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The Transformation of BASS
Is ESPN good for BASS? Read about the new changes, and then make your call. With that said, here is a look at BASS' developments over the past year:
> Elite 50
"I am tremendously excited that BASS is taking this sport to a level of professionalism that we have never seen before," said former Classic champion Jay Yelas. "The concept of no entry fee professional events has been the desire of every angler and this is a new frontier for bass fishing." Anglers will qualify through 2004 AOY points and total winnings. Only the 'best' 50 pros on the BASS Tour will qualify.
> No-Information Rule As of November, 2003, pros will not be able to gather any information about the lake to be fished for a full 30 days before a tournament. A similar rule had been implemented a year ago which stated that anglers could not fish on the tournament waters for 30 days, but now there is an added requirement - pros will not be allowed to obtain any information about the tournament lake. No phones, marked maps, or GPS coordinates will be allowed.
"I have told the anglers about this rule, and they are, overwhelmingly, in
favor of it," Weldon said. "Anglers will have to police themselves, but they
feel that if the rule is made, it will be followed. Failure to adhere to the
rule will result in a stiff penalty." The pros seem to be in favor of the rule: Paul Elias: "This is a great thing for the sport. "It will really raise the level of the competition." Mark Menendez: "I think it's good," and "I think you're going to see a different elevation of anglers come to the top. You're going to see the truly skilled anglers do their job even better. At the same time, I think you're going to see some (pros have) seasons that are lackluster in their performances."
Ray Sedgwick: "I think it's an excellent idea if it can be enforced. I just
don't know how it's going to be enforced. We'll just have to police
ourselves. It will probably take stepping on a few toes to show that they
mean business. But I think it's great because we'll have to get out Tim Horton: "It's probably the best rule change we've had since I've been in the sport. It's really going to level the playing field. It's the best news I've heard in years."
> New Point System BASS changed the point system in October of 2003; they basically award more points to the winner and decrease in larger increments than before. The old point system awarded the winning angler of a Tour event 200 points, with points decreasing by one. Now, the champion receives 300 points, with 2nd place getting 295, 3rd receiving 290, and on down to fifth place. To 10th place, the points decrease in four-point increments, three-point to 15th, two-point to 99th and one point on down. The angler(s) that leads each day will gain an extra five points. "The new points system will more consistently reward anglers for high performance," said BASS Tournament Director Trip Weldon. The goal, Weldon said, is to encourage fiercer competition. "In order to encourage fierce competition, we adjusted the ratio of points awarded for different finishes and implemented a bonus point system for leaders," Weldon added. "This way, if an angler leads for two days and doesn't win, he is still recognized for competing to the fullest extent of his ability."
> Reduction of Tour Field In September BASS decided, in conjunction with the BASS Athletes Advisory Council (BAAC), to reduce the amount of anglers in the Tour field by 25. Instead of 175 anglers, now only 150 have a chance to compete. "BASS is reducing our field size to 150, but is going to continue to pay 75 places," Marty Stone, a member of the BAAC, commented.
"We listened to what the anglers had to say about reduced fields and their
> Shootout Yet another new program for '04 is the Busch Shootout contingency program. To qualify, an angler must be in the top 10 "heavyweights" from the Tour, E50 events, '04 Classic and '04 Open Championship. How do they do that? By weighing in the largest sack of bass on each tournament day. The ten heaviest sacks from the entire year will earn ten anglers a spot in the Shootout. The top 10 will advance to the one-day Shootout tournament on a mystery lake, scheduled to be on September 18, 2004. The winning pro will receive $100,000; every other pro from 2nd to 10th will take home a $5,000 check.
> Open Championship
> New Shield
“After 35 years of fishing, we decided it was time to freshen up,” said Dean Kessel. “We’ve made some slight modifications that we believe make the shield more representative of today’s BASS member.” One of the goals of the change was to make the logo 'cleaner and brighter in print' on TV, apparel, and sporting goods.
What do you think about the transformation of BASS?
By Brandon Shook
Back to The Last Word.
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BASS, which advertises itself as 'the world's largest fishing organization,'
and 'the worldwide authority on bass fishing,' has been changing over the
past year, and those who have kept up have noticed. It has changed so
quickly, in fact, that some are sure to have been left behind, and don't
have a clue about BASS' recent developments. 
The Elite 50 Tour is a new circuit created by BASS for the top 50 Bassmaster
pros on the Tour. There will be no entry fee for the pros. Dean Kessel, BASS
Vice President and GM says that BASS has "listened to anglers and created
four best-of-the-best events with no entry fee."
The first Open championship was
held on Toledo Bend Reservoir December 4-7, 2003. The top 20 boaters and
non-boaters from each Open division competed for a $10,000 prize purse and a
chance to fish in the Tour. The total prize purse was close to $300,000.
