The Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series will enter its thirteenth season next year as the state’s premier weekend tournament trail for amateur bass anglers with an 11-event schedule offering more than $750,000 in prizes and awards.
ABT photo.
The season gets underway February 21, 2026, on Lake Jordan, in Wetumpka, Alabama, and concludes October 16-17, 2026, with the championship on Lake Eufaula, in Eufaula, Alabama.
“In August 2024, the 12th season of the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series sold out in under seven minutes. That puts a tremendous amount of pressure on our team to put together a schedule that will excite the anglers and spur them to sign up like they did in 2024, but I think we have done it. We will be returning to Lake Eufaula for the championship for the first time since 2016, which is exciting for anglers in both the North and South divisions. I think this year’s schedule offers a number of opportunities to see heavy weights atop the leaderboard,” said Kay Donaldson, Director of the Alabama Bass Trail.
Sanctioned by BASS (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society), the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series contains two divisions, North and South, and each division is made up of five tournaments on five different lakes. The maximum number of boats for each tournament is 225. Teams must fish in all five tournaments in their respective division; no single entries will be allowed.
North Division: February 28, 2026 – Lake Guntersville, hosted by Marshall County Sports and Tourism March 28, 2026 – Pickwick Lake, hosted by Florence-Lauderdale Tourism April 18, 2026 – Neely Henry Lake, hosted by City of Gadsden May 09, 2026 – Wheeler Lake, hosted by Decatur Morgan Tourism June 20, 2026 – Weiss Lake, hosted by Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce
South Division: February 21, 2026 – Lake Jordan, hosted by Elmore County Economic Development Authority and the City of Wetumpka March 21, 2026 – Lay Lake, hosted by Discover Shelby April 11, 2026 – Lake Martin, hosted by Tallapoosa County Tourism May 16, 2026 – Logan Martin Lake, hosted by City of Lincoln June 13, 2026 – Alabama River (Cooter’s Pond), hosted by City of Prattville
Hosted by the Eufaula-Barbour County Chamber of Commerce, the championship tournament will be held October 16-17, 2026, on Lake Eufaula.
The no-entry fee championship event will include up to 180 boats. The 180 boats are comprised of the 10 regular season winners, top 75 teams in points from both divisions that fished all five events in their respective divisions, along with the top five student teams, top five college teams and the top five couples teams collectively from both divisions that fished all five events in their respective divisions.
Each regular season tournament features a $15,000 guaranteed first place prize and pays 40 places totaling $64,450.
The no-entry fee championship will feature a $100,250 payout with a first-place prize of $50,000. There is also a $5,000 bonus cash prize for Angler of the Year and $2,500 for runner-up Angler of the Year.
2026 Payout Schedule: First Place – $15,000 Second Place – $7,500 Third Place – $6,000 Fourth Place – $4,000 Fifth Place – $3,000 Sixth Place – $2,000 Seventh Place – $1,300 Eighth Place – $1,300 Ninth Place – $1,300 Tenth Place – $1,300 11th – 15th – $1,000 each 16th – 25th – $750 each 26th – 30th – $600 each 31st – 40th – $500 each Big Fish – $1,000 ABT Gear – $250
2026 Championship Payout: First Place – $50,000 Second Place – $10,000 Third Place – $5,000 Fourth Place – $4,000 Fifth Place – $3,000 Sixth Place – $2,500 Seventh Place – $2,200 Eighth Place – $2,000 Ninth Place – $1,800 Tenth Place – $1,500 11th – 15th – $1,200 each 16th – 25th – $1,100 each Big Fish – $500 daily ABT Gear – $250
In addition, the Alabama Bass Trail will pay a $500 entry fee for the 18 teams who qualify for the B.A.S.S. Team Championship. According to Donaldson, over $750,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded when the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series wraps up its season in 2026.
Take-off on Lake Martin. ABT photo
The ABT Series will bring live on-the-water tournament action to viewers directly from the boats competing in the events and also will be televised later in 2026. The weigh-in and Live Leaderboard for each event will be streamed live on www.AlabamaBassTrail.org, on Facebook at Alabama Bass Trail Series and on the Alabama Bass Trail TV YouTube channel.
Anglers who fished all five events in their respective divisions in 2025 will be given a priority entry period beginning August 1, 2024, at 5:30 a.m. CST online at www.alabamabasstrail.org. Registration opens for new teams August 15 at 5:30 a.m. CST. The entry fee is $1,600 per team, which includes registration for all five tournaments in the respective division. Each team may choose to pay a $600 non-refundable deposit to hold the team’s spot. The balance of $1,000 is due on or before December 19, 2025. All entry fees are subject to a credit card processing fee
WOTM–TV will continue the live-streaming and Angler’s Channel will film and produce the Alabama Bass Trail television series to air at a later date.
For more information, call Donaldson at 855-934-7425 or visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.
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