On February 11th, the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series is bringing the first stop of the Northern Division to the waters of Lewis Smith Lake where a guaranteed first place prize of $10,000 is up for grabs. Hosted by The Chamber of Commerce of Walker County, the tournament has attracted 450 amateur anglers from across the southeastern United States and is expected to generate an approximate $500,000 economic impact for the Jasper and Walker County area.

Takeoff is set for approximately 6:30 a.m. and weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. at the boat ramp in Smith Lake Dam in Jasper. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public. Registration and briefing will take place at the CHS Building in downtown Jasper beginning at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, February 10th. According to Alabama Bass Trail’s Program Director Kay Donaldson, the tournament is expected to pump an estimated $500,000 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 out over $47,000 over 40 places.

Northern Division:

Smith Lake                              February 11, 2023 hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of Walker County

Lake Guntersville                   March 18, 2023 hosted by Marshall County Sports & Tourism

Neely Henry Lake                  April 15, 2023 hosted by the City of Gadsden and FishNeelyHenry.com

Pickwick Lake                        May 13, 2023 hosted by Florence-Lauderdale Tourism

Wheeler Lake                         June 24, 2023 hosted by the Decatur – Morgan County Tourism

Southern Division:

Lake Martin                             February 25, 2023 hosted by Alexander City Chamber of Commerce

Lay Lake                                  March 11, 2023 hosted by the Shelby County Commission

Lake Eufaula       April 29, 2023 hosted by the Eufaula – Barbour County Chamber of Commerce   

Logan Martin                          May 20, 2023 hosted by the City of Lincoln

Alabama River                        June 10, 2023 hosted by the City of Prattville

The championship is a 185-boat, two-day event. The 185 boats are comprised of the top 75 teams in points and tournament winners from both divisions that fished all five events in their respective divisions, along with the top 15 student boats, top 5 college teams and top 5 couples team collectively from both divisions that fished all five events in their respective division. Hosted by the City of Leesburg, the championship tournament is set for October 20-21, 2023 on Weiss Lake.

The championship is a no entry tournament, and the first-place prize is $50,000 cash with an additional $60,000 in cash and prizes paid out through 25 places. The official bass boat of the Alabama Bass Trail, Phoenix boats will also offer the tier one First Flight incentive plan to tournament winners in a qualifying Phoenix boat.

Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series’ sponsors include Phoenix Boats, Bill Penney Automotive, the Alabama Tourism Department, America’s First Federal Credit Union, Academy Sports & Outdoors, T-H Marine Supplies, Inc., Black Rifle Coffee, Garmin, Jack’s, Alabama Power Company, Buffalo Rock, Inc., Alabama State Parks, Power – Pole, Bajo Sunglasses, American Trailer Rental, Anheuser-Busch, FishNeelyHenry.com, Strike King, Big Bite Baits, Lew’s Fishing, Yeti Coolers and American Baitworks.

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. 78

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, Lay Lake, Logan Martin Lake, Lake Martin, Lake Jordan, Alabama River, Lake Eufaula, and the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta.  For more information, visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.