Trip Weldon on BASS 2004

Exclusive Interview

   Recently, Trip Weldon, BASS Tournament Director, took the time to be interviewed by UltimateBassin.com. Following are some of his thoughts and answers on BASS' activities in 2004.

   If you look over the '04 Tour schedule, you will notice that three recognized big-bass lakes are on the list: the Harris Chain, FL; Lake Guntersville, AL; and Santee Cooper, NC. The Harris Chain event was held in earlier in the year, but Guntersville is coming up, with Santee Cooper in late March. Either one of these lakes could produce a record limit.

   After thinking over these facts, it appears that Busch and BASS are really hoping to hand out a $1 million check this year. When asked if this was true, Trip Weldon chuckled and replied in the affirmative: "(These) lakes lend themselves to that kind of weight. I talked to an angler just today that thought that it could happen at Guntersville." Right now, Guntersville Lake is ready for a huge limit to be caught - it's in pre-spawn mode.

   Another one of BASS' new programs this year is the already-famous Elite 50 Series. Qualification comes through methods that were "a combo of ideas from BASS people and anglers, and we think that this (method) is the best," Weldon said. Pros qualify using the all-time money list plus the AOY standings. The innovative Elite 50 series will always be "after the Tour season, simply because the Rookie of the Year and Angler of the Year won’t be decided until then," Weldon commented.

   The E50 events are perfectly customized for the best BASS Tour anglers. "It rewards the old guys with proven track records," Weldon said. "It also provides a window of opportunity for rookies. It excludes the fly-by-night angler who does well one year and then is gone."

   Miss the old Showdown events? The E50 tournaments are just that - Showdown events for the top 50 pros. "The E50’s are Showdown (events),"  Weldon said.

   Another note on the E50 Series: Weldon said that they are scheduled to expand. "The long-range plan is to expand the Elite 50 Series," Weldon stated. "2006 is when we change it."

   BASS' schedules, in more recent years, have all massed tournaments together in the beginning of the year, excluding the Classic. Weldon said this was largely because of television coverage. "When ESPN bought BASS, we had a fragmented schedule," he said. There would be alternating Tour and Invitational (Open) events. "An event would be in the fall, and it wouldn’t air until spring, and by the time it aired, it was old news," Weldon explained. "Now we have a one-week turn-around."

   However, with all of the tournaments in the first half of the year, are the pros really demonstrating and using all of their skill? In other words, is it a fair test of the pros' skill to only have tournaments in spring?

   "Absolutely," Weldon said. "Leesburg was a small tournament, then Smith Lake was a dead of the winter tournament, and then Guntersville will be like a late-winter tournament because the water’s still cold there." He went on to explain that pros will be facing many various conditions during the 2004 year. Even though there are no Tour events in the fall, there are in all other seasons. This, Weldon feels, is a fair test of the pros' abilities.

  
Special thanks is due to Trip Weldon for taking the time to be interviewed.

By Brandon Shook