Bass Anglers Sportsmen Society

The Bass Anglers Sportsmen Society (B.A.S.S.) is a fishing membership organization with more than a half a million members. It is geared toward bass fishermen, mainly in the United States but with members located worldwide. The society publishes "Bassmaster Magazine" and other related publications, and also produces "The Bassmasters" weekly television program. B.A.S.S. is best known for the sport fishing tournament trails it sponsors, and for the championship event of its primary series, the Bassmasters Classic.

History

B.A.S.S. Federation was founded by Ray Scott in 1967 in Montgomery, Alabama. His goals were to create a credible and honorable tournament trail and to improve our environment by unifying fishermen with youth, in an effort to promote and perpetuate recreational fishing as a pastime. Scott also directed the society in a number of conservationist efforts related to fishing and outdoor recreation. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/about/news/story?page=bass_about_history ESPN.com: History of B.A.S.S.] ]

Scott sold B.A.S.S. to a group of investors headed by Helen Sevier in 1986. In 2001, the group sold the society to ESPN, which now operates the society and its tournament trails as a wholly-owned subsidiary.

The society made headlines outside of tournament fishing in 1970 when it filed lawsuits against more than 200 industrial defendants, accusing them of water pollution which violated the 1899 Refuse Act. [http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/about/news/story?page=about_bass ESPN.com: BASS Timeline] ]

Tournaments

The first ever B.A.S.S. Federation tournament was held in June 1967 on Beaver Lake, Arkansas. A total of 106 anglers from thirteen different states competed. In that All-American Bass Tournament, Scott charged a $100 entry fee with a chance to win $2,000 and a trip to Acapulco, Mexico. The winner of this first tournament was Stan Sloan.

Scott staged the first Bassmasters Classic in 1971 at Lake Mead, Nevada — though competitors didn't know the location until they were in an aircraft bound for Las Vegas. The "mystery lake" practice continued through 1976; the following year Scott announced the venue in advance so that fans could make plans to attend the event. Since then, the final weigh-in events, and fishing expositions held together with those events, have become huge spectator events filling large arenas and being broadcast live on ESPN.

B.A.S.S Federations sponsor several tournaments and series:

Bassmasters Classic

The Bassmasters Classic is considered the "Super Bowl" of fishing. This world championship event is held once every year and has become a fan favorite. This tournament has a first place prize of $500,000.

Bassmaster Elite Series

This series has a total of eleven events with a total of $11 million to give away in prizes. This makes up bass fishing's most competitive lucrative league. This series schedule runs from coast to coast through all phases of he seasons of bass fishing.

Bassmaster Opens

This series sets a platform for amateur anglers to emerge as aspiring pros. Both boaters and non-boaters compete in the Bassmaster Opens, which provides advancement to the Bassmasters Elite Series.

Women's Bassmaster Tour

This tour is presented by Triton Boats. The winner of each WBT takes home a fully rigged Triton boat valued at $50,000. The total payout for the whole season is totaled at more than $640,000.

B.A.S.S. Federation Nation

This is the grass roots club level of B.A.S.S. Many of today's Elite Series stars started out at the club level. There are currently 47 state federations associated with B.A.S.S.

References