR on October 11-12.

AFTCO is the title sponsor of this no-entry-fee, nationally televised, double points tournament that will pay out the Top 30 places, as well as more than $20,000 in prizes and contingencies. AFTCO has supported the ACA and college anglers for many years at numerous events nationwide, including specifically at the AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open. Representatives from AFTCO will be on-site providing anglers with free swag, to include t-shirts. AFTCO gift cards up to $1,000 in value and Titan Landing Nets will be incorporated into the prize payout. Anglers will also receive educational information about conservation, as well as have the opportunity to help with conservation efforts.

“It’s a big part of who we are. We have a 10% pledge. We take 10% of our profits each year and put it back into all kinds of conservation issues,” said Casey Shedd, President of AFTCO. “In the bass world, we’re finding all kinds of ways to help with conservation. We have the AFTCO Bass Bus. We have the Bank Bag Program, where we encourage folks involved with the tournament to collect up trash around a given lake, and they receive awards for it.”

At the upcoming AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open, anglers will have the chance to participate in the AFTCO Bank Bag Program. The Bank Bag Program is designed to make a difference in local waterways. Participants are encouraged to remove trash from the shoreline and place it in the yellow Bank Bag. In return for filling the yellow bag with trash, participants will receive a $25 gift card. These efforts work to clean up the habitat and preserve the fishery for years to come. AFTCO first unveiled the Bank Bag Program in 2019.

“We have a long history of conservation in our business; it started with my grandfather. He taught my father, and I learned from him, that we’ve got a responsibility to give back to the resource because the resource is helping us make a living,” added Casey Shedd.

The ACA would like to thank AFTCO for their support throughout the years, and the efforts they put forth to conserve and protect fisheries for future generations.

The Association of Collegiate Anglers (ACA) is a division of CarecoTV that was created over twenty years ago to facilitate growth, development, and provide structure within competitive collegiate bass fishing, with emphasis on competitive fishing events nationwide. The ACA created the original BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship which has now evolved into the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, which is now recognized as the longest-running consecutive collegiate bass fishing series in existence. The ACA has also created various other programs such as the Collegiate School of the Year Rankings system, College Bass Fishing Open, Collegiate Big Bass Bash and the College Bass Fishing Springtime Slam.

The ACA lineup of major college fishing events includes a variety of nationwide tournaments that are multi-day tournaments, all of which are televised and streamed on several networks, as well as streamed on a variety of connected platforms allowing fans to follow anyway they choose on any device. These major events have no entry fees and no membership costs associated with them for the college anglers competing. The ACA also provides support to numerous schools operating regional events nationwide which is an effort to provide more opportunities to grow the exposure and awareness of college fishing.

The ACA owns the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, Bass Pro Shops School of Year presented by Abu Garcia program, and associated assets which is widely regarded as the most comprehensive and prestigious collegiate bass fishing title today.

Thanks in part to the large diversity of media exposure the ACA provides, the series boasts the largest amount of televised and streaming coverage of any collegiate fishing series. This includes a dedicated television series on numerous television networks and streaming platforms, as well as additional coverage of select events inside other programs.

This combination includes coverage from national and regional television networks as well as being streamed online on various apps and connected devices. You can also find coverage via video on demand online at any time of past events thanks to coverage on OutdoorActionTV.com and PursuitUp.com

For more information on the ACA or the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, visit www.CollegiateBassChampionship.com.

For more information on CarecoTV, visit www.CarecoTV.com

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