AAA-Level Events Affect Championships, Tour Fields

The 2010 tour season officially concluded 10 days ago in Atlanta, Ga. at the Forrest Wood Cup. But there's still plenty of activity for BassFans to watch.

The FLW Series, Bassmaster Opens and PAA series continue, with events scheduled through the fall. The Series and the Opens affect Bassmaster Classic, Cup and Tour/Elite Series qualification, and always bear watching. The PAA Series

is important too, as it determines a portion of the field for the Toyota Texas Bass Classic, which has fast become an important standalone event in the sport.

With so many changes this year and last, BassFans may be a little confused as to exactly how the AAA level feeds the tour level. Here's a review of how it all works.

FLW Series

The 2011 Forrest Wood Cup field will be smaller, and thus the Top 10 pros each from the Eastern and Western FLW Series qualify for the 2011 Cup. That's down a total of 20 spots from this year, when 20 from each division made it.

Additionally, the Top 30 from each division receive priority entry for the 2011 FLW Tour. That wasn't such a big deal this year – the Tour couldn't fill its 150-boat field – but with the return of Walmart money, there's every expectation that the 150-boat Tour field will fill this year. So the Top 30 points standings could grow more important.

There's one event left in the Western Series – Lake Roosevelt, Sept. 22–25. Two Eastern Series events remain – Champlain next week and Chickamauga in mid-September.

Here's a look at the Top 15 in the Western points:

Western FLW Series Top 15
1. Brent Ehrler -- Redlands, CA -- 579
2. Cody Meyer -- Grass Valley, CA -- 576
3. Chris Zaldain -- San Jose, CA -- 548
4. Jon Strelic -- El Cajon, CA -- 528
5. Robert Lee -- Angels Camp, CA -- 526
6. Kevin Johnson -- Valencia, CA -- 520
7. Jason Milligan -- Anderson, CA -- 520
8. Ronald Hobbs, Jr. -- Orting, WA -- 518
9. Kevin Stewart -- Elk Grove, CA -- 517
10. Jeff Michels -- Lakehead, CA -- 515
11. Ken Wick -- Star, Id -- 514
12. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, Az -- 510
13. Jimmy Reese -- Witter Springs, Ca -- 509
14. Chad Hulbert -- Gilroy, Ca -- 508
15. Brett Hite -- Phoenix, Az -- 503

Ehrler tends to dominate the Western points, and there are a few other tour pros in the mix looking to lock down an early Cup berth. But also note western stalwart Robert Lee at 5th, looking for a return Cup berth, as well as Chris Zaldain looking to fish his fourth consecutive Cup. And of course Cody Meyer, who finished 2nd and 3rd in the two most recent Cups, is in strong position to secure a return pass.

Then there's the Eastern Series points:

Eastern FLW Series Top 15
1. John Cox -- Debary, FL -- 393
2. JT Kenney -- Palm Bay, FL -- 379
3. Bryan Thrift -- Shelby, NC -- 377
4. Scott Canterbury -- Springville, AL -- 377
5. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, FL -- 369
6. David Dudley -- Lynchburg, VA -- 367
7. Koby Kreiger -- Okeechobee, FL -- 359
8. Craig Dowling -- Grant, AL -- 352
9. Randall Tharp -- Gardendale, AL -- 351
10. Wesley Strader -- Spring City, TN -- 344
11. Darrin Schwenkbeck -- Varysburg, NY -- 344
12. Jimmy McMillan -- Belle Glade, FL-- 338
13. Greg Pugh -- Cullman, AL -- 337
14. David Fritts -- Lexington, NC -- 336
15. Jonathan Newton -- Rogersville, AL -- 335

The Eastern Series, per usual, is heavily stocked with tour pros, but John Cox bears watching. Remember that Cox got an Elite Series invite at the 2007 Wildcard Qualifier, but declined due to financial obstacles. Since then he's fished the Opens and Strens (now AFS), but made the jump up to the Series this year. His points lead comes by virtue of 2nd- and 7th-place finishes across the first two events.

Also in the mix is former Elite Series pro Darrin Schwenkbeck.

American Fishing Series

FLW Outdoors late last year rebranded the former Stren Series as the American Fishing Series (AFS). In the process, it eliminated the longstanding Stren Championship and replaced it with the new AFS Invitational.

Now, the 2010 division points champions qualify for the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup, as does the Invitational winner.

Here's a look at each current division leader:

Southeastern -- Donny Bass -- Naples, FL
Northern -- Tom Belinda -- Hollidaysburg, PA
Central -- Shane Long -- Sarcoxie, MO
Texas -- Jeremy Guidry -- Opelousas, LA

Bassmaster Opens

The Bassmaster Opens continue to be the proving ground for entry into the Elite Series, and BASS has held tight to its rigid farm structure in regard to Elite Series qualification. It calls down the Open list past 7th place to 12th place in each division, but no further, even if that means a short Elite Series field.

