BASS released 2024 Elite series schedule....Toledo Bend in the pre spawn!

[AlabamaSpothunter]

B.A.S.S. announces 2024 Elite schedule with nine events in six states - Bassmaster

 

 

First stop is at Toledo Bend, will be absolutely epic.   Second stop is Lake Fork, likely gonna be another awesome big fish event.

 

Smith Lake is gonna be a blast, and I'll be able to attend the event.   Overall very happy about the schedule.

 

2024 Bassmaster Elite Series Schedule
Feb. 22-25, Many, La., Toledo Bend Reservoir
Feb. 29-March 3, Yantis, Texas, Lake Fork
March 22-24, Bassmaster Classic, Tulsa, Okla., Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees
April 11-14, Leesburg, Fla., Harris Chain of Lakes
April 18-21, Palatka, Fla., St. Johns River
May 9-12, Columbia, S.C., Lake Murray
June 13-16, Decatur, Ala., Wheeler Lake
June 27-30, Cullman, Ala., Smith Lake
Aug. 8-11, Plattsburgh, N.Y., Lake Champlain
Aug. 15-18, Waddington, N.Y., St. Lawrence River

[volzfan59]

Looks good to me!

[5by3]

Kind of wish they would schedule a few grinder events like the Sabine. Most of these tournaments will be a slugfest… good for viewing I suppose.

[gim]

10 hours ago, 5by3 said:

Kind of wish they would schedule a few grinder events like the Sabine.

 

That event was awful.  The location and crowds are great, but the fishing there is embarrassing given the area of the country.  Watching someone catch a 1.5 pounder every 45 minutes is right up there with watching someone livescope with a drop shot.

 

Can't say I'm very impressed with this.  The only 2 northern events are in August and they will be doing the same old thing again, staring at screens over offshore structure.

 

Two events in June in Alabama?  That could be a little warm.  Hope they like bacon because they're gonna sizzle in that heat.

[TnRiver46]

The biggest fish caught last year on tour was summertime in Alabama 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

The biggest fish caught last year on tour was summertime in Alabama 

I about blew a gasket when Christie weighed in that fish......incredible!

 

Catching it on a Fairy Wand in heavy veg made it all the more epic.....action starts around 4:40

 

[volzfan59]

17 hours ago, 5by3 said:

Kind of wish they would schedule a few grinder events like the Sabine. 

I'm with you, I love a good grinder event such as the Sabine. Hopefully they'll go back next year.

[TnRiver46]

For those of you grinder lovers, don’t miss wheeler or smith. Especially wheeler 

[volzfan59]

@TnRiver46, Wheeler is one of my favorite lakes to fish! Second Creek, the Elk River, get excited just thinking about it.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

The pros seem to prefer grinder events, most say the pressure cranks up on the big fish factories......they know the big bags are there, and if they aren't catching them they realize early on they're toast.   

 

Personally, I'm all about the Century Club derbies, I can't even imagine what's going to go down at Toledo Bend, and Fork.  

 

Smith Lake will be a fun derby and a bit of a grinder.   

[TnRiver46]

I’ve never fished wheeler, just always heard how bad it is. And it’s on the same river as my house so I’m sure it’s pretty bad 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

1 minute ago, volzfan59 said:

@TnRiver46, Wheeler is one of my favorite lakes to fish! Second Creek, the Elk River, get excited just thinking about it.

Wheeler is on the upswing big time, bit disappointed by the results at the BASS Open earlier this year, but I think it's only going to get better if they let the grass keep growing.    Still took 20lbs a day to win.   

 

[GReb]

Smith will be a fun watch. It can get stingy in the summer and they’ll be a ton of party boating vacationers to deal with. Herring schools will be the focus. 

Smith will be a fun watch. It can get stingy in the summer and they’ll be a ton of party boating vacationers to deal with. Herring schools will be the focus. 
 

Only 2 small mouth fisheries is a win in my book and it’s really 1.5 considering Champlain has quality largemouth. I’m sure they are fun as hell to catch but it’s brutal watching drop shots 

[volzfan59]

@TnRiver46 and @AlabamaSpothunter, I haven't been on Wheeler since around 2008ish. Didn't realize that it had gotten bad. Anyone know the reason?

