GROVE, Okla. – Up to 300 Red Man Tournament Trail bass anglers will visit Grand Lake of the Cherokees Nov. 2-4 for one last shot at qualifying for the $250,000 All-American Championship.
Contestants at the Central Chevy Wild Card Regional on Grand Lake will compete in two divisions – boater and co-angler – for the first time in the Red Man Tournament Trail’s 18-year history. The top three finishers in the Boater Division will advance to the 2001 All-American on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Ark., where they will cast for $100,000 first-place cash. The top three co-anglers also will advance to the All-American and will be chasing a top prize of $50,000 cash.
The Wild Card field will be comprised of Red Man Tournament Trial anglers who competed in all five regular season qualifying tournaments within a division but who did not place in the top 30 in any division and, therefore, were not eligible to compete in a regular regional championship.
“Theses anglers have traveled, practiced and competed on the Red Man Tournament Trail for several months,” said Dan Grimes, Red Man Tournament Trail director. “Their goal at the beginning of the season was to qualify for a Regional Championship and eventually the All-American. Unfortunately, their season did not go according to plans. The good news, however, is that they have one more chance thanks to the Chevy Wild Cards.”
Five regular regional championships will each advance eight boaters and co-anglers to the All-American. Four boaters and co-anglers will advance from a sixth regional, and the top thee boaters and co-anglers in two Chevy Wild Card events will qualify for the All-American, yielding a field of 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers.
Weigh-ins at the Central Chevy Wild Card Regional on Friday, Nov. 3, and Saturday, Nov. 4, will take place at Red 11 Port located at 59801 East 250 Road in Grove, Okla., beginning at 3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2, is an official practice day.
The boater/co-angler format introduced by Red Man at the start of the 2000 season is reminiscent of the lucrative Wal-Mart FLW Tour and other pro/am style events, which have grown increasingly popular with bass fishing enthusiasts. Under the old Red Man format, anglers shared equal time at the front of the boat, picking fishing locations and running the trolling motor. Now, boaters fish from the front of the boat while co-anglers cast from the back seat.
More than $5.7 million could be awarded across 22 divisions nationwide during the 2000 Red Man season.
Operation Bass, the company responsible for the Red Man Tournament Trail, was founded in 1979 on the principle that working anglers should be able to fish competitively without interfering with jobs and family. Red Man became the trail’s title sponsor in 1983. Wal-Mart announced that it has assumed title sponsorship of the tournament series for 2001 and will rename it the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League.