B.A.S.S. unveiled its 2013 Elite Series schedule today.
Like this year, it's an eight-event circuit, but the season will get underway in Texas rather than Florida as has been the case the last 2 years. There are a couple repeat venues from this year, no “mystery lake” and two sets of back-to-back events.
The schedule released by B.A.S.S earlier today contained the wrong dates for the Alabama River event. It's now slated for May 9-12, meaning it'll take place immediately after the West Point Lake tournament.
Here's a look at the slate:
BASSMASTER CLASSIC
Dates: Feb. 22-24
Venue: Grand Lake
Host: Tulsa, Okla.
ELITE #1
Dates: March 14-17
Venue: Sabine River
Host: Orange, Texas
ELITE #2
Dates: March 21-24
Venue: Falcon Lake
Host: Zapata, Texas
ELITE #3
Dates: April 18-21
Venue: Bull Shoals Lake
Host: Bull Shoals, Ark.
ELITE #4
Dates: May 2-5
Venue: West Point Lake
Host: LaGrange, Ga.
ELITE #5
Dates: May 9-12
Venue: Alabama River
Host: Montgomery, Ala.
ELITE #6
Dates: June 20-23
Venue: Mississippi River
Host: La Crosse, Wis.
ELITE #7
Dates: Aug. 8-11
Venue: St. Lawrence River
Host: Ogdensburg, N.Y.
ELITE #8
Dates: Aug. 22-25
Venue: Lake St. Clair
Host: Detroit
As you can see, return trips are being made to Bull Shoals Lake and the Mississippi River out of La Crosse, Wis., at virtually the exact same time as this year’s events.
The schedule concludes with three northern stops from mid-June through late August, including a visit to the St. Lawrence River in northern New York, which last hosted a B.A.S.S. event in 2003, but had been a regular stop through the late 1980s and 1990s and was the site of the 1980 Classic. The season will wrap up at Lake St. Clair the final week of August 2013 where the Angler of the Year (AOY) will be crowned and 2013 Classic berths will be determined.
FLW is expected to announce its schedule shortly so it’s not known yet what events will overlap, if any.
