BASS Announces Changes for 2004 Tour Season

September 2, 2003
B.A.S.S. News - Archived

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - BASS, a bass fishing tournament organization, today announced that the 2004 Bassmaster Tour will reduce its field to 150 pro anglers, down from 175 in 2003 - a move made in conjunction with the BASS Athlete Advisory Council (BAAC).

   "BASS is reducing our field size to 150, but is going to continue to pay 75 places," said pro BASS angler Marty Stone, a member of the BAAC.

   BASS Tournament Director Trip Weldon also announced the first increase in regular-season professional entry fees since 1989. Entry fees for each of the Tour events will be $1,925, up from $1,500 in 2003. Amateur entry fees will be $650 for each of the 2004 Tour events.

   Each of the six Tour events will still have an all cash pro payout of $448,000 with a first-place check of $100,000. The 58th-75th-place finishers will win back their entry fees. The amateur bracket will have a total payout of $157,000 in cash and prizes with $36,000, including a new bass boat, going to the winning amateur.

   "We listened to what the anglers had to say about reduced fields and their willingness to accept an increase," said Weldon. "Their opportunity to cash a check has also increased."

   Stone added, "Given the fact that we reached our goal of getting a reduction in field size while increasing an opportunity to cash a prize check, we accepted the entry fee increase."

   This all comes on the heels of the all-new Bassmaster Elite 50 Series, a four-event, no-entry-fee circuit featuring a $1.6 million prize purse for the world's best anglers.

   While amateurs will continue to fish with the pros on the Tour, the Bassmaster Elite 50 will feature observers who will pay a $300 fee to ride along at each event.

   "By definition, observers will not fish, but will be able to learn from the best pros in the world up close," added Weldon.

   Bassmaster Elite 50 observers will also receive special BASS merchandise and be entered into a drawing for a bass boat at each tournament.

   The Bassmaster Elite 50 participants will include the top 20 active anglers on the BASS all-time money list as of April 5, 2004 (following the conclusion of the final 2004 Tour event). In addition, the Elite 50 will include:

  • The 2004 Angler of the Year
  • The 2004 Rookie of the Year
  • The 2003 Bassmaster Classic Champion
  • The Top 27 in cumulative Tour points from three previous Tour seasons. The tournaments whose points will be counted are as follows:
    • The Six 2001/02 Tour season events
    • First six 2003 season Tour events
    • The Six 2004 season Tour events
  • In the event of any duplications, BASS will continue to work down the Tour points standings list.
The four-year plan for the Bassmaster Elite 50 series calls for qualification changes for 2006 and 2007 that will include:
  • Top 10 active all-time money (down from 20)
  • Top 37 Points from three previous season's Tours (up from 27)
The fields for the six-event 2004 Bassmaster Tour presented by Busch Beer will be set according to the following criteria:
  •  Top 100 in the point standings at the conclusion of 2003 Bassmaster Tour
  • Top 15 boaters in each Open Division
  • Top five boaters in Open Championship

  • Exemptions as follows (One for each category; cannot exceed three):

    • 2003 Classic champion
    • 2003 Angler of the Year
    • Five career BASS wins
    • Five career Classic appearances
The field for the 2004 Bassmaster Classic will be set according to the following criteria:
  • 25 from Bassmaster Tour
  • 10 from BASS Elite 50
  • Top three in points from four Open Boater Divisions (total 12)
  • Boater Champion of the Open Championship, if that angler is not in the top three in points of his division
  • Five BASS Federation Championship qualifiers

  • Exemptions:

    • 2003 Bassmaster Classic Champion
    • 2003 Angler of the Year
Pro payout structure for each of the six Tour events follows:2004 Tours (PRO)1 $100,000 2 38,000 3 23,000 4 20,000 5 15,000 6 14,000 7 12,000 8 10,000 9 9000 10 8000 11 6000 12 5500 13 5400 14 5300 15 5200 16 5100 17 5000 18 4900 19 4800 20 4700 21 4600 22 4500 23 4400 24 4300 25 4200 26 4100 27 3,900 28 3800 29 3700 30 3600 31 3500 32 3400 33 3300 34 3200 35 3100 36 3000 37 2900 38 2800 39 2700 40 2600 41-42 2500 each 43-44 2400 each 45-46 2350 each 47-48 2300 each 49-50 2200 each 51-52 2150 each 53-54 2050 each 55-56 2000 each 57 1950 58-75 1925 each Big Bass 750 daily Total 448,000 Amateur payout structure for each of the six Tour events follows: 2004 Tours (AM) 1 $35,000 Boat + $1000 2 35,000 Boat 3 11,000 Boat 4 10,000Motor 5 3,400 6 2,400 7 2,100 8 1,900 9 1700 10 1500 11 1400 12 1300 13-15 1100 each 16-20 1000 each 21-25 950 each 26-30 850 each 31-37 800 each 38-40 750 each 41-50 700 each 51-75 650 each Big Bass 300 daily Total 157,000

Sponsors of the CITGO Bassmaster Tournament Trail presented by Busch Beer include CITGO Petroleum Corp., Busch Beer, Chevrolet Trucks, Yamaha Outboards, Mercury Marine, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Lowrance Electronics, Flowmaster Exhaust Systems, Kumho Tires, Bass Pro Shops, Progressive Insurance, Abu Garcia, Berkley, Diamond Cut Jeans, MotorGuide Trolling Motors, and BankOne.

   Associate Sponsors include Bryant Heating and Air Conditioning and G3 Boats.