[AlabamaSpothunter]

1 hour ago, volzfan59 said:

@TnRiver46 and @AlabamaSpothunter, I haven't been on Wheeler since around 2008ish. Didn't realize that it had gotten bad. Anyone know the reason?

They sprayed heavily up until the last few years, but the lake has really turned around since then.    It's one of the best lakes in Alabama now according to B.A.I.T numbers and 5lb/per hour fished rate.   This also reflects what friends who have fished it this past year or two have reported.    

 

 

[scaleface]

I prefer the grinder events too . Shootouts to me are as boring as watching a Vin Diesel movie. 

[Way north bass guy]

I doubt it’d ever happen, but I’d love to see them do a tournament on this side of the border one day. We have so many fantastic fisheries, and some real monster sized lakes so there’d be no issue with space for anglers. It’d be pretty cool to see them on my home water of Georgian Bay, or maybe Simcoe, or even go further north to Gussies turf and hit Lake of the Woods. 

[volzfan59]

@Way north bass guy, I would love to see some bass tournaments up that way too!

[AlabamaSpothunter]

I want to see a derby in Japan and South Africa as well.......have like the top 25 Elite Series guys ending the season do a "World Classic" where 25 Elite Series guys + 25 home country anglers all compete in a 50 angler field in a non US country that has a strong Bass culture.    I think Italy has Bass anglers if I'm not mistaken.....we need to bucket biology some of these bad boys across the globe ?

[Glenn]

With thousands of lakes/rivers in the country, it's sad to see B.A.S.S. continue to go the same places over and over and over again, with few exceptions.

 

No wonder they're losing members and viewers.

[volzfan59]

13 hours ago, Glenn said:

With thousands of lakes/rivers in the country, it's sad to see B.A.S.S. continue to go the same places over and over and over again, with few exceptions.

 

No wonder they're losing members and viewers.

While I do agree with you, they go where the cities/ chambers of commerce/ sports authorities (Knoxville) pay them to go. While I don't know the cost, maybe B.A.S.S. should look at dropping their booking fee (my words, don't know what they call it). I would love to see the Elites go to some other places, be they places they've not been in a while or places they've never been. Let's be honest, membership is no more than a subscription at this point. All print publications are experiencing drops in subscriptions. Just like with mlf, FFS tournaments are boring for all with exception of us diehards and to be honest this diehard hates watching them. The mlf has the luxury of having an owner that also owns a TV network and replays that mess every weekend. B.A.S.S. doesn't seem to replay their tournaments other than on demand if you have that option.

[volzfan59]

My previous reply has my wondering, does anyone know how much B.A.S.S. charges to bring an Elite Series tournament to a town? I'm was thinking that it has to be pretty expensive, but then there are smaller towns that manage to get an Elite tournament.

[casts_by_fly]

On 9/9/2023 at 2:25 PM, volzfan59 said:

While I do agree with you, they go where the cities/ chambers of commerce/ sports authorities (Knoxville) pay them to go. While I don't know the cost, maybe B.A.S.S. should look at dropping their booking fee (my words, don't know what they call it). I would love to see the Elites go to some other places, be they places they've not been in a while or places they've never been. Let's be honest, membership is no more than a subscription at this point. All print publications are experiencing drops in subscriptions. Just like with mlf, FFS tournaments are boring for all with exception of us diehards and to be honest this diehard hates watching them. The mlf has the luxury of having an owner that also owns a TV network and replays that mess every weekend. B.A.S.S. doesn't seem to replay their tournaments other than on demand if you have that option.

 

I'm sure there is also some consideration for the travel of the anglers also.  Hosting an event on Havasu for instance would mean the (primarily) south east based anglers have to drive 26 hours and 1900+ miles each way for a single tournament.  That's a tough pill to swallow and I could see some guys sitting that one out if they weren't in contention for AOY or other prizes that require a full season load.

 

 

 

I'd also like to see one 'new/odd' location in the calendar each year.  The classic was in Pittsburgh on the 3 rivers a number of years ago.  It was a tiny bag to win it (KvD did i think) and it didn't show the rivers very well, but the city was great and the location is awesome if you put it in late June when the anglers are doing the northern swing.  The Chesapeake could be another I'd like to see and they are doing regionals there now.  Either one might be won with a 50 lb bag over 4 days but I'd love to watch them figure it out.