Like the year before, the Top 7 in each Open division automatically qualify for the Elite Series, and the Top 2 in each qualify for the Bassmaster Classic. Following is a summary of the current status of each division

Southern Opens Top 15
(One event remaining – Seminole, Oct. 7-9)
1. Andy Montgomery -- S.C. -- 550
2. Bobby Lane -- Fla. -- 546
3. Randall Tharp -- Ala. -- 538
4. Ott DeFoe -- Tenn. -- 527
5. Davy Hite -- S.C. -- 511
6. David Kilgore -- Ala. -- 501
7. Jason Knapp -- Pa. -- 489
8. Terry Scroggins -- Fla. -- 481
9. Michael Bennett -- Fla. -- 475
10. Andy Chappell -- Ala. -- 458
11. Luke Gritter -- Mich. -- 440
12. Jonathon Vandam -- Mich. -- 433
13. Eric Nethery -- Ga. -- 432
14. JT Kenney -- Fla. -- 430
15. Mark Shepard -- Fla. -- 428

Note three of the Top 5 in the Southern Points (Montgomery, Tharp, DeFoe) are FLW Tour pros. Michael Bennett and JT Kenney also stick out as FLW Tour studs.

Davy Hite is one to watch as well. He missed the Lay Lake Classic this year and failed to make next year's Classic through the Tour points. He's 40th in the Elite Series points and is a longshot to make the Classic through double-qualifiers. He'd certainly like to lock up a berth on his own through the Southerns.

Central Opens Top 15
(One event remaining – Texoma, Oct. 21-23)
1. Craig Schuff -- Texas -- 600
2. Keith Combs -- Texas -- 545
3. Clark Reehm -- Ark. -- 502
4. Dean Alexander -- Texas -- 484
5. James Stricklin -- Texas -- 479
6. Ray Hanselman -- Texas -- 476
7. Frank Scalish -- Ohio -- 467
8. Lee Sisson -- Fla. -- 460
9. Jared Miller -- Okla. -- 455
10. Russell Parrish -- Texas -- 454
10. Aaron Johnson -- La. -- 454
10. Randy Allen -- La. -- 454
13. Cody Bird -- Texas -- 444
14. Mike Kernan -- Texas -- 442
15. Clark Wendlandt -- Texas -- 434

Fewer FLW Tour pros haunt the upper reaches of the Central points as well with the presence of Combs (2nd), Stricklin (5th), Bird (13th) and Wendlandt (15th).

Combs in particular gets a home-state finale at Texoma for a chance to fish the Classic.

Northern Opens Top 15
(Two events remaining – Detroit River, Aug. 19-21 and Chesapeake Bay, Sept. 16–18)
1. Dave Wolak -- N.C. -- 310
2. Ryan Said -- Mich. -- 295
3. Tracy Adams -- N.C. -- 290
4. Ish Monroe -- Calif. -- 285
5. Mike Haggerty -- Tenn. -- 280
6. Casey Lyon -- Vt. -- 276
7. Brandon Coulter -- Tenn. -- 272
8. J. Todd Tucker -- Ga. -- 268
9. David Walker -- Tenn. -- 264
10. Jeremy Starks -- W.Va. -- 260
11. Matthew Sphar -- N.Y. -- 257
12. Scott Rook -- Ark. -- 254
13. Nate Wellman -- Mich. -- 251
14. Kevin Short -- Ark. -- 248
15. Jason Knapp -- Pa. -- 245

Points leader Wolak already has a Classic berth, so he withdrew from next week's Detroit River Open in order to give others a shot at the Classic.

"I've been there before and know how it feels," he told BassFan, in reference to having to make the Classic through the Opens. "I have friends fishing the Opens who are in the Top 20 and are trying to qualify for the Classic. Like Ish Monroe. He had a great FLW Tour season but didn't do as well as he wanted on the BASS side. I owe him a favor. Or my other friends in the Top 20 or even the Top 40. I'd rather give those guys a chance instead of me being a stumbling block."

There's also a sound host of FLW Tour pros in the mix, including Adams, Walker and Coulter.

PAA Tournament Series

The TTBC is a goal for any PAA pro – the purse is heavy, the TV coverage is strong and the crowds are fantastic.

This year, the TTBC actually falls between the final two PAA Tournament Series events of the year. Therefore, the Top 15 in the PAA Series points after the third event will qualify for the TTBC. Additionally, the TTBC invites the Top 15 from the Elite Series and the Top 15 from the FLW Tour. In the event of double-qualifiers, the TTBC will invite additional anglers from the PAA tour points list, which factors in the Elite Series, FLW Tour and PAA Series.

The Tawakoni PAA Series, slated for Sept. 9-11, will function as that third event. Here's a look at the current Top 20 in the PAA Series points.

PAA Series Top 20
1. Andy Montgomery -- 369.13
2. Tommy Biffle -- 365.31
3. Edwin Evers -- 361.82
4. Aaron Martens -- 356.18
5. Jason Quinn -- 353.43
6. Shinichi Fukae -- 333.65
7. Zell Rowland -- 330.54
8. Bryan Thrift -- 326.05
9. Mike McClelland -- 325.75
10. Dave Lefebre -- 323.75
11. Chris Baumgardner -- 322.97
12. Dave Wolak -- 322.56
13. Takahiro Omori -- 315.03
14. Andy Morgan -- 314.47
15. David Hendrick -- 313.99
16. Jeff Kriet -- 313.95
17. Bradley Hallman -- 312.88
18. Shaw Grigsby -- 307.61
19. Ott DeFoe -- 306.83
20. Mark Menendez -- 295.06

The list of potential double-qualifiers at this point is extensive, so the TTBC list of invitees should dig fairly deep into the PAA tour points list.