Hughes and Northcott Take Home $19,000 in Collins Championship Tournament

Plymouth, NC – The Eastern NC Bass Challenge concluded its 2025 tournament season this past weekend with an exciting two-day Championship event, proudly presented by Collins Boats of Smithfield, NC. Anglers from across the region competed for a grand prize of $10,000 in cash, generously sponsored by Collins Boats. A total of 111 teams hit the water for a shot at nearly $30,000 in total payouts.

Day 1 brought challenging conditions as strong northeast winds stirred up the Albemarle Sound, creating rough waters that tested competitors. Many anglers ventured out into the Albemarle Sound and some found great bags of bass waiting for them. After day 1, it was Austin Hughes and Holden Northcott taking the lead as they weighed in 25.31 pounds, including a 7.08-pound big bass! They were followed up by the father and son team of Adam Richardson and Bentley Richardson, who brought 23.45 pounds to the Bass Challenge scales Saturday.

After day 1, Adam Richardson told us his son Bentley caught the biggest bass of his life during day 1 of the tournament. That fish weighed 6.08 pounds and anchored their bag after day 1 of the event. On Facebook, Adam also stated, “Don’t have many days like this on the water, but the Lord blessed us with one today!!”

Larry Thomas landed the biggest bass of the tournament on Saturday, weighing in an impressive 7.45-pounder. His catch secured the Kolby Jones Memorial Big Bass Prize, earning him a $1,000 cash award and the honor of taking home one of the event’s most meaningful titles.

As the sun rose on Day 2 of the Championship, conditions had improved slightly, and teams were eager to make a push up the leaderboard. Hunter Jones and David Jones made a statement at the scales, bringing in a massive 21.49-pound limit—the heaviest bag of Day 2. Their impressive performance earned them the $2,000 Kolby Jones Memorial Day 2 Big Bag Prize, a special honor dedicated to the memory of Kolby Jones and awarded to the team with the biggest single-day catch on Championship Sunday.

Hunter and David Jones briefly took the tournament lead with their impressive Day 2 bag, but their time at the top was short-lived. Day 1 leaders Austin Hughes and Holden Northcott stepped up to the scales with a strong limit of Roanoke River bass, weighing in at 20.11 pounds. Their consistent performance over both days gave them a commanding lead and firmly reestablished them as the team to beat.

After all teams weighed in on Day 2 it was Austin and Holden who took 1st place honors with a 2-day total weight of 45.42 pounds!  “We made the run across the Sound knowing it was going to be rough,” said Holden Northcott. “Fishing was tough on Saturday—we only caught nine fish all day, and the last one ended up being that 7-pounder. On Sunday, the water had blown out quite a bit overnight, but we caught around 30 fish and had some good quality bites. We never got that one big kicker on Sunday, but it still worked out for us. Making the run across the Sound paid off.”

Austin Hughes and Holden Northcott were awarded the $10,000 Collins Boating first-place prize, an additional $1,000 in Bonus Cash, and $8,000 through the Triton Gold Contingency program — bringing their total tournament winnings to an impressive $19,000.

As we close out the 2025 season, I want to extend a sincere thank you to all the anglers who fished with us throughout the year. Your passion, sportsmanship, and dedication are what make the NC Bass Challenge so special. It’s been a great season filled with big catches, big payouts, and hopefully memories that will last a lifetime. We’re already looking forward to seeing everyone back on the water in 2026!

Full Tournament Results

The Bass Challenge paid cash prizes to our top 11 teams in this Championship Event.

Tournament Pictures

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