The Alabama Bass Trail is excited
to announce the launch of a new tournament series beginning in February, 2014.
The 10 lake team-style tournament series will be held on ten of the lakes of
the Alabama Bass Trail with the championship tournament taking place on the 11th
lake. Attracting amateur anglers from across the southeastern United States,
each tournament is expected to generate an approximate $500,000 economic impact
for host cities.
“Alabama is a great state for
fishing,” Governor Robert Bentley said. “We have professional tournaments here
on a regular basis. The goal of this amateur tournament is simple. We want to
encourage more people to fish where the pros fish. The Alabama Bass Trail was
established to help us share our lakes and rivers with more people. When more
people come to our lakes and rivers that increases tourism. And when tourism
increases, that benefits our local and state economies.”
Sanctioned by BASS (Bass Anglers
Sportsman Society), the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series gets underway
February 1, 2014. The tournament trail will feature two divisions: Northern and
Southern. Each division is made up of five tournaments on five different lakes.
Each tournament will have a $10,000 guaranteed first place prize and will pay
20 places. Maximum number of boats is 200.
Northern Division:
Lake
Guntersville
February 1, 2014 hosted by Marshall County CVB
Pickwick
Lake
March 22,
2014 hosted by Florence-Lauderdale Tourism
Neely Henry
Lake
April 5, 2014 hosted by City of Gadsden Parks & Recreation
Wheeler
Lake
May 31, 2014
hosted by Decatur-Morgan County CVB
Logan Martin
Lake
June 21,
2014
Southern Division:
Mobile-Tensaw
Delta
March 1, 2014 hosted by North Baldwin Chamber of Commerce
Lake
Eufaula
March 15, 2014 hosted by Eufaula-Barbour County Chamber of Commerce
Lake
Jordan
April 19, 2014 hosted by Wetumpka Chamber of Commerce
Alabama River (Millers
Ferry) May 10, 2014 hosted by Wilcox County Chamber and the City of
Monroeville
Lay
Lake
June 7 hosted by Shelby County Commission
The championship is a 125 boat,
two-day event. The 125 boats are comprised of the top 50 teams in points from
both divisions that fished all five events in their respective divisions, along
with the top 25 student boats collectively from both divisions that fished all
five events in their respective division. Hosted by Chamber of Commerce of
Walker County, the championship tournament is set for October 10-11, 2014 on
Lewis Smith Lake.
The championship is a no entry
tournament and the first place prize is a fully-rigged 2015 Phoenix 619 Pro
with a Mercury 150, trolling motor and electronics valued at $37,495 with an
additional $40,000 in cash and prizes. The official bass boat of the
Alabama Bass Trail, Phoenix Bass boats will also offer the tier one First
Flight incentive plan to tournament winners in a qualifying Phoenix boat.
“The Alabama Bass Trail is excited
to announce this new tournament for amateur anglers. Since the launch of the
Alabama Bass Trail in 2012, we have received numerous requests for the
development of a tournament series. We are challenged with creating more
fishing opportunities in the state of Alabama, and we believe this gives
anglers in the southeast an opportunity to fish a highly competitive trail on
the best lakes in Alabama,” said Alabama Bass Trail Program Director Kay
Donaldson.
A few select tournaments including
the February 1 launch tournament will be filmed and aired at a later broadcast
on Anglers Channel reaching a viewership of over 10 million households.
“We are all grateful for Governor
Bentley’s vision and will work together to make the Tournament Series a
success,” said Lee Sentell, director of the Alabama Tourism Department. Just
two years ago, Sentell, Governor Bentley, and the staff of the Alabama Mountain
Lakes Tourist Association began laying the groundwork for the Alabama Bass
Trail. After its launch in the spring of 2012, its popularity quickly grew and
Donaldson look for another opportunity to reach out to anglers.
Alabama Bass Trail Tournament
sponsors include Bill Penney Toyota, the Alabama Tourism Department, Phoenix
Bass Boats, Inc., McDonalds of Alabama, and Pradco-FISHING representing BOOYAH
and YUM, Dobyns Rods, Randy Jones Agency – Nationwide, T & H Marine
Supplies, Inc., Alabama Power Company, Buffalo Rock, Inc., Jet-Pep, Inc.,
Tennessee Valley Authority, Rigid Industries, Inc., and Frogg Toggs, Inc., Go
Pro and Gander Mountain. Fishlife will be the official tournament directors and
Elite Outdoors Media will be the live-streaming company.
Registration will be available
online beginning at noon on September 30th at www.alabamabasstrail.org. Entry fee
per tournament is $250 per team or from September 30-October 30 2013, teams can
register for all five tournaments for $1150.
According to Donaldson, each
tournament is expected to pump an estimated $500,000 into the local economy of
the host city. “Anglers typically pre-fish, or scout a location, three or four
days prior to a tournament, and during this time, they patronize restaurants,
gas stations, and tackle shops. During a tournament, approximately $300 is
spent each day on accommodations, gasoline, food and other supplies,” stated
Donaldson.
For more information, call
Donaldson at 855.934.7425 or visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.
About Alabama Bass Trail
The Alabama Bass Trail is a
program of the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association. Its mission is to
promote Alabama as a year round fishing destination, to preserve natural
resources for generations to come, and to educate high school and college aged
students to be good stewards of natural resources. The 11 bass fishing lakes
consist of Lake Guntersville, Wheeler Lake, Pickwick Lake, Lewis Smith Lake, Neely
Henry Lake, Lay Lake, Logan Martin Lake, Lake Jordan, Alabama River (Millers
Ferry), Lake Eufaula, and the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta. For more
information, visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.
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