The Alabama Bass Trail today released the schedule for its 2014 debut season, with events taking place on 10 lakes and the championship slated for an 11th venue. Each event will offer a guaranteed top prize of $10,000.
The series will be restricted to amateur anglers, with entry fees set at $250 per team.
“Alabama is a great state for fishing,” said Gov. Robert Bentley, who participated in today's news conference at which details of the circuit were announced. “We have professional tournaments here on a regular basis. The goal of this amateur tournament is simple: We want to encourage more people to fish where the pros fish.
"The Alabama Bass Trail was established to help us share our lakes and rivers with more people. When more people come to our lakes and rivers, that increases tourism. And when tourism increases, that benefits our local and state economies.”
Sanctioned by B.A.S.S., the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series gets underway Feb. 1, 2014. The trail will feature two divisions: Northern and Southern. Each division is made up of five tournaments on five different lakes. The maximum number of boats is 200.
Here's a look at the schedule:
Northern Division
Feb. 1 – Lake Guntersville
March 22 – Pickwick Lake
April 5 – Neely Henry Lake
May 31 – Wheeler Lake
June 21 – Logan Martin Lake
Southern Division
March 1 – Mobile-Tensaw Delta
March 15 – Lake Eufaula
April 19 – Lake Jordan
May 10 – Millers Ferry
June 7 – Lay Lake
The championship will be a 125 boat, 2-day event comprised of the Top 50 teams from each division that fished all five events, along with the Top 25 student teams collectively from both divisions. It'll take place Oct. 10-11 at Lewis Smith Lake.
The top prize for the no-entry-fee championship will be a fully rigged 2015 Phoenix 619
Pro with a Mercury 150, trolling motor and electronics valued at $37,495, plus an additional $40,000 in cash and prizes.
“Since the launch of the Alabama Bass Trail in 2012, we have received numerous requests for the development of a tournament series," said Alabama Bass Trail program director Kay Donaldson. "We are challenged with creating more fishing opportunities in the state of Alabama, and we believe this gives anglers in the Southeast an opportunity to fish a highly competitive trail on the best lakes in Alabama."
Online registration gets under way at noon today. From now through Oct. 30, teams can register for all five tournaments in either division for $1,150 (a savings of $100).
To register, go to www.AlabamaBassTrail.org.
