DECATUR, Ala. – The Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series will enter its 13th season next year with an 11-event schedule offering more than $750,000 in prizes and awards. The season gets underway February 21, 2026, on Lake Jordan and concludes October 16-17, 2026 with the championship on Lake Eufaula.
"In August 2024, the 12th season of the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series sold out in under seven minutes," said ABT director Kay Donaldson. "That puts a tremendous amount of pressure on our team to put together a schedule that will excite the anglers and spur them to sign up like they did in 2024, but I think we have done it. We will be returning to Lake Eufaula for the championship for the first time since 2016, which is exciting for anglers in both the North and South divisions. I think this year's schedule offers a number of opportunities to see heavy weights atop the leaderboard."
Sanctioned by B.A.S.S., the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series contains two divisions, North and South, and each division is made up of five tournaments on five different lakes. The maximum number of boats for each tournament is 225. Teams must fish in all five tournaments in their respective division; no single entries will be allowed.
Here are the division schedules for next year:
North – Feb. 28, Lake Guntersville; March 28, Pickwick Lake; April 18, Neely Henry Lake; May 9, Wheeler Lake; June 20, Weiss Lake.
South – Feb. 21, Lake Jordan; March 21, Lay Lake; April 11, Lake Martin; May 16, Logan Martin Lake; June 13, Alabama River.
North Division: Feb 28- Lake Guntersville; March 28, 2026 - Pickwick Lake, hosted by Florence-Lauderdale Tourism April 18, 2026 - Neely Henry Lake, hosted by City of Gadsden May 09, 2026 - Wheeler Lake, hosted by Decatur Morgan Tourism June 20, 2026 - Weiss Lake, hosted by Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce
South Division: February 21, 2026 - Lake Jordan, hosted by Elmore County Economic Development Authority and the City of Wetumpka March 21, 2026 - Lay Lake, hosted by Discover Shelby April 11, 2026 - Lake Martin, hosted by Tallapoosa County Tourism May 16, 2026 - Logan Martin Lake, hosted by City of Lincoln June 13, 2026 - Alabama River (Cooter's Pond), hosted by City of Prattville
The no-entry fee championship event will include up to 180 boats comprised of the 10 regular-season winners, Top 75 teams in points from both divisions who fished all five events in their respective divisions, along with the Top 5 student teams, Top 5 college teams and the Top 5 couples teams collectively from both divisions who fished all five events in their respective divisions.
Each regular season tournament features a $15,000 guaranteed first-place prize and pays 40 places totaling $64,450.
The championship will feature a $100,250 payout with a first-place prize of $50,000. There is also a $5,000 bonus cash prize for Angler of the Year and $2,500 for runner-up Angler of the Year.
In addition, the Alabama Bass Trail will pay a $500 entry fee for the 18 teams who qualify for the B.A.S.S. Team Championship. According to Donaldson, over $750,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded when the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series wraps up its season in 2026.
The ABT Series will bring live on-the-water tournament action to viewers directly from the boats competing in the events and also will be televised later in 2026. The weigh-in and Live Leaderboard for each event will be streamed live on www.AlabamaBassTrail.org, on Facebook at Alabama Bass Trail Series and on the Alabama Bass Trail TV YouTube channel.
Anglers who fished all five events in their respective divisions in 2025 will be given a priority entry period beginning Aug. 1, 2025, at 5:30 a.m. CST online at www.AlabamaBassTrail.org. Registration opens for new teams Aug 15 at 5:30 a.m. CST. The entry fee is $1,600 per team, which includes registration for all five tournaments in the respective division. Each team may choose to pay a $600 non-refundable deposit to hold the team's spot. The balance of $1,000 is due on or before Dec. 19, 2025. All entry fees are subject to a credit card processing fee
For more information, call Donaldson at (855) 934-7425 or visit www.AlabamaBassTrail.org.
