Today's B.A.S.S. announcement concerned the Toyota Trucks B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year (AOY) title. Effective this season, the AOY title will be decided across the eight regular-season events, not during the post-season.
The divisive post-season structure, instituted first for the 2009 season, struggled to gain acceptance among fans and most pros.
B.A.S.S., however, will still conduct activities in the Montgomery, Ala. area. At stake will be a $100,000 prize, plus a fully rigged boat for one lucky fan. Here's how the new Toyota Trucks All-Star Week will work.
> The Top 8 in the AOY race will be invited to All-Star Week, plus four additional "wildcard" pros as voted on by fans.
> Twelve fans will be selected randomly and paired with the pros as virtual competitors. These 12 fans will be able to follow their angler daily online. The fan paired with the All-Star Week champion will win a fully rigged bass boat.
> Following a 2-day preliminary round at Lake Jordan, the top eight All-Stars (based on cumulative weight) will be seeded and will move to the Alabama River in Montgomery for a bracket-style, head-to-head format over 3 days of competition. After 2 elimination days, the two anglers left standing will compete for a winner-take-all prize of $100,000.
B.A.S.S. ownership partner Jerry McKinnis told BassFan: "We've changed the title back to where it belonged, and I'm sure everybody's going to be happy about that."
