After a two-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bassmaster has released a new and revised schedule to complete the 2020 Bassmaster Elite Series. And that means that Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing is finally back up and running.
With pundit stories beginning to roll in again, rosters are also now open for your selections to be made for the upcoming Bassmaster Elite at Lake Eufaula, out of Eufaula, Ala., June 10-13.
You can expect hot and humid temps, but the ledge-fishing bite is likely to be just as hot. The world’s best bass anglers will figure out the legendary southern bass factory, and they will likely catch some of the heaviest largemouth limits loaded onto the official Bassmaster scales for four straight days. You won’t want to miss this one!
Plus, as you may recall, the prizing in Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing has been greatly enhanced allowing for better top prizes per event, and gear payouts reaching as far as 20th place in each Fantasy Fishing events.
“Any time we are forced to postpone a tournament it is disappointing to our anglers, fans, hosts, sponsors and staff,” said Bruce Akin, B.A.S.S. CEO. “After this break of nearly three months, our anglers are looking forward to fishing on these incredible waters, and we know fans are ready to see big bass being weighed in again.
“Our team has worked diligently alongside our local hosts to ensure that we are ready to get back to the competition and fun of tournament fishing.”
B.A.S.S. has emphasized that it will heed each state’s mandates on crowd sizes and public spaces as well as monitor federal guidelines to ensure both competition and fan activities can resume safely.
Three Elite Series events and two Bassmaster Opens tournaments originally scheduled between March and May were initially postponed. An alternate date for the tournament originally planned on the Sabine River in Orange, Texas, could not be identified, prompting an official reschedule of that event for spring 2021. Instead, the Elite Series will compete on Cayuga Lake in Union Springs, N.Y., where last year Jamie Hartman won with a four-day total of 80 pounds, 13 ounces.
Competition resumes in June, when the Elite field heads to historic Lake Eufaula in Alabama June 10-13. B.A.S.S. hasn’t visited the fishery since 2006.
“We are so excited to welcome B.A.S.S. back to the ‘Big Bass Capital of the World,’” said Ann Sparks, Tourism and Main Street Executive Director for the City of Eufaula. “We are thankful (for) their dedication to rescheduling the tournament. Now we just have to wait and see what they catch!”
Competition for Opens Series anglers resumes in June as well, when the Central Open launches on the Arkansas River in Muskogee, Okla., for their first event of the season June 18-20.
“When originally setting up the schedule, B.A.S.S. took into account the times of year when each fishery would be at its best,” said B.A.S.S. Tournament Director Trip Weldon. “The revisions, while challenging, should present excellent catch opportunities for our field.”
Bassmaster Elite Series
June 10-13, Lake Eufaula, Eufaula, Ala.
July 14-17, Cayuga Lake, Union Springs, N.Y.
July 23-26, SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River, Waddington, N.Y.
July 30-Aug. 2, Lake Champlain, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Aug. 20-23, Lake St. Clair, Macomb County, Mich.
Oct. 8-11, Santee Cooper Lakes, Clarendon County, S.C.
Oct. 16-19, Chickamauga Lake, Dayton, Tenn.
Nov. 5-8, Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Lake Fork, Quitman, Texas
