Decatur, Ala. (March 6, 2017) – On March 11, 2017, the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series is bringing the second stop of the Northern Division to the waters of Pickwick Lake where a guaranteed first place prize of $10,000 is up for grabs. Hosted by Florence-Lauderdale Tourism the tournament has attracted over 400 amateur anglers from across the southeastern United States and is expected to generate an approximate $450,000 economic impact for Florence and the Lauderdale County area.
Takeoff is set for approximately 6:00 a.m. and weigh-in begins 2:30 p.m. at the boat ramp at McFarland Park. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public. Registration and briefing will take place at the Veterans Drive Coliseum beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 10th. According to Alabama Bass Trail’s Program Director Kay 
Donaldson, the tournament is expected to pump an estimated $450,000 into the local economy of the host city through revenue generated by anglers and their family members dining, shopping, and overnighting in local hotels and motels.
Sanctioned by BASS (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society), the tournament trail features two divisions: Northern and Southern. Each division is made up of five tournaments on five different lakes. Maximum number of boats is 225 and each tournament will have a $10,000 guaranteed first place prize and will pay over $47,000 through 40 places.
Northern Division:
Wheeler Lake February 25, 2017 hosted by the Decatur-Morgan County CVB
Pickwick Lake March 11, 2017 hosted by Florence-Lauderdale County Tourism
Smith Lake April 22, 2017 hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of Walker County
Neely Henry Lake May 13, 2017 hosted by City of Gadsden and FishNeelyHenry.com
Lake Guntersville June 10, 2017 hosted by the Marshall County Convention & Visitors Bureau
The championship consists of a 185-boat, two-day event. The 185 boats are comprised of the 10 winning teams from the 10 tour stops, the top 75 teams in points from both divisions that fished all five events in their respective
2016 Alabama Bass Trail Pickwick Lake Winners Lance Walker and Jimmy Mason said that they used a two swimbait, two crankbait approach with Walker throwing his on his Bass Pro Shops Pro Qualifer gear, and Mason choosing to throw his swimbaits on his 7’3” Lew’s Custom Speed Stick Football Jig rod and BB1 Pro Series reel, while his chartreuse and blue Fat Free Shad crankbaits were thrown on a 7’6” Lew’s David Fritts Ultimate cranking rod with a 5.1:1 BB1 reel; all spooled with Vicious Fluorocarbon. ABT photo
divisions, along with the top 15 student boats collectively from both divisions that fished all five events in their respective division, the top 5 couples teams and the top 5 collegiate teams. Hosted by the Pell City Chamber of Commerce, the championship tournament is set for October 6 & 7, 2017 on Logan Martin Lake.
The championship is a no entry tournament and the first place prize is a fully-rigged 2018 Phoenix 819 Pro with a Mercury 200, trolling motor and electronics valued at $43,000 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. In addition to the no-entry fee championship the top 8 teams from the North Division will go on to represent the Alabama Bass Trail in the BASS Team Championship later on in the fall.
Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series’ sponsors include Phoenix Bass Boats, Inc., GP8 Oxygen Water, Bill Penney Toyota, the Alabama Tourism Department, Garmin, Wind Creek Hospitality – Wetumpka, Wind Creek Hospitality – Montgomery, T-H Marine Supplies, Inc., Alabama Power Company, Academy Sports & Outdoors, Wedowee Marine, Crossed Industries, Lew’s Fishing, Tennessee Valley Authority, Power-Pole, AFTCO (American Fishing Tackle Company), HydroWaveTM, and Yeti Coolers.
For more information on the Alabama Bass Trail and the tournament series, call Program Director Kay 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 (Millers Ferry), Lake Eufaula, and the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta. For more information, visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.
