Priority Registration Opens August 1
The Alabama Bass Trail (ABT) is pleased to unveil the 2020 tournament schedule which includes a new payout reaching over $580,000. Returning for the seventh season, the team-style tournament series is held on eleven different lakes of the Alabama Bass Trail beginning February 22, 2020, with the championship tournament to be held on October 23-24, 2020. Anglers in the no entry fee championship will be competing for over $100,000 in cash, including a $50,000 first place prize and top bragging rights for the year.
Sanctioned by BASS (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society), the ABT 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 22, 2020 Lake Guntersville / hosted by Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau
March 21, 2020 Smith Lake / hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of Walker County
April 18, 2020 Neely Henry Lake / hosted by City of Gadsden
May 16, 2020 Weiss Lake / hosted by City of Leesburg
June 13, 2020 Wheeler Lake / hosted by Decatur Morgan County Tourism
South Division:
February 29, 2020 Lake Jordan / hosted by the City of Wetumpka
March 28, 2020 Lay Lake / hosted by Shelby County Commission
April 25, 2020 Lake Eufaula / hosted by Eufaula-Barbour Chamber of Commerce
May 9, 2020 Logan Martin Lake / hosted by Pell City Chamber of Commerce
June 20, 2020 Alabama River/Cooter’s Pond / hosted by City of Prattville Parks and Recreation
Hosted by Alexander City Chamber of Commerce, the championship tournament will be held October 23-24, 2020, on Lake Martin at Wind Creek State park in Alexander City, Ala.
The no-entry fee championship event will include up to 185 boats. The 185 boats are comprised of the 10 divisional tournament winning teams, top 75 teams in points from both divisions that fished all five events in their respective divisions, along with the top 15 student boats, top five college teams and the top five couples teams collectively from both divisions that fished all five events in their respective division.
“Once again I think we have put together a schedule that shows why Alabama is the top destination for bass fishing in the southeast,” said ABT Program Director Kay Donaldson. “Our team is excited about having the championship on a southern division lake for the first time in a few years. Lake Martin is known to be a great fishery in the fall and the Alexander City Chamber always does an outstanding job hosting our events.”
Each regular season tournament features a $10,000 guaranteed first place prize and pays 40 places totaling over $47,000. The winning team of the no-entry fee championship walks away with a $50,00 cash payout, and there is a $5,000 bonus cash prize for Angler of the Year and $2,500 for runner-up Angler of the Year. According to Donaldson, over $580,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded when the ABT Tournament Series wraps up its season in 2020. “To increase the championship payout while not increasing entry fees for our anglers is exciting and pretty much unheard of nowadays in tournament circuits,” Donaldson added.
2020 Payout Schedule: 2020 Championship Payout:
First place $10,000 First place $50,000
Second place $ 5,000 Second place $10,000
Third place $ 4,000 Third place $ 5,000
Fourth place $ 3,000 Fourth place $ 4,000
Fifth place $ 2,000 Fifth place $ 3,000
Sixth place $ 1,500 Sixth place $ 2,500
Seventh place $ 1,100 Seventh place $ 2,200
Eighth place $ 1,100 Eighth place $ 2,000
Ninth place $ 1,100 Ninth place $ 1,800
Tenth place $ 1,100 Tenth place $ 1,500
11th – 20th $ 750 each 11th-15th $ 1,200 each
21st – 40th $ 500 each 16th-25th $ 1,100 each
Big Fish $500 daily
Anglers who fished all five events in their respective divisions in 2019 will be given a priority entry period from August 1 to August 14, 2019, to register online at www.alabamabasstrail.org. Registration will be open to the public August 15, 2019. The entry fee is $1,300 per team, which includes registration for all five tournaments in the respective division. Each team may choose to pay a $500 nonrefundable deposit to hold the team’s spot. The balance of $800 must be paid by January 17, 2020.
ABT Tournament sponsors include Phoenix Bass Boats; Bill Penney Toyota; Alabama Tourism Department; America’s First Federal Credit Union; Academy Sports & Outdoors; Garmin; T-H Marine Supplies, Inc.; Alabama Power Company; Buffalo Rock, Inc.; Jack’s; Wedowee Marine; Lews Fishing; FishNeelyHenry.com; Power-Pole; Big Bite Baits; YETI and Hydrowave. Angler’s Channel will film and produce the Alabama Bass Trail television series for Fox Sports Southeast and Southern Stream Live will continue the live-streaming and video production services.
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 13 bass fishing lakes consist of Lake Guntersville, Wheeler Lake, Pickwick Lake, Lewis Smith Lake, Neely Henry Lake, Weiss Lake, Lake Martin, Lay Lake, Logan Martin Lake, Lake Jordan, Alabama River, Lake Eufaula, and the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta. For more information, visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.
