B.A.S.S. announced today that Toyota Trucks All-Star Week will return for a second year in 2012. This year's edition will take place in Forsyth and Decatur, Ill., Sept. 20-23. The semifinals will be held on Lake Shelbyville Sept. 20-21, and the championship will be held on Lake Decatur Sept. 22-23. Anglers will compete for a total purse of $100,000.
The competition features 12 anglers – the Top 8 from the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings at the conclusion of the 2012 season and four others selected by online fan voting at Bassmaster.com. All 12 anglers will compete for 2 days at the All-Star semifinal. Their cumulative weights will be tallied to determine the Top 4 finishers, who will advance to the championship.
The championship round will consist of two stages. On the first day, the top angler from the All-Star Semifinal will be paired against the 4th-ranked angler, and the 2nd and 3rd seeds will be pitted against each other. The top anglers from each of these head-to-head matchups will meet in the championship round on Sunday, Sept. 23.
Prize money will be paid as follows:
1st place -- $60,000
2nd place -- $10,000
Finalists -- $7,000
5th through 12th -- $2,000 each
Following the semifinal, the eight professional anglers who have been eliminated from competition will act as fishing guides and tournament partners for eight wounded military veterans from the “Hope for the Warriors” program.
Also returning as a part of Toyota Trucks All-Star Week is the Bassmaster Legends tournament. The field for 2012 has not been set, but in 2011 it featured such angling superstars as Bill Dance, Rick Clunn and Bobby Murray. The tournament was won by a team of retired Bassmaster Elite Series pros – Guy Eaker and Ken Cook.
