Last week BassFan provided an on overview of who won in 2011. This week, BassFan provides a map to might who win in 2012.
Following is a chronological overview of the combined 2012 Bassmaster Elite Series and FLW Tour Majors schedules, along with a note or two about each stop.
Bassmaster Classic
Dates: Feb. 23-26
Venue: Red River
Host: Shreveport-Bossier City, La.
Notes: Skeet Reese won't get a chance to defend his 2009 Shreveport Classic crown – he didn't qualify – but KVD will be there with a chance to make history again. If KVD wins, it'd be his third-straight Classic crown – a mark nobody's equaled – and he'd surpass Rick Clunn's record of four career Classic victories.
FLW Tour Major No. 1
Dates: March 8-11
Venue: Lake Hartwell
Host: Greenville/Anderson, S.C.
Notes: The Tour stops at Hartwell for the second time in as many years, but comes 2 weeks earlier this time. Jason Christie will be the defending champion at this blueback-herring fishery. The fishing should be better overall – this year the blueback spawn was pretty much done.
Elite Series No. 1
Dates: March 15-18
Venue: St. Johns River
Host: Palatka, Fla.
Notes: The Elite Series again kicks off with back-to-back Florida events, but this time, Okeechobee's in, the Harris Chain's out and the St. Johns comes first. Edwin Evers will be the defending champ, Terry Scroggins will be the favorite (he finished 2nd to Evers this year) and the venue should fish just as small as it did this year.
Elite Series No. 2
Dates: March 22-25
Venue: Lake Okeechobee
Host: Okeechobee, Fla.
Notes: This will mark B.A.S.S.'s first Okeechobee tour stop since 2003. Terry Scroggins won that chilly January contest, which technically makes him defending champ. FLW Outdoors hosted a Tour Open there last year and Scroggins finished 4th, so he'll probably be the favorite heading in.
FLW Tour Major No. 2
Dates: March 29-April 1
Venue: Table Rock Lake
Host: Branson, Mo.
Notes: There'll be no true defending champ, since this year's Table Rock Tour stop was postponed and moved to Pickwick due to flooding, but Brent Ehrler won the most recent Table Rock Tour stop (2010) and he'll likely be one of the favorites again.
Elite Series No. 3
Dates: April 19-22
Venue: Bull Shoals Lake
Host: Arkansas
Notes: B.A.S.S. will visit this clear-water Ozarks fishery for this first time in 20 years. It's not an expansive venue and should prove a test for power-fishermen. Comes a full month after the Tour leaves Florida.
FLW Tour Major No. 3
Dates: April 26-29
Venue: Beaver Lake
Host: Rogers, Ark.
Notes: The FLW Tour makes is traditional stop at Beaver for the Walmart Open and it comes 3 weeks later than this year's iteration. There are no more secrets at the lake and much will depend on the spring rains. Bryan Thrift will serve as defending champion.
Elite Series No. 4
Dates: May 3-6
Venue: Douglas Lake
Host: Dandridge, Tenn.
Notes: This can be considered the lone Tennessee River stop for the Elites next year. Although Douglas is formed by an impoundment of the French Broad River, the French Broad and Holston converge downstream to form the Tennessee. The Bassmaster Southern Opens visited Douglas this year, but it's been a decade since B.A.S.S. stopped there, and that was during the largemouth bass virus era.
FLW Tour Major No. 3
Dates: May 17-20
Venue: Potomac River
Host: National Harbor, Md.
Notes: The Capitol River was the site of a Tour Open this year, when Luke Clausen won, and it's been a heavily visited venue for years. Consider Clausen a defending champ since the field will include many of the same pros, minus the locals, and the traditional cast of Potomac characters should again score high finishes.
Elite Series No. 5
Dates: June 7-10 (Overlap)
Venue: Toledo Bend
Host: Many, La.
Notes: B.A.S.S. heads back to the Bend, but 2 months later than its visit this year. Dean Rojas won that April contest by a single ounce over Gerald Swindle, so Rojas will serve as defender during this summer-phase event.
FLW Tour Major No. 4
Dates: June 7-10 (Overlap)
Venue: Kentucky Lake
Host: Murray/Gilbertsville, Ky.
Notes: Easily the most-visited venue across both tours, Kentucky Lake's vastness is deceiving, since the lake's been fishing small in recent years. Chad Grigsby won this year's crazy Kentucky contest that saw some pros challenge for a win on a shallow bite.
Elite Series No. 6
Dates: June 21-24
Venue: Mississippi River
Host: La Crosse, Wis.
Notes: B.A.S.S. heads back to the Upper Midwest for the first time since an Iowa event at the Mississippi in 2009. This one's further north than what most of the Elite pros are accustomed to, but rivers fish the same everywhere so look for the river rats to reign again.
FLW Tour Major No. 5
Dates: June 28-July 1 (Overlap)
Venue: Lake Champlain
Host: Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Notes: Just like the Potomac, Champlain becomes a Major for 2012. It's a favorite among a majority of pros and June 28 is about the earliest possible date there since the New York bass season opens in mid- to late-June. Scott Martin won the most recent true Tour stop at Champlain (2009) so he can be considered defending champ.
Elite Series No. 7
Dates: June 28-July 1 (Overlap)
Venue: Mystery
Host: Mystery
Notes: This is B.A.S.S.'s mystery stop and since it falls directly after the La Crosse, Wisc. stop it'll almost certainly be somewhere in the Upper Midwest. Winnebago? Minnetonka? Any ideas BassFans?
Forrest Wood Cup
Dates: Aug. 9-12
Venue: Lake Lanier
Host: Duluth/Gainesville, Ga.
Notes: This will mark the second Lanier Cup in 3 years. Kevin Hawk won the 2010 Lanier Cup and if he qualifies will be a defending champ. Scott Martin, who won this year's Ouachita Cup, will also be a defending champ.
Elite Series No. 8
Dates: Aug. 23-26
Venue: Oneida Lake
Host: Syracuse, N.Y.
Notes: The Elite Series reverts to a New York ending for its season with this late-August finale and it should make for some fine fishing and high drama. The last time the Elites stopped at Oneida was 2009, also in August, and Chad Griffin won that derby and will thus serve as defending champ.
