By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
The addition of a ninth event to the 2016 Bassmaster Elite Series regular-season schedule has drawn near-unanimous approval from some of the circuit's most established veterans. The split-venue event in Arkansas, meanwhile, already has many of them scratching their heads as to how to prepare for a tournament that will play out on two different lakes on alternating days.
Whether their opinion of the schedule as a whole is good, bad or indifferent, all agree that next season will be intriguing on several levels.
"I like the diversity of it – we're going to a couple of new places and hitting a couple others at different times of the year, so guys are going to have to stay open-minded all season," said Bobby Lane. "And for us as anglers, the added event is a real positive because it's another chance to make $10,000 and gain points for the Classic and the Angler of the Year.
"It's not like we'll have a few flipping tournaments and a few ledge tournaments and then that's it. There'll be sight-fishing, cranking, dropshotting, wacky-rigging – just about anything you can think of will be done next season."
Said Jason Christie: "One thing I like about B.A.S.S. is they'll always throw something different at you, whether it's a new body of water or a new format or something like that. That keeps it interesting for me.
"The way the schedule is, as far as the (three) tidal fisheries and the format in Arkansas, the guy who wins the Angler of the Year will either be really, really good or really, really lucky."
Still Some Gray Areas
Here's a look at next year's schedule that was released last week:
> March 17-20 -- St. Johns River -- Palatka, Fla.
> April 7-10 -- Winyah Bay -- Georgetown, S.C.
> April 21-24 -- Bull Shoals/Norfork Lakes -- Mountain Home, Ark.
> April 28-May 1 -- Wheeler Lake -- Decatur, Ala.
> May 12-15 -- Toledo Bend Reservoir -- Many, La.
> June 8-12 -- BASSFest -- TBA
> June 23-26 -- Cayuga Lake -- Union Springs, N.Y.
> Aug. 11-14 -- Potomac River -- Charles County, Md.
> Sept. 8-11 -- Mississippi River -- La Crosse, Wis.
> Sept. 15-18 -- AOY Championship -- TBA
The two as-yet-unknown venues (BASSFest and the AOY Championship) have caused a great deal of speculation among the anglers. Most are convinced that the third edition of BASSFest will be another ledge-oriented event somewhere in the mid-South, and the championship will undoubtedly take place in the upper Midwest since it's scheduled for the week following the regular-season finale at the Mississippi River out of La Crosse, Wis.
"I appreciate the fact that they put La Crosse and the championship back to back (instead of having a 3-week break after the final regular-season tournament like there is this season)," said Lane. "That way we can get them knocked out and get back home a lot quicker."
An initial rumor had it that BASSFest would return to Kentucky Lake and play out right on top of the FLW Tour event on those dates, but that was quickly and emphatically quashed by a B.A.S.S. communications official. Some anglers now think the destination might be Old Hickory Lake in Tennessee, but they have nothing concrete to base that on.
Three dates on the schedule conflict with FLW Tour events, which means it'll be impossible to compete on both major circuits next year. Ish Monroe and David Smith were the only anglers who did it this year, as others who undertook that challenge in 2013 were dissuaded by the complicated logistics and the extended periods away from home.
"I don't want to say I'm unhappy, but I just wish those conflicts weren't there," Monroe said. "I like to fish as many tournaments as possible because that's how I make my living and when I can fish both sides, I'm giving my sponsors the maximum amount of exposure.
With three conflicting dates on the Elite Series and FLW Tour schedules, Ish Monroe won't be able to fish both circuits next year.
"I haven't seen the (Bassmaster Open or FLW Rayovac) schedules yet, but those will be fill-ins and this will give me the opportunity of fishing the U.S. Open next year. Also, I can't forget that I have Major League Fishing as well."
One Extreme to the Other
Tidal fisheries will host the first two events, but they'll be vastly dissimilar derbies. In all likelihood, the St. Johns River will once again produce massive weights, but such probably won't be the case for South Carolina's Winyah Bay, which will host a tour-level derby for the first time.
Winyah is the convergence point of the Pee Dee, Black and Sampit rivers, and a few other options are available for anglers willing to make extremely long runs. Regardless of where on the system a competitor chooses to fish, though, bass weighing 3 pounds or more will be difficult to come by unless they can be picked off of beds.
"I've never fished there, but I know of it," said South Carolinian Davy Hite. "We'll catch fish, but you're not going to see Toledo Bend-type weights. There's lots of fishable water, but the fish are going to be smaller.
"We have one of these kind of tournaments every year it seems like, and that's all part of it. It's going to be hard to catch 15- to 20-pound stringers, but it's not going to be an event where something like half the field zeroes."
Two weeks after that, the field will head to Mountain Home, Ark. for an event that'll be unique in the 10-year history of the circuit. Full-field days will be staged on both Bull Shoals (day 1) and Norfork (day 2) lakes, and the sites will again alternate for the weekend.
Each angler will have to determine how much practice time to spend on each venue.
"I don't really like that whole deal because I don't like the idea of splitting up practice," said Brent Ehrler. "I'd rather see something where we had no practice at all, or if you have to do it on two lakes, make one of them off-limits entirely (during practice) and have everybody just show up and see what happens.
"I'm just not confident in the idea that everybody's going to abide by the rules. There are going to be guys getting more info than they should and that'll hinder the rest of us."
Notable
> Brent Chapman, the 2012 Angler of the Year who's had 2 rough seasons back to back, has opted to refrain from forming initial opinions about next year's schedule. "After these last 2 years of missing the Classic, I think I just need to go into next year with an open mind," he said. "Looking back on this year, some of the events I was really excited about didn't go as I'd hoped and some that I wasn't excited about turned out to be my better tournaments. Next year I won't form an opinion either way until I actually get to the event."
