MONTGOMERY, Ala. - BASS announced the 2005 Bassmaster Open Bass Fishing Schedule today. The Opens are a qualifying series for anglers who hope to compete on the Bassmaster Tour. The Opens are also a qualifying venue for the Bassmaster Classic. The top 30 boaters in the Central, Northern and Southern Open divisions and the top 20 boaters in the Western Open division will earn Tour cards to fish as pros on the 2006 Tour. The top five anglers from the 2005 Open Championship will earn berths in the 2006 Classic.
"We're very excited about the 2005 Open schedule," said Don Rucks, General Manager of BASS. "We've got a great format, and we're taking the series to some of the best bass waters in the country. It's going to be a great season."
The 2005 Open series features three tournaments in each of four divisions. In the Central, Northern and Southern divisions, 200 boaters and non-boaters will compete. In the Western division, 125 boaters and non-boaters will compete. Anglers will also earn points toward the Open Championship that will be held on the Alabama River, Dec. 1-4, in Prattville, Ala.
The Championship will feature 90 boaters and 90 non-boaters - the top 25 boaters and non-boaters in each of the Central, Northern and Southern divisions and the top 15 boaters and non-boaters in the Western Division. These anglers will compete for cash prizes, and the boaters will vie for one of five spots in the 2006 Bassmaster Classic.
The Central Division schedule is an interesting mix of old and new. The series kicks off with an event at one of BASS's favorite and most visited stops, Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Texas, on May 5-7. The second stop will be BASS' first-ever on Lake Norfork, Sept. 29-Oct. 1. The final event in the division will be on the Red River in Louisiana on Nov. 10-12.
In the Northern Division, the season begins on July 14-16 in Sandusky, Ohio, on Lake Erie and follows with events on New York's Lake Champlain, Aug. 11-13, and Oneida Lake, Sept. 15-17. Erie has been a popular BASS destination for several years, while Champlain has not been visited since 1999.
The Southern Opens begin on West Point Lake, June 23-25, and move to Lake Guntersville in Alabama on Sept. 22-24 before concluding on Florida's Lake Toho on Oct. 27-29.
The Western Division opens on the California Delta on May 26-28 before moving north to Clear Lake on Oct. 13-15 and Lake Shasta on Nov. 17-19. BASS will utilize a four-fish limit in these California events.
The Open events will not utilize the shared weight format presently employed on the Bassmaster Tour and Outdoors Bassmaster Series. Furthermore, anglers must weigh in a bass at an event in order to earn points toward the Open Championship.