GILBERTSVILLE, Ky., – America’s bass fishing enthusiasts now have more reasons than ever to get involved in the exciting, fast-growing sport of tournament bass fishing. Operation Bass Inc., the company that opened competitive bass fishing to the masses in 1979, today announced a new, friendly tournament format designed to involve anglers of all skill levels.
To better accommodate the growing number of tournament participants in the nation’s most popular bass tournament program, Operation Bass will conduct four Saturday and one Saturday/Sunday super tournament in each of its 22 Red Man Tournament Trail divisions. Each tournament will feature new Boater and Co-Angler Divisions similar to the company’s other successful programs – the nine-event EverStart Series and the lucrative seven-event Wal-Mart FLW Tour. The format is designed to be totally inclusive, allowing anglers to select the division that is best suited to their abilities.
“It’s actually two separate tournaments going on simultaneously,” said Charlie Hoover, president of Operation Bass. “We believe that this format will encourage participation from many anglers who in the past may have considered tournament fishing something just for professionals.”
Each Red Man qualifying tournament has 400 participants – 200 boaters and 200 co-anglers – thereby increasing every angler’s opportunity to win. Anglers entering Red Man tournaments in the Boater Division pay a $150 entry fee, while the Co-Angler Division’s $75 entry fee carries on the Red Man Tournament Trail tradition of affordable entry fees that appeal to working anglers. Entry fees for the two-day, Saturday/Sunday super tournaments are $300 and $150 respectively.
Each super tournament features double points for anglers finishing in the top 10 percent of the field. Points as well as pounds count toward qualification for regional championships. The full field competes on Saturday, and the top 30 anglers advance to Sunday’s action.
The top 30 anglers from the Boater and Co-Angler Divisions, based on a system of pounds and points, will advance from each of Red Man’s 22 divisions to one of six postseason regionals. Anglers who enter all six tournaments within a division and do not qualify for a regular regional championship will qualify to compete in either the Eastern or Central Chevy Trucks Wild Card Regional Championship.
The format for the regional championships includes one elimination round whereby after two days of competition, the full field of boaters and co-anglers is cut to eight (four in the Western Regional). The top eight boaters and top eight co-anglers from each regional (top four from the Western Regional) as well as the top three pros and co-anglers from the Chevy Trucks Wild Card Regionals advance to the Red Man All-American Championship. The All-American is one of the oldest and most lucrative post-season tournaments in competitive angling. At the championship, 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers will compete for first place cash awards of $100,000 and $50,000 respectively.
Overall payback of entry fees for the 2000 Red Man Tournament Trail, including post-season prizes, exceeds 100 percent. Potential awards for the 119-event season could top $5.7 million based on full fields.