There's a period of time each autumn when uncertainty reigns. It's marked by the month or two between the conclusion of the Bassmaster Opens and the first Elite Series or FLW Tour deposit deadline, and it's when the next crop of tour pros must decide whether or not to step up.

This year's a little different, simply because of the change in B.A.S.S. ownership, which occurred about this same time last year. That's when the new ownership partners released info on the 2011 and 2012 Bassmaster Classic and Elite Series.



At the time, B.A.S.S. announced that only 73 Elite Series pros would requalify for the 2012 Elite Series. As stated then, the goal was to fairly quickly winnow the Elite field down to a smaller size in order to better showcase talent and involve sponsors.

B.A.S.S. ownership partner Jerry McKinnis confirmed for BassFan yesterday that no, the field won't be cut for 2012 – all current Elite Series pros in good standing will be invited back irrespective of points finish.

The Opens picture's a little less clear. At this point, it still appears the Top 5 in each divisional points race will still be invited into the Elites – standard practice, and one B.A.S.S. would have to honor. What's not clear is how far down the points B.A.S.S. might go to get those five Open pros per division. Traditionally, the cutoff was 12th, but McKinnis told BassFan that an announcement is forthcoming in the next few weeks.

What McKinnis Says

First, regarding the Elite Series field size, McKinnis said: "We're going to let everybody play next year who played this year, because next year we're really going to start cutting and forming what I've wanted forever, which is a truly Elite group of anglers. It may just be 10 guys we cut, or 15, or something like that, but we're for sure going to start cutting.

"After next year, I won't have many friends, but when it gets right down to it, I don't want to jump right in there and (cut) guys who've worked hard for 2 or 3 years and invested a lot of money."

Second, regarding the Opens, McKinnis noted: "When we come out with the new qualifying system and changes in the Elites, that has to carry over to the Opens. Like I've said all along, I'm really concentrating on these Opens and I'm going to try to make a really powerful series out of them, because my hopes and dreams are for the Elites to really become the place. And if that happens, then the Opens have to be upped just as high, because if you do lose your spot on the Elites, you'll need a really great place to continue to fish and a good qualifying system to make it back in."

The Top 5

Even though McKinnis wouldn't describe the exact details of next season's Elite invites, B.A.S.S. (as noted) would have to stand by at least its Top 5 commitment for each of the three Open divisions, for a potential of 15 new Elite pros.

Whether or not B.A.S.S. will work down the points remains, again, to be seen.

In the interim, here's a summary of each Open division points race. Anglers to 12th place are listed. Note that two of the three divisions are concluded. The final Central Open occurs Oct. 20–23.

Northern Opens
1. Michael Simonton -- 743 (qualified in 2010 but declined)
2. Derek Remitz -- 732 (current Elite pro)
3. Charlie Hartley -- 713 (current Elite pro)
4. Kyle A. Fox -- 672 (hunting for funding)
5. Fletcher Shryock -- 668 (fishing Classic, plans to accept)
6. Tracy Adams -- 667 (former FLW Tour pro)
7. David Lefebre -- 653 (current FLW Tour pro)
8. Kevin Short -- 643 (current Elite pro)
9. Joe Balog -- 629 (qualified last year, declined)
10. Pat Golden -- 629 (current Elite pro)
11. Michael Murphy -- 622 (current FLW Tour pro)
12. Randall Tharp -- 613 (current FLW Tour pro)

Southern Opens
1. Gerald Swindle -- 833 (current Elite pro)
2. Brandon Card -- 800
3. Ott DeFoe -- 798 (current Elite pro)
4. Cliff Prince -- 706
5. Britt Myers -- 701 (current Elite pro)
6. Chris Lane -- 665 (current Elite pro)
7. Roland Martin -- 654 (legend)
8. Jason Quinn -- 653 (current Elite pro)
9. Casey Ashley -- 635 (current Elite pro)
10. Wayne Hauser -- 627
11. Larry Cahan -- 624
12. Terry Scroggins -- 596 (current Elite pro)

Central Opens
1. Chris Zaldain -- 567 (young, hungry western pro plans to accept)
2. Janet Parker -- 536 (would be first female Elite pro)
3. Trevor Romans -- 512
4. Kevin Ledoux -- 509
5. Jared Miller -- 503
6. Rick Clunn -- 498 (current Elite pro)
7. Lendell Martin -- 493 (former Bassmaster/FLW Tour pro)
8. Chris Ford -- 489
9. Mark Tyler -- 485 (former Elite pro)
10. Mark Tucker -- 478 (former Elite pro, fishing Classic)
11. Ryan Lovelace -- 473
12. Jerry Dolezal -- 470